Dredging Creates a Strong Economy and a Cleaner Environment

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WEDA Webinar - Machine Guidance for Management of Over-Dredging

    

We give HUGE thanks to Jonathan White and Simon Rush for their efforts in putting this highly beneficial webinar. The links to the presentation slides and to view the webinar online are below.

General Webinar Overview:  
Whether managing the depth of navigation channels, removing environmental materials or supporting construction of underwater infrastructure, dredging is a complex, inexact and often costly excavation process. 

Over-dredging, or removing more material than specified, is a common and necessary component of the dredging process because of dynamic underwater conditions and lack of visibility. The allowable paid over depth is defined in the dredging contract specifications, with consideration given to cost, environment, the equipment to be used and material to be dredged, among other variables. Unlike land-based excavation that can achieve millimeter accuracies, tolerances for material removed underwater are necessarily much larger. However, over-dredging can cost contractors and customers significant time and money, and, perhaps more problematic, can create stability problems on slopes and infrastructure. 

As dredging industry professionals we have learned to live with over-dredging and through the years we have gained a good understanding of what is achievable with hydraulic and mechanical dredges. Still, the cost alone associated with over dredging can be significant and contractors and engineers continue to look for ways to minimize the wasteful spending. 

Emerging technology has been proven as a means to manage over-dredging and increase efficiency and safety for dredging projects. GPS/GNSS, especially when RTK Real Time Kinematic corrections are utilized, allows the precise position and heading to be achieved. When combined with motion sensors and software in the cabin, it is possible for the operator to visualize the bucket, clamshell, or other dredge tools in real-time as the machine is working. 

This presentation will provide a detailed look at what machine guidance systems consist of and what it can provide in terms of enhanced dredging project efficiency and safety. Examples will be shown involving different machine types and different guidance systems.

Presenter:
Jonathan White
Product Manager, Trimble Civil Engineering Field Solutions
jonathan_white@trimble.com 

Presenter Bio
Jonathan White is a Marine Construction systems product manager at Trimble. Since 2001, he has focussed on GNSS, LiDAR, dynamic positioning and machine guidance technology, and their application to marine environments and offshore/nearshore construction projects. Jonathan has a breadth of experience in the application of software and hardware to provide precise heading and dredge tool position, enable sub-surface visibility and maximize dredging productivity.    

PDH Credit:
A certificate for one (1) professional development hours will be available for all participants who attended this webinar or viewed the recorded webinar online. Please respond to this email to request a certificate. 

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you online soon! 

~ WEDA Educational Commission