Fit in With Machine Control
September 3, 2010
Through the use of precise tilt sensors, a laser catcher and Crescent Vector GPS technology, the X200 system provides the operator with a true 2D grade control guidance system.
Guidance system is not just for big projects.
Company:
Prattco Excavating Ltd.
Location:
Calgary, Alberta
Project:
Reduce costs and save time while completing basement
excavations.
Equipment Used:
Hemisphere GPS Earthworks X200 System on John Deere 200D LC excavator
Prattco Excavating, a mid-sized contractor based in Calgary, Alberta, with about 40 employees, focuses its business on residential basement excavation and light commercial site preparation. The company wanted to find a way to reduce operating costs and save time during basement excavation in order to gain an advantage in a highly competitive market with tight bidding estimates.
Prattco’s vision to increase productivity led them to the Hemisphere GPS Earthworks X200 guidance system. The company considered other GNSS guidance systems but found that they were too complex, expensive and did not provide operators with full 2D guidance.
Hemisphere GPS took less than a day to install the Earthworks X200 system on Prattco’s John Deere 200D LC excavator. Through the use of precise tilt sensors, a laser catcher and Crescent Vector GPS technology, the X200 system provides the operator with a true 2D grade control guidance system. Controller Area Network-based angle sensors mounted on the boom, stick and bucket integrate with a 5.5-inch touch screen terminal, giving operators real-time accuracies of 2 centimeters to the bucket teeth.
The system also features a GPS-based slew (i.e. house) rotation angle measurement system. The Crescent Vector GPS Compass mounted on top the excavator sends true rotational angle measurements to the terminal in the cab unlike many other systems which use proximity switches to measure slew angle that can be challenging to install and provide lower accuracy.
Getting Up to Speed
With the Hemisphere GPS Earthworks X200 guidance system, Prattco Excavating of Calgary, Alberta, shaves 1.5 hours off each basement excavation on average.
In less than two days, Bleau was comfortable using the system for basic jobs such as flat plane, single slope and dual slope configurations. In less than one week, he was beginning to use the system for more advanced dig modes such as custom profile and custom trench.
“The Hemisphere GPS excavator guidance system has greatly enhanced my day-to-day interest in approaching both typical and atypical projects,” says Bleau. “The breadth of information and job methodologies now available to me in the cab is tremendous.”
With the Hemisphere GPS Earthworks X200 system, Bleau could view the position of the bucket, relative to desired grade, on the in-cab color touch screen. Using the X200 stick angle sensor with an integrated laser catcher, he entered the bench height of his rotating laser and positioned the laser catcher to read the laser signal. This established a known vertical reference height usable regardless of where the excavator tracks on site.
Next, Bleau entered the desired depths of the various grades that make up the basement and started digging. Initially, he frequently checked the depth manually using the rotating laser and a level rod but soon found this to be unnecessary. Eliminating the regular out-of-cab grade checks allowed him to move more dirt in less time, reduce machine idling hours and remain safe within the cab.
The X200 made it easy for Bleau to change his bucket type to fit soil conditions. Since Bleau premeasured the bucket sizes and stored them in the X200 system, he maintained constant digging accuracy after changing his bucket by selecting the new bucket from the list saved on the X200. This made the basement excavation truer to grade and survey.
More information in the hands of the operator ultimately results in less operator error and less excavator rework.
“My company purchased two Hemisphere GPS X200 excavator guidance systems in late fall 2009, and we have proven them to increase productivity and impact the bottom line by more than 25 percent,” says Doug Pratt, president of Prattco Excavating.
Reaping the Rewards
Eugene Bleau, excavator operator for Prattco, can view the position of the bucket, relative to desired grade, on the in-cab color touch screen.
Even on small construction projects such as basement excavation, time savings from machine control multiply daily, weekly and annually. On average, owners report the X200 system pays for itself in less than three months. Not only does the system provide gains in efficiency, but it also enhances the performance of digging to grade. The grade levels were more consistent and rework was eliminated.
Prattco’s use of the Hemisphere GPS Earthworks X200 system shows machine control is not just for large contractors, projects and equipment—it is also for the smaller contractors as well.
“As the competition for work increases, any size contractor can win more bids and increase profit through the use of machine guidance,” says John Bohlke, general manager of Earthworks for Hemisphere GPS.
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