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Ease of use

Along with increased productivity and eliminating rework, the Trimble system, according to Sowa, is easy to transport, easy to install and easy to use.

"With a mechanical ski system, every time we turn the paver around we have to bench the coordinates and that usually takes 15 to 20 minutes," Sowa says.

"With this Trimble system, we just turn and go because we can quickly switch the operating parameters to the other side of the paver."

And bringing paver operators up to speed on the system's operation is also easy to do.

"It only took about five minutes to learn how to operate the system, and I spent a little more time with it in order to learn how to calibrate it," Sowa notes. "It takes about a half hour to calibrate the valves and everything when it goes down; and whenever you remove the system from the screed, you'll have to recalibrate when you hook it back up. Other than that, if you teach the guys how to check the hours, how to bench it, set it out, put it in manual or auto mode, change the setting on it, they're good to go in 15 to 20 minutes."

With the size and scope of container terminal project that had to be completed by the end of the year, keeping the production on schedule and avoiding any rework was of primary concern. Along with the Trimble-equipped Roadtec paver, Yates also utilized a Cat 1055 paver equipped with another paving control system and a fleet of various rollers to maintain daily production quotas.