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“I would not run as many pavers unless we were running them in different locations, two on one end and two on the other,” he continues. “It has to do with the amount of trucks you can man up. We had 40 trucks on the runway. If I could keep two pavers running nonstop I could probably do just as much production and have less interference and less running around and still complete the project in the same amount of time.

“I learned a lot from the men on the back of those pavers and I plan to use those lessons learned to make our GPS systems an even better tool for the company,” he says.

One lesson learned involved communication. Collins says, “We were trying to run multiple operations while we were still learning the system - milling the asphalt, paving and hauling all at the same time. We found out that this was not a good idea because if you ever block the signal from the laser, it affects your paver. It can be as simple as a dump truck raising its bed. If it’s on that laser it loses signal and then you have to stop until you pick up the signal again.”

Harris of Benchmark Tool & Supply Inc., who sold the Topcon system to Barnhill, agrees. “I was very pleased with the performance of the equipment. Generally, at airports if you have string line, it is constantly in the way of your trucks. The main benefit of this system is doing away with the string line,” Harris says.

The mobility of the Topcon system is a tremendous benefit for a company like Barnhill, which has operations in 13 offices throughout eastern North Carolina.