During the construction of a sports field in Greece, a grader created the appropriate slopes on the field in just two hours – and to perform the work in record time, the company used MOBA technology on its grader.

Over the last four years very few machines moved at all in Greece due to the economic crisis. Today, however, there is once again movement in the construction sector, exemplified in the case of Korinthos, where the city administration posted bids for the construction of five new football pitches. The Bakloris Pipilos O.E.company was awarded the contract and new grader.

For its new CAT 120 G, the company sought out a suitable levelling system and after making enquiries with MOBACT, about a MOBA system, and with Topcon Greece about a Topcon system, the company ultimately opted for the MOBA system.

"Twelve years ago, we used the MOBA GS-496 levelling system on our old grader. We were very, very pleased with the system and with the support and service from MOBACT",

says Argyris Bakloris, one of the two general managers, explaining the reasons for having chosen the MOBA system.

Optimum levelling in just two hours

Following system installation and training of the employees, which took just a few hours, the grader operator could immediately begin the construction of the first football pitch. ""That was amazing! The operator, a young man who still had absolutely no experience with the system, understood immediately how the system was operated and could complete the job perfectly on the first try"", said Argyris Bakloris.

The pitch had to be constructed with a slope of 0.7 percent on the goal axis and a slope of 0.3 percent on the transverse axis so that rain water can run off uniformly and not collect on the pitch. The required accuracy of less than three millimetres of deviation was child's play with the system. Argyris Bakloris and his partner Tasos Pipilos were thrilled: in just two hours, levelling of the entire 90 by 70 metre pitch was completed – without the system, it would have taken more than a week, as they would have had to use stakes to guide the operator, which would have taken even longer with an inexperienced grader operator.

Free machine mobility over the entire work area

The levelling system operates with a laser receiver on each side of the blade. The laser receivers accepts the laser signal from a dual slope laser transmitter, which specifies the height, in a receiving range of 360°. The machine thereby achieves a very high level of flexibility as it can move freely across the pitch. Via the control panel in the vehicle cab, the operator enters the values for the target surface – i.e., the height and slope values – that are to be aimed for. The controller compares these target values with the actual values of the laser sensors and regulates the hydraulics accordingly in the event of deviations. Thus, the system can automatically control the height and slope of the blade with millimetre accuracy and precisely construct the planned slopes.