The Distributed Automated Cutting System project (DACS)

Paving works in developments and town-centres typically last from several months to a few years and are disruptive to local businesses and the general public. Cutting slabs with circular saws is noisy and dangerous, as blades can shatter and impinge on the public environment. It also produces a significant amount of waste-water/slurry. Operators can suffer manual handling injuries and injuries linked to continuous use of vibrating equipment. Local businesses see a reduction in footfall during paving projects and can lose business, whilst councils are often forced to reduce rates and pay compensation. Moving the cutting operations off-site would be of significant benefit to all stakeholders.

The distributed, automated cutting system (DACS) will deliver a dedicated paving slab robotic cutting cell within a factory environment and will produce bespoke slabs within a 24/36-hour turnaround time, minimising on-site disruption.

Key objectives are:

* Improving paving productivity by 40-50% which will reduce the overall infrastructure project time by 7%;
* Improving safety of the site and surrounding areas;
* Reducing cutting noise near operators from 105db (typical saw) to 85 dB (safe limit) and removing such noise from the public sphere entirely;
* Preventing operator exposure to hand-arm vibration syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome caused by use of vibrating machinery;
* Reducing waste from 10% of stone ordered to 3%, equivalent to 700 sqm, 280 pallets or 16 articulated lorry-loads for a typical retail contract;
* Delivering cut-to-shape stone within 24-36 hours.