Artificial Surfaces
it is crucial it is carried out to stand the pile up and move the infill in situ to support the pile.
The purchase of larger brushes and using
cabbed tractors may seem like an unnecessary cost for those investing, but it will go a long way to ensuring this process is carried out. If the operator brushes the pitch in poor weather, with a small ineffective brush, it does not inspire any satisfaction or enjoyment in the task. Using larger brushes will reduce the time this process takes and be just as effective. It should take approximately thirty minutes to brush a full- sized pitch with a suitable brush and tractor, a smaller brush may take fifty minutes to cover the whole surface. This twenty minute saving every time it is brushed would add up to eighty-seven saved hours per year (assuming the pitch is brushed five times a week) - the additional eighty-seven hours of man-hours required would cost considerably more than the one-off additional cost in a larger brush.
Depending on the facility type, it is
necessary to be able to supply different types of machinery; sites with only synthetic turf may not have a prime-mover or someone with prior knowledge of machinery operation to utilise it. We will, therefore, need to provide machinery which encompasses the brush into the prime-mover and can be stored in a relatively small area. The Redexim RTC is a unit that has been
“ However, we regularly see pedestrian only
With the brushes folded up, the machine will pass through a single 90cm gateway then, when folded out, it offers a working width of 200cm to allow effective maintenance to be carried out in a realistic timeframe
access onto full-size pitches which can make it difficult to get any suitable equipment in situ, especially when there are steps onto the pitch. If maintenance gates are located at the far end of a pitch, with no route to access them from a hard surface, it would be necessary to drive any equipment across areas of natural turf prior to reaching the pitch, therefore possibly contaminating tyres. Those tasked with facility design should realise the drawbacks the access restrictions present and consider the access of machinery at the initial design stage. As perceptions of maintenance have
shifted over the years, the willingness to invest in equipment has become clear. It is now accepted that the maintenance has a cost attached, both with the physical purchase of machinery and in staff time to operate any equipment. I wrote an article for Pitchcare issue 54 entitled ‘Synthetic Turf - consider the x factor’ - in this article, there is a method to assist with the calculation of maintenance considering usage, users and size of area. When we use this calculation, it demonstrates that some pitches require brushing daily. Whilst this isn’t a taxing task,
78 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017
developed specifically with this requirement in mind. With the brushes folded up, the machine will pass through a single 90cm gateway then, when folded out, it offers a working width of 200cm to allow effective maintenance to be carried out in a realistic timeframe. It is also crucial that training is available to educate those on the safe and effective operation of such equipment. The evolution of machinery goes further. This is demonstrated with the design and production of machinery to remove infill - such as the Redexim Eliminator - specifically developed through customer and industry demands. The Eliminator can be used for two processes; the first may be as part of a rejuvenation process which involves removing the upper layers of infill which are most prone to becoming contaminated through poor, or no, maintenance. This material is disposed of as the contamination is often too great to efficiently clean, and new infill can then be applied. On a sand filled surface, it is normally the top 10mm of sand which is replaced. The second use is for ‘end-of-life’ processes, such as removing all the infill material. This allows the different materials to be separated for efficient recycling, giving additional environmental benefit and cost savings. Finer particulate within the infill material
of a pitch can cause drainage issues and prevent the water from permeating through the carpet and into the constructed drainage channels below. The design of a synthetic turf pitch means it is likely to accrue dirt and contaminates naturally and these can only be removed with the intervention of machinery. As water and foreign material passes
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
