Placement by Shovel
Placing HMA by shovel
Spreading out a HMA pile by hand
Obtaining HMA in front of the screed on the side of the paver.
When necessary, HMA can be placed by shovel (see Image). In general, it should be placed in full shovelfuls and not cast or thrown, often called “broadcasting”. Broadcasting typically results in aggregate segregation with the larger particles moving further or rolling away from the smaller particles. Other placement precautions are:
- Piles of HMA (see Image). Place the HMA in a pile far enough away from the placement area that the whole pile must be moved. If the pile is located in the placement area its appearance, density or aggregate distribution may be slightly different than the surrounding handworked mat.
- All material should be thoroughly loosened and evenly distributed. Chunks of HMA that do not easily break apart should be removed and discarded.
- Use safe work practices when obtaining HMA by shovel. The safest place to obtain HMA from the paver is in front of the screed on the side of the paver (see Image). While the hopper may seem acceptable, this area usually contains backing trucks whose drivers have limited visibility of the hopper.
