Overview
earth gear supplied plant to Rosewood United Civil for asbestos remediation and bulk earthworks at Rosewood State School — a job that started small and grew fast once contaminated ground was uncovered. What began as a straightforward roller-and-water-cart hire scaled into a full plant package: excavators, a 30-tonne roller, a tip truck, a skid steer and dust-suppression gear, all mobilised to keep a live asbestos remediation on a school site moving safely.
Background
Rosewood United Civil, was engaged to carry out earthworks at Rosewood State School. The original scope was modest: prepare and compact ground with a smooth drum roller, keep dust down with a water cart, and shift material with a single excavator. Queensland schools are required to test for asbestos-containing material before any ground is disturbed, and this site was no exception. During works, contaminated ground with buried asbestos was uncovered — turning a routine earthworks job into a licensed remediation project with strict containment, dust suppression and compaction requirements.
Challenge
Scope grew mid-project
The job started as a standard three-machine hire and became a full-scale remediation earthworks package once asbestos was found — Rosewood United Civil needed to gear up fast without losing momentum on site.
Contaminated ground on an active school site
Buried asbestos raises the stakes on any job, but more so on school grounds. Excavation, loading and haulage all had to run under tighter safety and containment controls, with bigger machines needed to move contaminated
material efficiently and reduce time on site.
Keeping dust suppressed throughout
With asbestos in the ground, dust control wasn’t optional — it had to run continuously across a longer, higher-tonnage program than the job was originally scoped for.
Solution
earth gear reset the fleet to match the real scope of the job:
- 2x 24-tonne Kobelco SK235 excavators, fitted with bucket sets and GPS-guided blades for accurate, efficient material handling and grading.
- A 30-tonne Kobelco SK300 excavator with a bucket set, for the heavy bulk excavation needed to remove the contaminated material.
- A 12-tonne smooth drum roller for compaction.
- An 11-tonne GVM tip truck with a 6.5-tonne payload, for haulage off site.
- An SVL75 posi-track loader for maneuverability around the working area.
- The original 8,000-litre water truck stayed on site throughout for continuous dust suppression, backed by two rumble grids to control what left the site on truck and machine tyres.
- The result was a complete package supply — plant scaled to the job as it evolved, not the job it was quoted as.
Result
Rosewood United Civil kept the remediation program moving without a fleet-related delay, despite the scope more than doubling from the original brief. Dust suppression ran continuously across the job, supporting compliance on an active school site, with the water cart and rumble grids remaining on site for the duration to give the contractor ongoing control over site conditions as work continued.
earth gear’s ability to scale a hire fleet mid-project — from a three-machine job to a nine-piece package — kept a trusted customer equipped and on schedule.
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