Case:
Silkeborg Municipality
They go right to the line in Silkeborg
And it has become faster, easier, and cheaper with GPS line-marking equipment on a John Deere Gator.
Silkeborg Municipality
Stig Vestergaard’s team goes right to the line, but not over, when they go out to draw a line. The lines are indeed controlled, as they are drawn without a ruler, but with advanced GPS line-marking equipment. From spring, around 100 football fields a week have been automatically and precisely lined following an iPad screen in a John Deere Gator transporter.
Some other municipalities also use the same system, and the experiences are good. I expect an economic saving with the new line-marking method, and we save on manpower, which can then perform other tasks. Not least, the GPS line-marking ensures a better working environment for the employees, as they are relieved from heavy lifting,” says Stig Vestergaard.
He is the technical manager at Silkeborg Municipality’s equipment yard, the Contractor’s Yard.
150 liters of paint
Previously, the lining of the many football fields around the municipality was done manually with a machine that an employee walked behind and continuously filled with paint from a car. In the new system, the paint tank on the bed of the green Gator is filled once daily with a pump before it leaves from the Contractor’s Yard. The pallet tank with 150 liters of paint lies on the bed of the Gator.
“The old line machine weighed 45 kg, so it could be hard to push it for a whole workday. Now we manage it with the new Gator, which three drivers drive in shifts. It provides faster and more efficient lining, and thus also a lower price. There is also a direct saving on paint consumption, and it’s quick to do initial line-markings or change field placements,” says Stig Vestergaard.
Danish Technology
The GPS-based automatic line technology is developed by the company Traqnology in Holstebro. The many municipal football fields are entered into a system, so the electronics know all the fields and follow a fixed program without detours. If the Gator driver needs to make more and smaller fields, or possibly move the field placement, the individual fields are simply moved on the iPad in the cabin. Then the machine itself takes over the control and makes the desired lines.
The small John Deere Gator XUV865M is equipped with air conditioning in the cabin to ensure a comfortable working climate for the three alternating drivers. The transporter is approved for 40 km/h and registered, so it can easily move between different sports facilities.
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Click to view the article source (In Danish)
