Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/119545
HighwayContractor It���s Dangerous Out There when we decided to purchase another grade control system and another dozer to put it on, which was the 750K.��� Plug and play Installing and using the grade control system is a relatively simple matter, Hokanson said. When he was shopping for a new dozer, he found that a major bene���t of the Deere-Topcon combination was the speed of installation. ���Probably the best feature that I liked, right off the bat, was the ability to plug and play the Topcon system on the dozer,��� says Hokanson. ���Everything is all set up in the cab and ready to go. You just install it, plug it in, and turn in on. It only needs minimal calibration. I think within two hours it was ready to go.��� Plus, the grade control system eliminates the need for stakes and bluetopping. ���The Topcon system probably saved us, on this project alone, with the work that the 750K did, in the neighborhood of $40,000 to $50,000 worth of staking and blue-topping,��� Hokanson says. ���That doesn���t count the grading time,��� he continues. ���It also saved a lot in the amount of equipment being used during that whole time. We used the motor grader very little. We used it to ���nish off, but we didn���t need stakers, and we didn���t need another dozer to clean up behind the 750K, or the grader to clean up behind it. The Topcon is very effective in limiting the number of pieces that you need. By having the Topcon system we probably saved 80 percent of our motor grader time.��� ALWAYS BE SAFE Whether you work off the road or over the road, Bridgestone wants you to make safety your ���rst concern. Maintaining a safe workplace and reinforcing safety rules contributes to a more productive operation and reduces costs. If you need a better reason, it saves lives. LESSONS IN SAFETY There is simply nothing more important than starting your shift safely and getting your people home without harm. That���s why we���ve produced a series of short videos that you can use in safety meetings or at shift start. Access them at bridgestoneminingsolutions .com/safety and select from a range of topics. Bridgestone Commercial Solutions Simple to use For your nearest Bridgestone Authorized Dealer, visit our website www.bridgestonetrucktires.com Hokanson says using the grade control system starts by building a digital ��2013 Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC. All Rights Reserved. model of the project, which can be done off-line, in the winter. ���Once the model is built and can be plugged into it, it will control the machine to the elevations that you want to cut or ���ll to,��� he says. ���It does an extremely good job of carrying the grade through and being extremely accurate. We get an accuracy of plus-or-minus three-hundredths of a foot. A monitor that ���almost looks like a video game.��� ���There���s a computer in the machine that helps control your elevations,��� Hokanson says. ���In the driver���s seat there���s a monitor, and it almost looks like a video game, that shows you the actual road. ���You can see where your shoulders are, where the ditches are, how your slopes sit, and the crown of your road. The operator can basically line up the machine with what he���s trying to do, and cut or ���ll a pass right to grade that can be accepted by the state. Welles operator Chad Kent says the grade control system is awesome. ���It saves a lot of time,��� he notes. ���You can lay an 8-inch layer of base stone in one pass, and there���s no blue-topping or any of that.��� Kent says the Topcon 3D-MCsquared system is super-fast to adjust the blade when it���s under automatic control. ���I can probably run the dozer twice as fast as I could without the grade control,��� he says. Hokanson estimates that the Topcon grade control system will pay for itself in two years. He concludes: ���With the size of the project that we have this year, I feel that the Topcon system would pay for itself with two of these projects.��� ��� Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info 12 April 2013 Better Roads BAN120164_Equip World Fractional Ad 1 1 Bridgestone_BR0413pg12.indd 1 JOB # BAN120164 HighwayCon_BR0413.indd 12 CLIENT Bandag 12/19/12 2:19 PM 3/28/13 12:26 PM DATE 12.19.12 INITIALS CD Rob P. DATE 4/1/13 3:29 PM