News Spotlight

Truck 54, where am I?

Two white-topped GPS receivers behind the cab relay information to the operator | Photo: Paul Gillis

| Paul Gillis |

Work continues on removing years of sediment and extending the temporary road at the Stevens Brook project. When completed, approximately 375 linear feet of temporary road will be needed. The 4′ x 16′ mats are made from 8″ x 8″ timbers and placed by front end loaders. Some road sections need four layers, most areas need three and some can be stabilized with only two layers. 

Timber mats meet the muck | Photo: Paul Gillis

How does the excavator operator know where to dig and how deep? While a house project may use stakes and strings to lay out the foundation and grades, that’s hard to do on a larger project. 

For the Stevens Brook project, the cab of the contractor’s excavator is equipped with a computer that shows a model of the excavation. The excavator itself is linked to the Site Positioning GPS system through two white-topped receivers on the exterior of the machine. 

The in-cab system displays where they are on the site, what the desired depth is, and how far from desired depth they are. It’s another example of modern technology being utilized to improve productivity and safety on construction sites.

Quiz Time
— If the 16′ wide temporary road is 376′ long, and requires an average of 2 layers of 4′ long mats, how many mats will be needed for the project?
A. 94
B. 188
C. 282

Bonus Question:
— How many board feet of timber are in the total number of reusable mats?
A. 12,100 board feet
B. 96,300 board feet
C. 192,500 board feet
For comparison, a 1,000 s.f. home may require 6,500 board feet of lumber.

GPS equipment stationed streamside | Photo: Paul Gillis