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Effectiveness of automated machine guidence technology in productivity improvement : case study

International Construction Specialty Conference (5th : 2015 : Vancouver, B.C.); Canadian Society for Civil Engineering

Automated machine guidance (AMG) systems are a relatively new solution to enhance the precision and improve the productivity of heavy civil operations. These systems process 3D computer models of the earthwork together with the spatial information of the end-effector of the machine, and display the relative location of the end-effector and design levels in real-time for the operator. This paper presents a case study of two large earthmoving projects to compare the performance of equipped bulldozers and excavators with non-equipped machines under similar conditions. The studied operations were summer reclamation and highway excavation for bulldozers and excavators, respectively. The results show that the automated machine guidance technology improved the productivity by 6% to 34% for bulldozers and 19% to 23% for excavators. The variation in improvement rates for bulldozers were due to different site conditions, because unstable soil conditions negatively affect the operation regardless of using automated machine guidance system. In addition to productivity improvement, application of automated machine guidance could reduce the need for surveying; the surveyor team was present 21% to 30% of the working hours for conventional operation of excavators whereas this figure was only 5% for the equipped machines.

Text

2015-06-08

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/53745

Froese, T. M., Newton, L., Sadeghpour, F. & Vanier, D. J. (EDs.) (2015). Proceedings of ICSC15: The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 5th International/11th Construction Specialty Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. June 7-10.

Faculty; Other

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