Do You See What Glen Sees? (Vol. 4)

Great job everyone! You nailed this one, too!

The two things I identified before putting this video up were the speed of the compactor in reverse and the spinning of the wheels, which is likely being caused by the moisture (which I guess really is a third thing).

In addition to the danger from the speed of the compactor, any sudden stops are going to potential cause shearing or weakening of the material. The wheels spinning on the compactor really are not doing any good and are acting more like a rototiller than a compactor. I do know the clay was within the acceptable moisture window and had been disced prior to the compaction.

As many of you also pointed out, a different approach should be taken when the compactor is struggling like that. In this case, the loose lift thickness was already at the maximum allowable (how often do you see contractors not run at the full lift thickness), so perhaps a thinner lift would have helped as well.

Also as a note, wheel spinning also occurs on flat surfaces as well (I’ve probably seen more on flat surfaces than on slopes), so it is always something to watch for and get corrected. At least on flat surfaces, you usually can work the compactor perpendicular as well, which often helps.

In these blog posts, Do You See What Glen Sees, I will present a photograph or short video related to earthwork or geosynthetics construction and have you identify the significance of what you’re seeing.

It could be things being done correctly or incorrectly. Primarily, these will be things that impact quality.

In addition to my blog, I’ll post this content on X and LinkedIn. You can post your response on one of those two.

I’ll give you my thoughts on each photo or video when I post the next installment.

Do you see what I see?  Or did you find something I missed?  I’m excited to find out!