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Construction Industry Poll

Machine Matters

Machine Matters: Choice Controls

April 28, 2009 |

The operators who finesse motor graders doing site prep, grading road beds, maintaining county roads and battling snow-covered highways manage one of the toughest pieces of construction equipment. Kent Stickler, grader product manager for Deere says it takes several years of training for operators to learn how to get “on grade.” Once they’ve mastered their machines, Stickler says, “They are some of the most accomplished, experienced guys on a jobsite.”

Steve Moore, product manager with Komatsu, agrees and says, “Motor graders are operator-sensitive and the people who run them are unique. Grader operators are like finish carpenters on a job and are picky about their work. They want to operate a machine that has the type of controls that work best for them.”

With that in mind, today’s grader models now fit a variety of operator preferences.

Controls
“Some operators want the traditional console industry-standard low effort control levers,” Stickler says. “Other operators like to work with armrest-mounted fingertip controls. Many say they still want a steering wheel.”

Industry-standard low-effort lever controls paired with steering wheels are available from Case, Volvo, Komatsu and Champion. Cat’s M-Series graders replace hydraulic levers and the steering wheel with two multi-function joystick controls: all machine controls are on the left joystick and implement controls are on the right joystick. In addition, a twist axis on the left joystick adds articulation control and circle rotation on the right joystick.

LeeBoy also offers joystick control of their grader functions on their 705 model. Deere’s new G-Series graders have an option of conventional controls or armrest-mounted fingertip controls, both with a steering wheel.

The new operator control configurations are also increasing operator comfort. Stickler says an operator testing armrest-mounted controls said it was the first time in 35 years his back didn’t hurt at the end of the day. Cat says their dual joystick controls reduce hand and wrist movement as much as 78 percent compared to conventional controls. High, wide and heated seats with ergonomically designed armrest consoles reduce operator fatigue throughout a long shift.

Grade control systems
Grade control systems give operators better control of the quality and accuracy of their grading. To accommodate these systems, manufacturers are building factory-ready graders outfitted with electronic and hydraulic infrastructures that allow contractors to install grade control systems of their choice, either from the dealer or later.