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Doncaster council makes big savings The extraordinary levels of savings in time, resources and therefore money forecast by the investment in Rigby Taylor’s robotic TinyLineMarker line marking machine will not only see Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council’s Street Scene team achieve a return on investment measured in months, but the new-found efficiencies will also enable the operation to offer ultracompetitive line marking to sports facilities currently outside of the council’s remit. With the maintenance of 92 pitches under their care, the Street Scene team – led by Operations Manager Darren Bisby – was formerly taking four man-hours to initial line mark each pitch each week with the conventional 3/4/5 triangle method and string, using a total of eight men in four vehicles. Now, with TLM, one man is able to deliver the boroughwide service for line marking, taking just 20 minutes to mark a pitch – and Darren even suggests that a standard pitch can now be mowed and
marked in less than an hour. So, with 2,392 scheduled overmarkings across the pitches, 797 man-hours will effectively be put back into the Street Scene operation. With teammates released to perform other incomegenerating duties, the TLM operator can also now get on with other tasks during his visit – such as litter picking, goalpost strimming and divoting – while the robot is in action. In addition, one vehicle has been removed from the fleet – saving several thousands of pounds on lease costs and around £900 on annual fuel plus any maintenance and repair costs. Lightweight and easy to transport, TLM utilises the latest GPS technology with RTK receiver and antenna that connects with global satellites and mobile network connections. It takes the input of pitch line dimensions and multiple pitches via an App and re-positions them to best fit the site using Google Maps. Once stored, the lines are never lost, even if they
Darren Bisby, Street Scene Operations Manager; Andy Rutherford, Head of Street Scene and Highways Operations; and Doncaster CC councillor Joe Blackham meet with staff from Doncaster Council
disappear if a pitch is not used for any length of time. Initial marking of a standard size football pitch, by the Street Scene operator, takes less than 20 minutes, including all perimeter lines, penalty boxes, the ‘D’, centre circle, corner angles and penalty spot all with just one touch on the tablet control. Even pitches with fixed post sockets can be marked. TLM is able to mark any length or width of football pitches, and rugby union and league pitches as well as multi-lane athletic tracks, tennis, lacrosse and American football pitches.
Today, each Street Scene pitch is marked every fortnight, with the paint being applied to grass rather than a burned-in line. “Because with TLM the lines will never be lost, a pitch can be rested or a line can be ‘mowed out’ without the need to re-string and measure from scratch,” says Darren. “Another benefit of TLM is that we tick an environmental box by not having to burn-in lines and with one less van in the fleet have reduced our carbon footprint, too. Also, the robot does exactly what you ask it to do, without tea and lunch breaks!
How to track turf pests this summer The new Turf Pest Tracker will follow the timing and movement of the adult life cycle stages of key turf pests this summer, to get a better picture of when and where the pests are flying. The GreenCast website enables all turf managers and agronomists to report activity of the main chafer species and crane fly, using their phone, tablet or computer. Sightings are instantly recorded on maps, giving the chance to visually check out the level of pest presence reported in any local area. 8 | Turf Matters | JULY-AUGUST 2019
Turf Pest Tracker is supported by an on-line pest identification and lifecycle guide, along with information to tailor an effective Integrated Pest Management programme. Chafer grubs and leatherjacket soil pests can result in severe damage to turf roots and surface quality, along with extensive damage from their predators uprooting turf. “Accurate identification and knowing your target soil pest life-cycle is essential for an effective integrated control programme and optimum timing
of controls.,” said Syngenta’s Technical Manager, Glenn Kirby. Glenn believes live tracking of adult pest activity will give a valuable early warning of potential soil pest activity and where problems may strike. “Changing climatic trends have blurred the historic east/ west split, which typically saw chafers more prevalent the east and leatherjackets more common in the west. “Also, changes in weather patterns – along with the adapting life-cycle of the insects – have further complicated
predicting pest activity.” Glenn pointed out that last season, for example, the intense heat and dry conditions appeared to delay the emergence of crane fly – the adult stage of leatherjackets – for up to a month later than the July/August norm. Crane fly were even reported emerging and on the wing in October, making it difficult to target control of resulting larvae. “The more people that get involved with Turf Pest Tracker, the clearer the picture the industry will have to tackle the issues,” he added.