Smooth Operators

by Kimberly Jensen

July 1, 2005

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Operators today are using machine control systems such as Caterpillar’s AccuGrade to advance productivity on a variety of jobsites.

Machine guidance and control is changing the day-to-day tasks and roles of heavy equipment operators.

What does it take to be a smooth operator in today’s world of advanced heavy equipment? Operators work with machines that are increasingly outfitted with impressive equipment and instrumentation, from laser- and robotic- to GPS-guided indicate and automated systems. Those who operate equipment utilizing machine guidance and control must be re-trained in a sense to concentrate on the digital plan of the project in the cab. For many, this requires not only an adjustment in how they perform their tasks, but an adjustment in their outlooks as well.

Starting Out

Dennis Soucy operates a John Deere 650 crawler dozer with fully automated Topcon System 5 3D-GPS+ grade control solution for Steven Counts Inc. in Florida.

After contractors invest in machine control equipment, they must find operators willing to step up and learn a new process. Scott Warner operates heavy equipment for Tapani Underground, a family-owned business located in Battle Ground, Washington, that specializes in excavation and roadwork. Warner believes he was “pretty fortunate” because his first operating job in the construction industry placed him at the forefront of machine control technology. “When I started running blade seven years ago, the company I worked for had just gotten into GPS and I got thrown in the seat. I learned by trial and error,” he says. When Warner started working for Tapani three years ago, he was again tasked with operating machine-controlled equipment. Warner operates a variety of machines, but frequently runs a Caterpillar (www.cat.com) 140H motor grader equipped with a Trimble (www.trimble.com) Advanced Tracking Sensor (ATS) total station that provides precise positioning information for the Trimble BladePro 3D grade control system. He also operates a Caterpillar D6 tractor and a John Deere (www.deere.com) 670 motor grader, both of which are set up with BladePro.

Operators capable of using such systems are highly valued across the country. Dennis Soucy is a finish dozer operator and supervisor for Steven Counts Inc. (SCI) in Summerfield, Florida. “When you’re the only one on a site with GPS [machine control], everyone wants you,” he says. SCI performs roadwork and sitework for commercial and residential clients, and Soucy’s proficiency with his machine-controlled dozer has positively impacted his company’s performance and productivity. In fact, the only time Soucy ever gets a chance to sit down is when it’s raining. “My machine is basically running 10 hours a day,” he says. SCI began testing GPS machine control more than two and a half years ago, and Soucy was the first operator chosen to work with the system. Currently, Soucy operates a John Deere 650J crawler dozer with fully automated Topcon (www.topconpositioning.com) System Five 3D-GPS+ grade control solution.

Training Needs

Tapani Underground of Battle Ground, Washington, has equipped its machines with Trimble BladePro 3D grade control systems.

Machine control systems are an enormous leap forward in construction technology that directly affects operating procedures; it’s not the same old game for operators. Matt Turner, an equipment solutions training manager with Caterpillar, notes that while past improvements and advancements enhanced the performance of machines, “From the operator’s perspective the controls didn’t change much. Operators still controlled the machine the same way it was always controlled.” Now machine control is the next step and according to Turner, “Everybody’s struggling to get the most value out of the system; there’s a huge training hurdle to realize those benefits.” Because machine control heightens the potential for increased efficiency and labor savings on the jobsite by eliminating grade checking and surveying elements to a certain extent, Turner explains that “the operator has to understand more of what’s being replaced... [and this has] added some complexity for the operator.”

In spite of the technical complexity added to operator workloads, advanced machine control systems are touted for their ease of use. With systems such as Topcon’s System Five 3D-GPS+ and Caterpillar’s AccuGrade automating fine grading operations, manufacturers believe that operators do not need as much time to learn the skills required to be productive and efficient on the jobsite. Dave Pinaire, a market development manager for Caterpillar, explains: “For fine grading, [the operator] traditionally feathers the controls with 60-plus hand movements per minute. This is completely automated with AccuGrade and has a huge impact on [lessens] operator fatigue.”

Indeed, ease of use is a major selling point for machine control. Paul Fors, a survey foreman with Riverside Contracting of Missoula, Montana, trains operators on the machine control systems his company has implemented. “We have operators that could use the system within a couple of [training] hours,” Fors says, noting that these operators have previous experience running heavy equipment. “It takes time [for an operator] to adjust, but if you have a grader operator who has been blading for awhile... it’s pretty simple [for him] to run.”

Leroy Sarkinen, a construction supervisor with Tapani Underground, agrees with Fors. “Once it’s set up, it takes ten minutes to show a guy what to do to get up and going,” Sarkinen says. But he notes that it’s possible to give more in-depth training, and stresses the importance that previous operator experience can have on the process.

Experienced operators know that the machines don't do it all. “We still need to know how to approach a job, how to get it going, how to complete it, and what end to start from,” SCI’s Soucy says. “The machine won’t tell you how to do the job. It will tell you what you need to finish the job.” While previous operating experience is helpful in training operators for machine guidance, it is the younger operators who seem to be more attracted to the newer technology. As more businesses invest in machine control, training standards need to be determined that will prepare operators to handle advanced systems and to solve the challenges they will face in the field.

Adjusting to the System

With machine control, operators must monitor screens like this Topcon System 5 control box inside the cab.

Caterpillar’s Pinaire describes what he sees when operators begin learning the machine control process: “They start out with their arms crossed, a little afraid of the technology. Once they use it, they become very comfortable with it and understand the impact it has on helping them improve their productivity and efficiency.”

SCI’s Soucy admits that learning to operate his dozer with a GPS system made for a different experience. “It drove me crazy for awhile,” he says. “It’s a computer sitting on your dashboard, which can be a little intimidating. You’re looking at a screen of the site with your dozer on it, and these grades are flashing at you.” Monitoring the screen for guidance instead of the actual site with stakes was the greatest adjustment for Soucy. “It took a while to get used to looking at the screen,” he says.

Mastering the art of monitoring both inside the cab and out is necessary, Tapani’s Warner explains: “I have scratched a couple curbs and popped a water valve off because I was looking at the monitor and not at the ground.”

And while cab displays may have the look of a real-life video game, it is sensitive to speed, Soucy learned. “When I operated in the old days,” he says, “it was ‘Go as fast as you can!’ [Now], in order for the computer to stay up with me, I have to slow down because I am going too fast for the machine to keep up.” This change required an attitude adjustment on Soucy’s part. He initially felt like he was losing time because he had slowed down the process. But he soon realized that slowing down didn’t equate to lost time because of the overall gains in productivity, efficiency and quality in the end. “Now I’m doing the job with more efficiency and quicker because when I’m done I know I’m right,” Soucy says.

Putting it to Work

Tapani Underground’s Trimble BladePro 3D system provides precise finish grading that saves operators time and increases their productivity.

Armed with training on machine-controlled equipment, these operators are applying their skills and systems to a variety of jobsites with great success. On a four-lane highway project, Riverside Contracting used its Leica Geosystems (www.leica-geosystems.com) Gradestar GPS grader system to greatly increase the efficiency of the grading process. “We use the grader to finish our different courses, including subgrade, gravel and finishing,” Riverside’s Fors says. “We’re ahead of the game because [it] helps us place things at the proper elevation as we’re going. As you move soil and dirt, if you have to move it twice, the cost goes up. This helps us get everything in place the first time through.”

One of Warner’s recent projects with Tapani was grading a parking lot where the slopes varied from 0.3% to 1.5%. “Grading 0.3 percent in a parking lot would be a nightmare for a grade checker,” Warner says. “He’d be pounding a lot of wood in the ground. Using the ATS robotic system with the 140 motor grader saved the grade checker hours.” The project was completed in less than one week, and as Warner says, “It was smooth.”

Machine control is enabling SCI to eliminate a few steps in its work process and reduce the amount of surveying done onsite. In the past, SCI sent out surveyors to stake roads so equipment operators could follow the stakes and subgrade the road. “By the time we subgraded, all the stakes were gone. [With machine control] we eliminate the process of staking two or three times.”

On a recent project, Soucy was tasked with creating three ponds or drainage retention areas (DRAs). In the past, Soucy explains, a survey crew would come on the site to stake it so the excavators could dig. “On those 10- to 12-foot cuts, you’ll lose all your stakes,” Soucy says. “Now, I’m basically the surveying crew with the GPS. I outline the pond, I tell them where the cuts are and tell them how deep they have to cut it.” Soucy acknowledges, however, that surveying is still a necessity on construction sites: “We don’t eliminate all the surveying. We cut it down so the survey crew can pay attention to something that’s more of a priority, like parking lots.”

Reaping the Rewards

Operators working for Riverside Contracting use Leica Geosystems GradeStar GPS control on their motor graders for subgrade, gravel and finishing work.

Operators who are proficient with machine control are increasing the speed at which they can complete projects, as well as reducing costs, labor and safety risks for their companies. Warner says the biggest benefit of machine control is that it cuts labor and grade-checking time in half. Sarkinen adds that since Tapani Underground invested in machine control, “Our production has probably doubled.” Riverside Contracting has purchased two GPS grader systems within the past year, and the results from this investment are promising. “It’ll pay for itself,” Fors says with confidence, adding that machine control frees up workers because less staking is needed. “It’s helping us get our prices down to keep getting more work.” This savings in labor also results in increased safety. Caterpillar’s Pinaire points out, “From a safety standpoint, it keeps workers [such as grade checkers] away from the machines.”

Soucy says that, with his Topcon system on his dozer, he doesn’t need stakes or stringlines when he preps for asphalt. “When I’m done, the dead-on grading is finished,” he says. “In the old days I would have to check and stringline, then I’d put the rock in and guess at it being close to grade. Sometimes when you do that, you do it so fast you can end up with a surplus of rock or you can be low. Then the grader crew has to take time to fill it in.” Now Soucy cuts the subgrade and fills the rock within one inch of finish grade. “Grader crews love to come in after me,” he says. This demonstrates how one operator who is successfully using machine control can have a ripple effect on his entire company’s productivity. As Warner says, when using machine control, “We save a lot on surveying and staking. And it doesn’t just benefit me--it benefits the company. In the long run, it benefits each individual employee.”

Growing Personal Satisfaction

The benefits of machine control also extend beyond a company’s bottom line. Machine control helps relieve operator fatigue and increase job satisfaction. Sarkinen notes that machine control eliminates “the operator fatigue of watching the hubs and the grader all day.” In addition, Pinaire says, “There’s a job-enriched satisfaction as the operator becomes much more knowledgeable about what’s happening on the jobsite and [his] role in it. It increases operator capability and confidence.”

This has certainly proven to be true in the experiences of Soucy and Warner, who both thrive on the job quality and flexibility generated by machine control. “I know when I’m done with any project [that] it’s done to the specifications of the plan,” Soucy says. “I don’t have to go out the next morning and check it with a level.” Soucy also enjoys the mobility created by GPS positioning on the jobsite. On big sites he says, “We’ll be working on one area, and on the other side they’ll need something. If it’s a real ‘fire’ project, I can just go over there and get it done before the survey crew gets there. It gives me a lot of freedom and flexibility. I’m not restricted to one little area.” This freedom allows Soucy to act as a supervisor and a foreman on various projects.

Warner also enjoys how machine control frees him from some of the constraints on the jobsite. “I love what I do,” he says. “[With machine control] you’re not waiting on surveyors and you’re not training a man on the ground how to check grade. You’re turning on in the morning and you’re ready to go.”

The benefits made possible by machine control are numerous--and many have a positive impact on contractors’ profitability. Labor costs can be cut, safety risks can be lowered and productivity can soar. But none of it is possible without operators willing to learn a new way of getting things done. Progressive operators utilizing machine control are expanding the possibilities for efficiency on the jobsite, and are even discovering the personal benefits of their new roles. These operators are more than smooth--they’re also smart. Looking to the future, operators who improve their machine control skills are enhancing their marketability and job security.

Sidebar: Going “Old School”

Operators using machine control, along with their supervisors, must remain cautious and practice common sense when applying the technology. “You need to check the system, the grade and the elevations periodically to make sure you’re on surveying-wise,” Fors says. “You can’t just turn it on and assume everything’s correct.”

The need for an experienced operator is particularly demonstrated by the times when machine control is down. “If you lose your line of sight, you’ve got to go ‘old school,’” Warner says. Operators using machine control systems experience the field problems that every contractor runs into: the system goes down, a cable is lost, etc. “If the system goes down, we don’t want someone who shuts down,” Fors says. “We like to be prepared to go back and build it the old-fashioned way.”

Operators must also be aware of issues that arise because of design changes. Soucy provides an example: “Ninety-five percent of the time we’re brought good [designs]. [But] there are times when I come across a situation and think, ‘Something’s not right here.’” This is usually a result of a design change that wasn’t added to the file created for Soucy’s machine. At that point, Soucy reviews a hard copy of the plans to determine the source of error; his office support then updates the file and sends a new disk to him in the field.

Kimberly Jensen
jensenk@bnpmedia.com
Kimberly Jensen is editor of Site Prep.

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