This article considers the various issues that will impact building site management and preparations, from equipment usage based on access to water and electricity to terrain types and labour availability. If you are interested in conducting a build in a remote location, then read this article to find out what type of setup you may need.

 

If you are shopping for cement mixers that are reliable and sturdy enough to survive difficult terrains and harsh elemental exposure on a remote build site, then this article is for you. This piece focuses on the conditions that may lead to basic building decisions, such as equipment choice and material provisions. In the same way that all builders would normally participate in environmental surveys to determine access to materials, BS power also recommends that these kinds of surveys and assessments inform the choice you make in mixers.

 

Difficulties Developing in Remote Locations

 

Although we tend to think of most construction sites happening in inner-city locations where there is ample access to transport routes and electricity, this is not always the case. Construction sites are not only in well-resourced areas, in fact most of the builds carried out in South Africa and even globally happen in areas that have reduced access to facilities. When building on urban peripheries, contractors will need to make sufficient plans and arrangements to ensure adequate access and that workers have access to power and water sources that will fuel the operation. However, such a task is not easy, especially when building in remote sites that lack access to resources in general, let alone locally.

 

Developmental projects that specifically aim to regenerate remote or developing areas often have to carry out premeditated risk assessments in order to judge their costs and needs in order to successfully complete a difficult project. During these tests, developers will have to consider various things if they want to be sufficiently prepared.

 

Numerous surveys would normally be carried out in these scenarios so that builders can customise their plans and develop a sustainable foundation for long-term habitation or use. These might include topographical surveys that would map out elevation and water bodies, soil testing, hydrological surveys to assess water movement, access to transport, safety surveying and the testing of materials such as gravel, sand and stone.

 

Building in Remote Locations: A Case Study

 

There are ample examples of remote builds happening throughout South Africa, whether it be on coastlines where dune rehabilitation needs to be considered alongside water exposure and natural habitat protection, or it is alongside rocky mountains with deep gradients and inclinations that affect how workers can access the site. Whatever the situation may be, there are often ways to work around these issues, thanks to modern engineering, advanced technology and innovative project management and planning.

 

Some of the prime examples of remote builds happening in South Africa include those in areas such as rural Limpopo, where a variety of schools were recently developed to assist the community in smaller villages. In these underdeveloped areas where there is limited transportational infrastructure, rocky roads, and inconsistent access to water and electricity, building requires rigorous planning and durable machinery and equipment. Travel and transportation of materials between the site and local supply depots, in this scenario, would be tricky — especially given the need to bring in cement aggregates and mixing ingredients, since local sand and gravel were too sparse to repurpose.

 

Likewise, in these areas, with almost no access to electricity, and the great need to produce cement at high speeds in order to meet building timelines and schedules, contractors had to be careful about their choices of equipment. Rather than relying on alternative power sources such as generators, which can be costly to run and tricky to move, contractors decided to go with fuel-powered cement mixers. Thanks to the relative affordability of items such as Baumax diesel mixers, which can handle large quantities of cement even in difficult working conditions, these pieces of equipment made the building faster and more efficient.

 

Diesel powered mixers. When working with diesel powered mixers, contractors can rely on continuous operation of machinery without much intervention from workers, seeing as they do not overheat or require breaks and manpower to produce results. What’s more, they are easily portable, have no electrical cables, reduce labour requirements, and can be used anywhere given their lack of reliance on electricity.

 

However, although diesel powered mixers were right for this site, they are not the only option for contractors looking to mix cement in remote locations. Choice of mixer is highly dependent on access to resources, and although diesel was available in this particular scenario, for some, fuel may be too expensive to get their hands on. Fortunately, alternative options are available in the form of electrical mixers run by high-powered engines, and of course manual traditional options.

 

In general, electrical mixers tend to be the fan favourite, given their environmentally friendly usage, diverse sizing and litre capacity, and generally low cost of use. Contractors will have to consider carefully where they will be trading off their budget allocations, and make sure that they are weighing up the varying costs of each system according to the local context.

 

Part of this assessment is working with local suppliers to get a better understanding of what’s available, and what kind of challenges and obstacles previous buildings have faced. Having these references will make it far easier to prepare for the situation at hand and may have significant impacts on the build’s timelines and budget usage. Alongside these engagements with local stakeholders, it will be vital to set financing aside for surveying of the local area. Although locals will be able to offer general insight, each building site is unique and may come with its own set of challenges as far as soil, weather, water and resourcing is concerned. The more preparatory tests are conducted, the easier it will be to build smoothly, without too much strain on workers or project managers.

 

Surveying Local Materials and Resources

 

Using survey results, contractors are able to choose equipment and labour force required to work under the given conditions. However, when access to electricity is limited, this will have a major impact on the kind of equipment that can be used or hired and applied on-site.

 

Likewise, limited access to good quality materials and resources such as stone, gravel and sand will require the transportation of resources to the site itself, depending on the efficacy of local transport infrastructure and the allocated budget for logistics. Transportation can be an extremely costly addition that may place a strain on overall project management and resource allocation. However, without it, there may be no possibility of breaking ground.

 

Once materials have been sourced, there will be a need for effective equipment to mix and prepare them. Depending on access to power sources, contractors have the option of either manual or automatic equipment. On projects with bigger budgets, battery-operated machinery may be a consideration, but given the slightly higher costs of these machines — not to mention their heavy weight, which increases transportation costs — smaller remote projects will rather opt for manual equipment that can be easily moved between sub-locations. These will save on overall costs and reduce the need to organise electricity access until at least later in the development.

 

 

Using Mixers in Remote Locations

 

When it comes to cement mixers especially, most building sites will choose to make use of manual options, given the relative ease of traditional mixing techniques. The use of BS Power’s mixers created a very limited trade-off while still maintaining good value for money. The provision and effective application of these tools depend on the workers’ ability to effectively mix ingredients with a solid comprehension of ratios, timing and available aggregates.

 

Workers will require sufficient stockpiling of materials on-site so that they produce high quantities of concrete in order to meet building deadlines while also avoiding material wastage. What’s more, the equipment must be rugged and durable enough to survive in harsh conditions where there may be extreme dust and temperatures, and storage facilities may be necessary so that aggregates do not become contaminated before mixing.

 

When working with powered mixers in rural locations, project managers should offer proper oversight of labourers to ensure that they are operating machinery correctly, especially given sensitivity in batching, timing and limited material availability. However, if labour forces are limited or perhaps expensive, then contractors might consider investing in automated or self-loading cement mixers that would perform without the precondition of manual handling.

 

In these cases, any of the Baumax mixers available at BS Power’s would be suitable and can save a huge amount of precious time and labour energy with their engines. Otherwise, projects may not necessarily have enough hands to produce at the right speed. Whether you pick automatic or manual, it will also be important to consider the portability of machinery, as well as volume capacity, based on the size of the project, the amount of concrete required, and the scope of the site on which it will be used.

 

 

Alternative Outcomes

 

When working in remote locations where terrain may vary significantly from the flat, organised grids of inner cities, it is especially important to consider how cement mixers will be put to use in order to develop concrete that is well-suited to the distinct local environment. Based on variations in weather conditions, concrete should ideally be mixed differently, with climate, soil type and exposure in mind.

 

For example, in coastal or marine areas, mixers should ideally churn sulphate-resistant cement, high density or waterproof concrete so that exposure to salt and high humidity will not cause a slow breakdown of aggregates over time. Contrastingly, in forests or wooded areas, concrete should ideally use additives to make it resistant to high temperatures, root intrusions from local vegetation and the possibility of wildfires.

 

Without this in mind, building sites may find themselves non-compliant with local regulations, and what’s more, unfit for habitation. When using cement mixers, the utmost care should be taken to ensure that the best possible outcome is produced, especially since remote location builds often have limited time or funds to waste on mistakes.

 

 

Buy Cement Mixers Today

 

If you are looking for industrial mixers or cement mixers to put to use on your developmental building sites in remote locations, then take a look at our online product catalogue or even have a conversation with one of our staff. We have a number of portable mixers, ranging from 360 litres upwards, most of which are sturdy and highly portable.

 

We also offer both electrical and diesel powered options from trustworthy suppliers such as Baumax. Should you have any questions, feel free to come into our stores and take a look at our heavy duty machinery.