“Take my word for it…it’s perfect”

A closer look at how the Master Sweeper cleans up in roading

Russell Roads is a civil roading and infrastructure company based in Hawke’s Bay. They do civil and infrastructure projects for Central and Local Government, as well as industrial projects for larger clients throughout Hawke’s Bay.

James Scott, General Manager of Operations at Russell Roads, describes the Master Sweeper as a “perfect” machine. We took the opportunity to dig deeper and ask him some questions about why the Master Sweeper has been such a good addition to the roading equipment used by Russell Roads.

“On our projects we go through a whole heap of processes building pavement and we need a sweeper that can give us the option of working in tight small spaces but also sweeping the road to a final surface before we seal it that we couldn’t achieve with our own gear…we found the Master Sweeper which has met all our requirements.

We predominantly use the Master Sweeper for our pre-seal pavement sweeping. Also sweeping off the loose chip after chip-sealing on our projects. We find it very versatile between the two.”

The Master Sweeper sweeping the road to a final surface before the road gets sealed.

The team at Master Equipment has designed the Master Sweeper to be easy to operate, but talking to James was a great opportunity to ask an expert whether the Master Sweeper really is a cut above the rest. James has both operated the Master Sweeper and trained his team members to use it, so is it really that good?

“I personally have used the Master Sweeper and shown other operators how to use the Master Sweeper…we find it very very easy to operate and also to pass on that information to new operators.

We find that the ergonomics of the cab and all the luxuries of working within the Master Sweeper cab are great. You’ve got really good visibility; everything’s at one touch of your finger; you’ve got fantastic air conditioning; really good sound system; and the actual tractor unit is not very loud at all; and it’s a pleasure to drive and operate.”

“It’s got really good visibility; everything’s at one touch of your finger;… and it’s a pleasure to drive and operate.” – James Scott – Russell Roads

Dust is an environmental contaminant that can present real challenges in roading. James told us that the dust suppression features that come with the Master Sweeper do a great job of eliminating dust on the job.

“The Sweeper performance…is second to none. We have dust suppression on the units which really helps when you’re working in an open air environment or even in a closed air environment. It’s developed to a point now where you could throw it at any application for your sweeping needs and it would do the job.

Dust Suppression is very very important on our jobs. Airborne contaminants are an environmental risk that we have on our jobs. With the dust suppression we no longer have to deal with that…The amount of water that’s applied to the pavement even prior to sealing is minimal but it keeps the dust down and everyone happy.”

“We have dust suppression on the units which really helps when you’re working in an open air environment or even in a closed air environment.” – James Scott – Russell Roads

James recognises that a lot of feedback has gone into evolving the design of the Master Sweeper so it always performs at its best. In fact James has been part of the feedback process and is really pleased with the results he now gets on the job. One of the areas where the high design standards are evident is in the hard-wearing brush which really does last longer. We asked James what he thought of it.

“…Master Sweeper have done all the work and calculated the right amount of pressure to apply to the pavement and the surface so that they get limited brushware. The brushware feature’s really good – as I’ve said it sweeps the pavement perfectly so it’s not too soft but it’s not too hard. Anywhere that we can save on plastic for the environment is a really good feature of this machine.”

Great brushwork and it’s also easy to get around with the Master Sweeper – both when you’re in the cab and when you’re trying to get Master Sweeper to your next job.

“The brushware feature’s really good – as I’ve said it sweeps the pavement perfectly so it’s not too soft but it’s not too hard.” – James Scott – Russell Roads

“It’s got an extremely tight turning circle. You can turn these sweepers in very very tight areas, you can do one point turns in a very very small space. I find the manoeuvrability very very good. It’s got a high, medium and low ratio box in it and it’s such a well thought out machine for operating.

The efficiency that we gain from the Master Sweeper being a self-contained unit on its own trailer is fantastic for our operation. We just rock up [to Allways Hire], pick up our broom and…drop it back. It’s perfect for us and we get the job done and we don’t have to pay for a transporter to go and pick up or deliver the machine and then drop it back [to Allways Hire].”

With so many great features, easy operation, efficiency and easy transportation: it’s easy to see why James describes the Master Sweeper as “perfect”.

We closed the interview by asking him if he would recommend the Master Sweeper to other operators.

“I’d really encourage anyone to go and try the Master Sweeper. 100% I recommend the Master Sweeper for our application and for anyone else who has to get sweeping done. I haven’t found one better to date. For someone that knows and uses machinery day in day out, you can take my word for it or you can go down and try it yourself and see how you get on.”