Birmingham, Alabama-based Topcon dealer Earl Dudley, Inc., owns and cooperatively operates 80+ separate reference stations as part of a four-state network RTK effort it calls iNET. With additional stations being added almost weekly and new markets evolving for the highly-accurate RTK data, the future for the company — and the technology — looks extremely promising.
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Local Companies team up with Machine Control to Clean up Gulf Beaches Affected by Oil Spill

The oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was devastating to everyone from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Even before the flow from the oil well was stopped, action was being taken by individuals and businesses region-wide to begin cleaning up the beaches, bringing the white sands we are so proud of back to their natural beauty.

Tractor and Equipment Co., based in Birmingham, Alabama reacted along with LeeBoy Inc, a manufacturing company they represent. The LeeBoy product dubbed the SandShark 3000SS is one of four units being used to restore the beaches back to their pristine condition. This machine is equipped with a Topcon Sonic Tracker II along with a TC9256-0006 Control Box. The Tracker II controls the depth the machine digs into the sand, which is approximately 18 inches. The sand is then conveyed up and into a vibrating box that separates the oil and tar balls from the sand. This results in clean, white sand being returned to the beach and the black, polluting oil is disposed of properly, leaving our beaches back in the beautiful, natural condition we all can enjoy safely and without fear.

Membership Has its Privileges

There is a lot to be said for memberships in industry organizations. Through groups such as Associated General Contractors (AGC), the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) and Associated Specialty Contractors (ASC), to name but a few, construction professionals can network with their peers, learn about new or changing legislation, and perhaps most importantly, keep abreast of technology as it is introduced or evolving. For John Walton, owner of Mobile, AL-based John G. Walton Construction Company, speaking with colleagues at an AGC national function played a pivotal role in his company’s move to add GPS capability to its operation. Today, as they tackle a southeast Alabama road widening project, the effects of that meeting are evident in a dozer and excavator—both of which now run Topcon machine control systems accessing a reference control network. Adding that capability, they say, has paid dividends from day one and continues to do so as the job progresses.



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Revised Mine Regulation Prompts Change in Surveying Approach

New system allows surveyors to calculate stockpiles without walking on the piles.




With a new mandate from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) which said mine operators had to ensure the safety of any mine surveying personnel walking on piles of material which had reclaim tunnels beneath them. A new method of collecting the necessary data had to be implemented. Traditional surveying of a client’s material piles—many of which did, in fact, have tunnels beneath them—couldn’t be done without walking the piles.

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