Good visibility of road furniture and particularly good visibility of road markings and traffic signs is not a question of prestige or luxury. It provides confidence for the driver and is thus a crucial factor in ensuring traffic safety.
The varied climate zones and topographies of Argentina, from semi-tropical to extremely cold as well as from plain to the Andean mountains require reliable and sturdy equipment. The president of Safecontrol, Guillermo Pérez Brea explains that they were looking for a market-proven system from the very beginning. “The ZDR 6020 fulfills all our requirements”, says Pérez Brea, “it works reliable at low and particularly at very high ambient temperatures as well”.
The Dirección Nacional de Vialidad (“National Roads and Highways Bureau”) of Argentina pressed ahead with the mobile control of road markings optimizing its resources with the help of the latest technology. The signalization has been developed systematically therefore also the traffic safety on national roads improves continuously.
Mobile retroreflectometer ZDR 6020 of the company Zehntner
Safecontrol Nuevas Tecnologías SA fulfills this task not only by measuring optical parameters but also by implementing an integrated management system of signalization. This provides the Dirección Nacional de Vialidad with constantly updated data in order to review not only the current condition but also to plan the necessary maintenance work and to optimize the appropriate processes.
The control of these works after completion and during the warranty period enables the compliance with standards and supports the continuous improvement of signalization. Furthermore the best solutions for the different requirements manifest this way and new expertise of the latest technologies will be won.
Using the Zehntner mobile retroreflectometer ZDR 6020 means an inestimable help in order to improve the quality of road markings without losing track of the cost-value ratio. The safety and comfort of traffic participants will be increased by this active quality control.
Argentina is a big country and has accordingly a very large road network. More than 110.000 kilometres of road markings are measured and evaluated with the ZDR 6020 in different climate zones every year.
“We are excited about the easy handling and sturdiness of the equipment, especially compared to our previous system. Our two ZDR 6020 are used daily, we measure about 9.000 kilometres per system every month“, highlights Fernando Pérez Brea, technical leader of Safecontrol.
In expert discussions it was often mentioned that the real and extensive work of evaluations just begins after the data collection. In those moments, says Fernando Perez Brea, I am really happy that Safecontrol Nuevas Tecnologías SA decided for the comprehensive solution of the company Zehntner.
Using the free evaluation and data management software, MappingTools, he can evaluate the measured data by himself displaying it on a map. The precast test report is very useful and time-saving as the most important information of the test runs is displayed clearly on a couple of pages. The coloured mapping of retroreflection areas classifies the road marking in different quality levels which enables a quick visual evaluation of the road. Sections can be identified at a glance where actions are needed directly. Maintenance work can so be planned optimally.
With Zehntner software MappingTools retroreflection values can be displayed colour-coded
This initial situation makes clear that a good logistics is as essential as the equipment dependability, the operation and evaluation software and the highly qualified technical operator. This all the more as generally the measurements are taken in more than 1.000 kilometres distance from the base of operations.
To cope with this challenge, a good cooperation between Zehntner GmbH Testing Instruments and Safecontrol Nuevas Tecnologías SA is essential. Therefore it is much valued that the communication between the measurement team and Zehntner GmbH works smoothly.
Author: Guillermo Pérez Brea
Company: Safecontrol Nuevas Tecnologías SA, Argentina
Telephone: 0054 11 4628 76 56
Email: gpbrea@speedy.com.ar
Website: www.safecontrol.com.ar
