Slashes Two Weeks from Schedule
(Norcross, Ga., 21 November 2011) A PowerDigger 3D GPS machine control system from Leica Geosystems enabled a Kentucky contractor to see excavation work underwater by viewing a display screen in the operator’s cab.
Last summer, M. Bowling Inc, Henderson, KY, excavated 130,000 cubic yards of earth to widen and deepen the Ohio River in preparation for a possible expansion of the John T. Myers Locks and Dam near Mt. Vernon, IN. Bowling was working under a $3.3-million subcontract to prime contractor Semper Tek-Intersteel Joint Venture, Lexington, KY.
The PowerDigger 3D GPS system was fitted to a Case CX240 excavator by JOB Rentals and Sales LLC, Jeffersonville, IN, a Leica Geosystems dealer and leading Midwestern supplier of heavy construction equipment and GPS systems. JOB Rentals rented the excavator to M. Bowling Inc. The PowerDigger played a key role in fine grading the river bottom, checking grade, and grooming a 3:1 slope on the river bank. Other excavators performed the heavy-duty excavation of the river bottom.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was checking grades as the contractor was digging underwater and after many checks and finding the PowerDigger system was so consistent on grade, they quit checking grades,” said Mike Gall, sales representative, Leica Geosystems Machine Control Division.
“There’s no guesswork involved with the PowerDigger system,” said Brandon Bowling, the project superintendent. “And there’s no over-excavation – that’s a huge advantage right there.” Bowling estimates that the PowerDigger system sliced two weeks from the 26-week project schedule, by providing one-time assurance of grades achieved and eliminating wasted movement of work barges from place to place on the river.
“Furthermore, the PowerDigger system eliminated the need to continually measure the newly-excavated depth of the river bottom,” Bowling said. “Without the GPS system, a survey crew would need to take a john boat into the river and use a tape measure or sounding equipment to check grades. You would need two workers full-time to check grades.”
Bowling said the PowerDigger 3D GPS system would also help finish grading the rip-rap stone to be placed along a 1,500-foot stretch of river bank and on two underwater dikes in the river. The dikes are used for current diversion.
“This PowerDigger system is the first one I’ve ever used,” said Brandon Bowling. “It’s a great system and has saved us a lot of money just on this job.”
For more information on the PowerDigger 3D GPS system,
go to http://portal.leicaus.com/e-Marketing/MachineControl/leica_powerdigger3d.cfm
For more information about JOB Rentals and Sales LLC, go to http://www.jobrentals.com
Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information. Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.