I am new to this forum and am impressed by the vast amount of information on here. I am in my last year of Civil Engineering in college and have to write a thesis paper. I choose to write it on GPS guided grading systems. The main reason I choose this is because my father owns a mid sized landscape construction company near Toronto and I am trying to convince him to purchase a Cat D5K equipped with AccuGrade. The type of work we do is mostly building parks and sports fields for the public sector. (lots of football, soccer, cricket fields, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, playgrounds, ect) Does anyone in have experience with using GPS guidance for similar projects? I would like to know about increases in productivity as well as profitability and how long it took to be comfortable with this technology. Thanks, Matt.
Welcome to HEF... There are lots of discussion on gps.Try doing a search.Good luck on the search and the thesis...
Maybe someone else will throw in their .02, but I think GPS wouldn't be beneficial for landscape projects. It would probably take longer to design the site on the computer than it would to setup a laser and do the work. The setup of a GPS system is fairly intensive and the cost is astronomical, maybe a good laser grading system using Accugrade might be a good choice for your application. Laser systems are generally more accurate due to the fact you're not recieving a signal from a satellite, however GPS is typically accurate +/- 1/2". But for the work you're describing I think a good laser system would be the most economical route, definately dual plane and full automation if you prefer. Either way, good luck with your paper, I had a 20 page research paper last quarter that almost killed me.