Adding GPS Training To A Grader Operator’s Skill Set

GPS is everywhere now – from use in the average car for navigation to arm bands in our children to check on their location, you name anything that moves and I’ll show you a GPS device that can be attached. When it comes to heavy equipment, GPS devices have been in use for several years as a security measure – should a piece of equipment be stolen, the GPS unit will quickly help police identify its location. More sophisticated GPS units are also used in heavy equipment like graders to increase productivity and safety.

Using a computer system attached to a GPS 3D unit, the blade of a grader can be set to extremely fine settings. These settings ensure that each pass of the grader is done to exact measurements, thus cutting the time taken to grade a particular area. In the past, it may have taken three or four passes to complete a job to a surveyor’s satisfaction. A GPS system (known as GPS Machine Control) connected to a computer also means the grader can constantly adjust the height and angle of the blade on the fly, as required, and to exact measurements.

For grader operators, short courses on how to use GPS in their equipment can help to promote them to specialist operator level. This can make them more employable than those with just the basic grader operator skill set, particularly with employers that have added this technology to their equipment. While graders are one of the major users of GPS, bulldozers, loaders and excavators are also having GPS based equipment added. If you’re an operator in these areas then undertaking a GPS training program may be beneficial in the long run as well.

If you are an operator of heavy equipment and you understand the long term benefits of GPS Machine Control equipped machinery then contact ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools to find out where and when our GPS training programs are being conducted. It’s the way of the future and those that train now will be the leaders in their field.