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By Dave Saltman in General News on 21st Oct 2005 16:00
New technology aids marking out
By Dave Saltman
The lads had left a youth team pitch ready for Phil to show us the capabilities of this new innovative idea. After a few minutes explaining how the modified Kombi marker, laser and reflectors worked, we took it in turns to mark the pitch, in readiness for Academy games the next day.
No string lines to unwind, pull tight (not easy on a windswept day like today) and then gather up after marking. The biggest effort was walking around the pitch and placing the laser and reflectors. Walking at speed, with no obvious guide is slightly unnerving at first, but watching the spray arm move in and out to compensate for operator waywardness and any ground unevenness soon provides reassurance. Even if you take the machine outside of its marking parameter, the sprayer stops marking, so you can pull the machine back, set the laser in motion and carry on to finish the line. It is virtually foolproof.
Even in the driving rain, the machine worked well and the Wolves Groundstaff seemed impressed with the simplicity of operation.
Wayne Lumbard said, " It produces the perfect finish that is expected at a Professional level in a much quicker time. Coming from a Local Authority background I can see that it will save immense time, not
Terry Carver said, " Well it's goodbye to the 3,4,5 days and trying to get square corners right-simplicity in itself!"
Ken Bates, who now works as assistant to Terry and Wayne and worked previously as an engineer for Lucas Aerospace was impressed with the new technology that has been applied to obtain a quality line. He said, "This equipment provides a Professional finish even at lower levels. It is a simple machine that is easy to use after only a few minutes practice, the prototype has worked well here so now we're looking forward to seeing the finished article."
A number of suggestions were added to Phil's list, so hopefully we will be seeing an even more streamlined and efficient machine. At this stage, the cost for a machine has still to be finalised, but it will certainly be a benefit to anyone having to mark out multiple surfaces on a regular basis.
Read more articles in General News, by Dave Saltman or from October 2005.
