GPS-based grade control on excavators provides the exact position and orientation of the bucket to achieve grade faster without stakes.
With accurate 3-D positioning of the bucket, the system guides the operator to quickly perform mass excavation without the fear of over-excavating or to complete complex project designs involving slopes or engineered foundations. Operators can spend more time being productive and less time waiting for surveying and grade checking. Personnel and machine costs are reduced. Material usage, fuel costs and site delays can be minimized.
Applications that can benefit from using GPS on excavators include:
Mass Excavation _ including roads and highways, dams and land reclamation
Grading _ including subdivisions, roads and commercial site prep
Trenching _ ditches and finished slope work for underground utilities
Dredging and waterways _ including breakwater and seawall construction
"GPS systems for excavator give operators the site plans at their fingertips," states Arthur Taylor, Trimble segment manager for machine control. "The system displays for operators where they are on the site, what the desired depth is, and how far from target depth they are _ which greatly improves speed to desired depth and prevents over-excavation."
GPS excavator systems have in-cab operator displays that are designed to be intuitive and simple to use, maximizing operator productivity and allowing even those who claim to be 'technology challenged' to be more productive and proficient in a short period of time.
Connected Site
In addition to the benefits that come from using GPS on excavators, additional time and cost savings can be achieved through the wireless transfer of design files between the office and the excavator. There are connected jobsite solutions software packages available that are designed to not only save time and money _ thanks to reduced travel time between the job site and head office _ but also minimize rework and errors that can result from excavator operators working with the wrong design file. It is worth your time and effort to look into these systems. Fuel costs being what they are, fuel saved by minimizing travel to and from the job site can be just another step in your fuel management program.
Improved Safety
With GPS, jobsite safety is improved _ especially with trenching applications. "Using a GPS system on an excavator greatly improves trenching safety, because the operator can rely on the on-board computer and light bars to achieve grade without a grade checker entering the trench," Taylor said. "Before the advent of 3-D GPS systems for excavators, grading required the placement of wooden stakes marked with cut and fill information indicating where material was to be excavated to achieve the design grade. After initial machine passes, the grade checker would then remove the stakes or add additional stakes with new cut or fill information." |
news1