Page 265 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

what it’s going to take to do the job,” says Chan- dler.“What slopes they have to cut,what machines they’re going to need, what challenges they’re go- ing to be facing. They’ve found several errors on different jobs using that table because computers are only as good as the data you feed them. That technology has saved everybody a lot of headaches and a boatload of money.”
There is, however, one downside to technology. When it’s not working, it can shut down a job. That’s why product support is so critical. And that’s where the Peterson-SITECH alliance proves its value. “When GPS doesn’t work on these ma- chines, they’re screwed. That’s the double-edged sword,” says Chandler. “Because when it’s down, there’s no [computer] model to follow, so the ma- chine doesn’t know what to do. Of course, you can go old-school and run it manually, but then the operator is just guessing.” In 2015, K & E had a big highway job on I-5 in Salem. The GPS on one of their Cat 349 excavators was down. They didn’t run that job for two days because it would have just been wasting time. “That’s how much they depend on this equipment,” says Chandler. “They have great operators. They know what to do. But it just wouldn’t be up to their standard of work.”
Solid product support is an essential component to the success of this GPS-based technology. Because when it’s down—especially at a fully integrated jobsite—nothing is going to happen. “We’re so committed we’re lost without it,” says Eric. “You’re either all in or you’re not. There is no in-between.”
When it comes to service, nobody knows K & E’s Trimble equipment better than SITECH field technician, David Deeter (2001–18), who did most of their initial installs. “We set up many, many ma- chines for them in the beginning. They’d rip off the gear from the older equipment they were sell- ing, and we’d install it on a new machine with a new wiring kit. Now, anything new they buy with Trimble, we set them up. Basically, they call; we go. That’s pretty much K & E in a nutshell.”
Top to bottom: K & E’s Bly Mountain job; Peterson hosted K & E at Bauma Eqpt Show in Munich in April 2018. (L-R) John Kuenzi, Eric Kuenzi (back), Kerry Kuenzi, Scott Kuenzi, Duane Doyle Sr, Duane Doyle Jr.
In 2018, K & E Excavating celebrated their twenti- eth anniversary. And in January 2019, they bought a brand new D10T-2 fully loaded with GPS tech- nology and automatic blade control. Since then, it has been working on a huge pioneering road proj- ect near Sitka, Alaska. That’s a far cry from where they started, doing business with a D4 and a dump truck.
Other early adopters of construction-based tech- nology include DeSilva-Gates, Top Grade/Good- fellow Bros., Granite Construction, Ghilotti Con- struction, and several others. All have streamlined
CHAPTER 16 | 263