Two Cat 323E excavators were set to work on two identical jobsite designs representing basements and trenches. One machine was equipped with factory integrated Cat Grade Control system, the other relied on manual checks by a site worker.
The excavator equipped with Cat Grade Control increased productivity by 35% compared to the conventional method using somebody to manually check progress. It also delivered cost savings and improved safety.
Malaga time trial
After only a few minutes the machine using the conventional method has already stopped several times to wait for the grade checker to come and measure.
The machine equipped with Cat Grade Control has continued working at full pace.
The excavator using the conventional method finishes the first square when the machine equipped with Cat Grade Control starts digging the trench with a 10% slope.
While the grade checker spends most of the time standing around, waiting, the in-cab guidance lets the operator know exactly what slope needs to be pulled.
The Cat Grade Control excavator finishes the last square as the machine using the conventional method is starting to dig the sloping trench.
The grade checker must give constant feedback to ensure proper slope, resulting in machine idle time.
After one hour 17 minutes, the 323E equipped with CatGrade Control stops. Twenty-six minutes later the other machine is finished.
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