1 min read / May 21, 2018 / Staff Writer
Four intelligent Machine Control units, including the PC210LCi, enable R.A. Alexander & Sons to finish jobs sooner, allowing them to take on more projects.
R.A. Alexander & Sons Operator Joe Ballard uses a Komatsu D61PXi dozer with intelligent Machine Control to grade on a residential project. With a model plugged in and no grade stakes to follow, it makes doing the job more efficient.
According to ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” That can certainly be said of the partnership between Owensboro, Kentucky operations, R.A. Alexander and Jagoe Excavating. Three years ago, Bill Jagoe, owner of Jagoe Excavating, approached Mark Ballard, president of R.A. Alexander & Sons, about expanding the existing relationship between the two companies. Successful collaboration has helped the firms fill gaps for one another; together, they can now handle nearly any earthwork-related project in their territory.
For R.A. Alexander & Sons, the partnership enabled the firm to offer utility-installation services and upgrade their fleet. Ballard had purchased a Komatsu intelligent Machine Control (iMC) D51PXi dozer a few years earlier and was interested in adding additional iMC units to complement that dozer. Ultimately, he added three additional pieces of iMC equipment: a second D51PXi dozer, a D61PXi dozer, and a PC210LCi excavator.
“Augmenting our fleet with additional intelligent Machine Control units made us faster, and we’re achieving exceptional accuracy,” stated Ballard. “Having a model that we can plug in and follow, speeds us up significantly. We save the most time on minor details associated with parking lots and streets,” he said.
“It’s also phenomenal on earthmoving projects with major grade changes,” Ballard adds. “There’s no lost time with operators stopping to read plans or ask questions. Everything is right on the machine’s in-cab monitor.”
Jagoe also noted immediate results. “I was surprised there weren’t any stakes at the job site, and I noticed that the machines never stopped moving, and they were finishing jobs sooner,” he said. “The intelligent Machine Control products save us money on things like surveying and material costs. Plus, we are able to do more projects because we can work so much faster.”