MOBA's excavator system Xsite LINK is working on a job site for a new housing development in Bavaria. The company saves time, money and material and the excavator operator is excited with the possibilities of the system...

Have a look at the video of the job site!

Machine control systems have long proven their benefits in field practice. Thanks to their time and cost savings, as well as precise results, control technology has long been part of a standard kit on larger building sites. However, its usage can be just as worthwhile to deploy when using such systems on smaller projects too, like site preparation for a housing development in the Bavarian village of Apfeldorf. A total of fourteen plots are being prepared for construction, as well as a new street to support them.

Michael Geisenberger, Excavator Operator at the Construction firm Georg Kölbl GmbH, is working on the construction of the new street, using MOBA's 2D excavation system, Xsite™ LINK.

"We originally bought the system for digging construction pits and other excavations. It allows you to do without the second man you would otherwise need to hold a yardstick, measuring your progress. With the system in operation for just a few months, we aredoing a lot more with it. To mention a few: digging channels, creating building foundations, positioning manholes, and digging out water conduits to precise depths. With the help of this new system, we can now finish the entire job within the set construction time, and with just two men instead of three", explains the Excavator Operator.

Without the excavation system, depths would have to be checked constantly using a surveyor's level. That's no longer necessary, even in places that can't be seen from the vehicle cab, like when digging channels. You can still work with great precision because the display shows the precise position of the excavator's bucket.

"It also makes the whole job safer, since nobody has to get in to the trench any more to measure digging progress", adds Managing Director, Georg Kölbl.

The Xsite™ system is also making it easier to install the frost protection layer. An approximate 450m3of gravel can be distributed quickly and precisely according to plan, along a trench of approximately 220 meters in length.

"Normally, you would have to firm down the material twice to achieve exactly the right depth. Firm down, measure the level, see that the surface is still too high, then firm down a second time and measure again. The job is now done in a single seBagger mit Rüttelplatte.jpgamless operation: using the bucket to measure the level, firming down and then using the vibrating plate compactor directly, to check the depth. All a result of calibrating the compactor, making it work seamlessly with our system"", explains Geisenberger.

Savings mean faster return on investment Georg Kölbl jumped at the chance to invest in this system.

"We are very open to new technology. So when two of my employees suggested investing in such a system, we tested a number of different options and decided to buy two MOBA systems in January. Since then, we have been working with them nearly every day, and are extremely happy. The systems have already paid for themselves…and did so, quickly", beams Georg Kölbl.

With eleven excavators and a number of HGVs, totalling 25 employees, the company stands as a small enterprise.

"All the more reason for us to work efficiently and to be careful to excavate precisely to the depths set out by the engineers. We are avoiding the need for remedial work later. With the usage of this system, we can work to a precision of plus or minus two centimeters. In addition, we no longer have to continuously check our measurements, the system does it for us. This saves both excavator and man hours, as it allows us to work with a much more efficient workflow".

Also, it saves on material costs. For example, when a building contractor is putting down a ten centimeter bed specified on plans for a water conduit, the customer is only going to expect to pay for the exact amount of material needed for the depth of ten centimeters.

"If we put in more, we absorb the cost. But because we can set the depth very precisely using this system, we lay only the exact ten centimeters specified and know that we won’t have a need for extra material", explains Georg Kölbl, by example of a typical situation.

He would be willing to invest againin an excavation system, and intends to install further systems in the future.