Education On Grade And Slope Controls

The education session “Taking the Voodoo Out of Automatic Grade & Slope Control,” will be held Thursday, March 12 at ConExpo-Con/Agg.

Automatic grade and slope control systems for pavers provide paving companies with a broad range of benefits. These include improving grade and slope accuracy; increasing productivity; helping with smooth transitions, controlling mat thickness and yield; and lowering costs related to grade and slope re-work. In addition, these systems decrease operator fatigue related to manually controlling grade and slope.

Nevertheless, observes Todd Mansell, product application specialist with Caterpillar Paving Products, who will be heading the education session, many construction businesses do not take advantage of technologies such as automatic grade and slope control systems because they have technophobia – a fear of advanced technology or what appear to be complex devices. Not only are they overwhelmed by the idea of introducing technology into their organization, they don’t know how or where to begin.

There are companies which have purchased these systems – at a cost of $30,000, $40,000 or more, that do not reap a good return on their investment because “they are not taking full advantage of the system’s capabilities or are not using the systems at all,” he notes. “I’ve seen instances where construction companies have just set them out behind the shop.”

The education session will be held from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Westgate Pavilion 11.

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