Skip to main content

Gripping new surface tester from Findlay Irvine

Scottish firm Findlay Irvine has developed a sophisticated new microgrip testing system. This is a walk-behind surface friction measurement unit that shares many operating capabilities with the firm’s proven towed unit. Business development manager Campbell Waddell explained: “It works on the same principle as the towed machine. We developed it as we kept getting asked to use the trailer based unit for jobs it wasn’t suited to, like pedestrian areas and cycleways.”
March 25, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Scottish firm 7687 Findlay Irvine has developed a sophisticated new microgrip testing system. This is a walk-behind surface friction measurement unit that shares many operating capabilities with the firm’s proven towed unit.

Business development manager Campbell Waddell explained: “It works on the same principle as the towed machine. We developed it as we kept getting asked to use the trailer based unit for jobs it wasn’t suited to, like pedestrian areas and cycleways.”

Weighing in at just 23kg compared with the 93kg of the towed unit, the compact µGT 045 walk-behind tester is easy to move around and can be carried to site in the rear of a small van or even in a passenger car. The unit is simple to use and Waddell said: “You unfold the handle, push to start and away you go.”

Sales director Rob Sims said: “It’s fully computerised and has a touch screen and comes with its own software. It comes with integrated GPS so you can upload the data to a USB and into a map.”

Sims said: “There has been a lot of interest from local authorities.” And Waddell added: “We’re also getting interest for its use by the emergency services. You can do comparisons between after spillages to see if they’ve been cleaned up properly.”

The units are also suitable for use by contractors carrying out retexturing work or installing high friction markings, to check that work is to required standards. It can be used to see specifically where surface repairs need to be made to improve grip at critical points of the network such as at roundabouts or traffic lights, without having to refurbish the entire roadway.
%$Linker: 2 Asset <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 94737 0 oLinkExternal www.FindlayIrvine.com Findlay Irvine web false /EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=94737 false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Mobile wallet Pivo set to launch secure payment service
    November 6, 2014
    Pivo, the multi-award-winning mobile e-wallet owned by OP bank and used by 300,000 Finns, is poised to launch as a fully-featured mobile wallet service. The app, which helps consumers manage their spending by keeping an eye on their spending and bank balance as well as collect offers and discounts, is now ready to go as a fully-fledged payment service as well.
  • Australia faces tough choices over toll tags
    September 12, 2014
    With more than seven million tolling tags nearing the end of their life, delegates to ITS Australia’s 2014 National Electronic Tolling Conference had more than a passing interest debating possible ways forward. Rex Wright, chair of the Australian Toll Road Users’ Group, said the industry was potentially facing an AUD$100million bill over the next five years but the toll operators are committed to a unified national approach, consistent with the current interoperability.
  • FHWA developing 2015 infrastructure guidance for connected vehicles
    January 23, 2014
    The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) plans to issue deployment guidance on connected vehicles to transportation infrastructure owner/operators in 2015 and is seeking input on what would best support decision-making and deployments at the state and local level. The FHWA is specifically seeking input on the following: • What type of guidance is needed to best support the successful deployment of connected vehicle technologies? • What specific issues would you like to see addressed for plannin
  • ITS World Congress 2017 call for demos
    January 3, 2017
    As part of the Montréal World Congress 2017, conference organizers are planning to feature live demonstrations of ITS technologies. The city of Montréal will create a virtual test bed on the streets adjacent to the Convention Centre. This test bed will include an arterial loop circling the Centre and a section of a nearby limited access highway that will be equipped with DSRC roadside units integrated with local signal controllers to support demonstrations of connected vehicle technologies. In order to a