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Attendees at the recent Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) conference in Toronto were given some critical pointers on the need for — and the path to achieve — a digitalized asphalt industry that will be more efficient, sustainable and resilient.

“Resilience is on everyone’s agenda,” said European Asphalt Pavement Association secretary general Carsten Karcher, who provided an overview of EAPA’s Asphalt 4.0 action plan.

Established in 1973, EAPA is an umbrella organization representing national and subnational asphalt associations from across Europe as well as Turkey. Its mission is promoting the economic, technical and societal benefits of using asphalt pavement in road construction and maintenance.

About six years ago the Brussels-based organization began work on developing Asphalt 4.0. It is intended to transform the European construction sector’s biggest challenge — low productivity —through digitalization, automation, smart technologies and data-driven technologies, the audience was told.

European Union construction labour productivity is far behind manufacturing although still ahead of the United States, he said.

The secretary general began his presentation by pulling out his iPhone and suggesting many in the audience had probably used their devices that morning to hail an Uber driver or complete a banking transaction. The same use of technology should apply to the asphalt industry, he said.

Many of the challenges and issues confronting Ontario roadbuilders are the same ones EAPA members are dealing with. They include the need to decarbonize the asphalt and road sector, the reuse of asphalt, employee health concerns, emission reduction goals and, in particular, attracting new recruits and a skilled workforce.

“Young people want to work in an industry that is sustainable, decarbonized and digital,” he said.

The presence and use of technologies in asphalt sector is still limited and that shortcoming “has reduced visibility, making our jobs less attractive for young professionals.”

While a great deal of innovation and research has led to some major achievements, the visibility of those achievements is still limited.

“This can give our sector an old school external image when compared to other sectors, such as IT or automotive.”

Other factors in driving the development of Asphalt 4.0 include the need to enhance the industry’s public image, reducing the gap between the industry and academia and improving gender diversity.

Focusing directly on what exactly constitutes Asphalt 4.0, Karcher explained it’s the digital transformation of the industry through a range of intelligent and autonomous systems powered by robotics/sensors, big data, machine learning/artificial intelligence and machine-to-machine communication.

The concept is based on what is already happening in other sectors.

“In Industry 4.0 factories, intelligent machines independently co-ordinate manufacturing processes, while service robots assist humans with heavy work during assembly.”

Another component of Asphalt 4.0 is smart management systems, such as the collection and storage of data on road conditions which would be much faster and less labour intensive than onsite worker inspections.

“Roads are not only built, but can also be monitored, managed and maintained based on information collected online and the resulting optimal strategy.”

That is already occurring in Spain where cars are equipped with sensors that monitor road conditions, he said.

While there is still a long way to go before there is full rollout of Asphalt 4.0, significant strides have been made since the first meeting of a dedicated EAPA committee in 2020. They include the creation of a YouTube channel, a specific section on the EAPA website, the publication of a technical paper and a number of international annual conferences to share latest developments.

“Asphalt 4.0 is the modern asphalt industry’s response to the significant changes in politics, mobility and society,” he said.

Besides being EAPA’s secretary general, Karcher is also chair of the Global Asphalt Pavement Alliance, a global network of regional and national trade associations whose activities are related to the production and laying of asphalt for pavements.

In short interview after the speech, he said ORBA would be welcomed to join the alliance.

This was his first visit to Canada and he was invited to speak at the conference by ORBA’s technical adviser Donn Bernal after the two men met at an industry symposium in Chicago.