Pave Assist is designed to improve functionality.

All data is managed, processed and displayed on Volvo Co-Pilot, enabling operators to monitor the progress and output of their work in real time.

Dimitrov Krishnan, 
Vice President and Head ,
Volvo CE India.

Vovo CE’s production facilities, including the one in India, have some of the highest levels of automation in CE industry. All our factories operate under the Volvo Production System, or VPS – a toolkit that includes methods such as Six Sigma – which reduces unwanted variation in processes, and Lean – which eliminates wasted time and material, to create a more streamlined assembly process which helps us offer industry-leading reliability in our machines.” Dimitrov Krishnan, Vice President and Head, Volvo CE India speaks about the road technology solutions offered.

What are the major challenges in spreading advanced technology brought in by Volvo India for better and faster construction of quality roads? 

While cost remains one of the most important factors for buyers in India, the purchase price is only part of what constitutes a machine’s overall lifetime cost. Equipment owners and contractors in India have developed quite sophisticated models for calculating ‘cost per tonne’ or ‘cost per km’ for equipment, and this considers a range of factors, including purchase price, operating costs, productivity levels, anticipated maintenance, depreciation, resale value and more.

Volvo CE is heavily focused on productivity and lowering the cost of operations, or cost per tonne, for customers. A big contributor to this is fuel efficiency. It is not unusual for a Volvo CE customer to report fuel savings of 10% or more for one of our machines versus a competitor model.

Today, buyers in India are tracking costs carefully and are willing to invest in higher initial costs for reliable equipment that is more productive, fuel efficient and can deliver value over the machine’s lifetime. Current purchase decisions evaluate ‘value’ beyond the initial purchase price and look at additional benefits the machine brings over its lifetime, whether that’s maintenance services, response speed, parts availability, or financial and resell solutions. All these factors are influencing how customers evaluate value versus cost of procurement.

What is the level of acceptance of advanced paving technology?  What are the challenges and how these can be ironed out?

The Indian government’s plans to increase road construction from its current level of about 23 km a day to an eventual 40 km a day have made road pavers, particularly sensor pavers, increasingly important for projects around the country. We see a host of opportunities for the road building sector and remain one of the industry’s key players.

While we are proud to support the government’s initiative, the government is increasing the import duty from 10% to 15% for a range of parts and components, including for commercial vehicles and bus components, to help drive the initiative and generate additional revenues. This will directly impact our cost and businesses will have to make those associated pricing calls.

What are the solutions offered by Volvo in paving of asphalt roads?

Volvo CE is widely regarded as one of the leading innovators in the field of construction equipment and we are proud to be driving advances in the technology of existing road construction machines, like pavers with sensors—the P4370B ABG and P5320ABG.

The P4370B ABG is a wheeled sensor paver powered by an 88kW engine and it has a basic paving width of 2.5 m. It can deliver a paving output of 600T per hour. The P5320B ABG is a tracked sensor paver similarly powered by an 88kW engine. This high power is delivered with minimal noise and low fuel consumption. The P5320B ABG also has a paving output of 600T per hour although it has a longer basic paving width of 4.75 m. Both machines have maximum paving widths of 7m.

The P5320B ABG, Volvo’s latest product for the road building industry, also boasts innovations such as load-sensing hydraulics, so that hydraulic output is perfectly matched to all components. An automatic hydraulic track tensioner delivers smoother operation while simultaneously reducing wear and downtime. The Volvo Omni V screed provides variable width on the go. The electronically-ignited gas heating system, designed with flame failure protection, quickly and efficient heats the screed plate, while the LPG blower burner system provides uniform heat for a smooth mat finish, with quality pre-compaction.

Volvo’s range of sensor pavers available in India also includes units built at the company’s German factory. These have widths of 9 m, 10 m, 13 m, and 16 m. The most popular is the P6820C ABG, which offers paving widths of 2.5 m to 10 m. Volvo Variomatic screeds provide customers with hydraulically-extending widths. The machine can also be configured with manual screeds. The P6820C is powered by a 142kW engine and has a paving output of 700T per hour. Volvo expects a healthy and consistent demand for the P4370B ABG, the P5320B ABG, the P6820C ABG, and its range of other sensor pavers for the foreseeable future.

What are the features in-built to achieve improved paving performance and productivity?

An option to improve paving performance and productivity is Pave Assist. Pave Assist is designed to improve functionality, providing operators with real-time insight to the quality and productivity of the paving operation – both during and after the job is complete. Powered by Volvo Co-Pilot, the company’s proprietary display and processing device, Pave Assist helps operators to manage all paving operations with greater ease and independence.

The system is easy-to-use and diminishes interruptions in the workflow, liberating operators to concentrate on surroundings for improved site safety, quality control and workflow. Operators can simply tap, zoom and select from a powerful set of tools and information hosted on Volvo Co-Pilot. Tools offered by Pave Assist include Material Manager, Thermal Profiling and Weather View and – as a complementary option – Volvo Smart View.

All data is managed, processed and displayed on Volvo Co-Pilot, enabling operators to monitor the progress and output of their work in real time. The data is stored on the Cloud and can be accessed remotely, allowing complete paving management.  Specially engineered to fit Volvo pavers, Pave Assist and Volvo Co-Pilot are both designed for worksite durability, and undergo an extensive manufacturing and testing process to meet the highest quality standards. Like all Volvo CE products, Pave Assist is supported by a global dealer network of technicians and dealers who are trained to provide operator support and technical assistance.

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