The management of large vegetation near electrical infrastructure such as poles and wires is vital for keeping assets and the community safe, and reducing the risk of fires and blackouts. As it is one of the highest operational expenditures for a utility and there are often vast quantities and varieties of vegetation to work with, contractors and utilities can greatly benefit from equipment that helps reduce costs through efficiency and productivity. 

Vermeer Australia’s National Sales Manager for Environmental Equipment, Craig Baillie, said many utilities outsource the task of vegetation management. This means companies that can provide them with cost savings have a competitive edge.

“Vegetation management for utilities can involve a wide-range of tasks, including tree pruning, brush removal and hazard tree removal, and when it comes to processing larger wood waste a machine that can easily do this will be able to improve efficiency and productivity.

“Processing large wood waste with smaller wood chippers means the timber needs to be broken down more prior to processing, making the job more labour intensive and time consuming.

“Utilising a large chipper such as the Vermeer BC2100XL, which features a chipping capacity of timber up to 21 inches or 53.3cm in diameter, can dramatically reduce the amount of work required before the timber can be processed. Often an entire tree can be fed directly into the chipper.

“When you consider the costs related to this sort of work in an urban environment, any reduction in job time frame results in significant reduction of associated costs such as human resources and traffic control — as well as less impact on neighbours.

“A chipper like the BC2100XL is small enough to provide efficiencies for smaller jobs whilst being big enough to allow for larger material to be disposed of without needing to invest in a whole tree chipper. It’s the best of both worlds for those regularly dealing with large timber.”

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY WITH SMART SYSTEMS

The BC2100XL has been designed with a number of features to make it more productive and efficient.

Its SmartFeed system increases operator productivity while reducing strain on vital engine parts. This system monitors engine rpm and senses jams, automatically stopping or reversing the rollers as needed, even turning them independently to turn and re-feed timber at the required orientation.

When feeding larger trees into the chipper, the system can sense feed roller jams, reducing strain on the engine and heat buildup within the hydraulic system.

It also features Vermeer’s SmartCrush system, again to improve performance when dealing with larger material. Once the upper feed roller freely raises for four seconds, it will automatically increase down pressure on the material being fed, allowing the upper feed roller to easily climb onto large forked material before the increased down pressure is applied for maximum pulling force.

The lower feed roller is also designed to offset from the upper feed roller by 11″ (27.9cm). This means material is more easily pulled to the upper feed roller, so there is less need to manually raise the upper feed roller for larger diameter material.

IMPROVED SAFETY FOR OPERATORS

As well as improving productivity, the BC2100XL is equipped with a number of features to improve operator safety.

Click here to read the full review in the May edition Utility Magazine.