Excavators tend to be one of the flagship machines in any construction fleet. This means that there is considerable interest from the machine owners and the operators any time that new technologies or features are developed that promise to enhance a machine’s capabilities.

“Whether it’s road building, site development, underground utilities—you name it—the excavator is typically the lead machine on the jobsite. So, the excavator operator is usually one of the more experienced operators on the jobsite—coordinating this orchestra of work happening around them,” states Justin Steger, solutions marketing manager for Site Development and Underground at John Deere.

Given their importance, OEMs have devoted considerable resources to developing high-tech tools to enhance excavator performance and safety.

One of these tools, virtual fencing, has recently become an increasingly common feature in controls offerings from the major machinery manufacturers. Another technology, geofencing, is also quickly gaining widespread acceptance in excavator circles.

While they may sound similar in name, there is a core, and significant, difference between the two. Put simply, geofencing is about setting machine perimeters while virtual fencing is about setting machine parameters.

Virtual fencing allows the operator to program in height, depth, and width limits on their machine to prevent boom, bucket, arm, cab, or body overreach. If a pre-determined boundary is attained, an audio or visual alarm is activated. On some systems, the machine may also be automatically slowed down.

Geofencing involves programming a “digital barrier” around a machine or worksite to track movement.

“Geofencing is separate from virtual fencing technology. Geographic or geofencing is done through telematics. It’s looking at the machine GPS coordinates for location; where the machine is at,” explains Steger.

“If you put a geofence around your jobsite, and a machine leaves the jobsite, the system will send alerts,” explains Mike Wehling, product manager for Sitelink3D Services at Topcon Positioning Systems, as he outlined the obvious benefits of geofencing.

“It will also ping wherever that machine is, once outside the geofence. You will continue to get updated positioning as where the machine is,” he adds. “If someone is hauling it to Mexico, you’re going to be able to track it.”

In November of last year, Topcon released MC-Max machine control for dozers and excavators. Based on the company’s MC-X machine control platform and backed by Sitelink3D, MC-Max offers automatic bucket and blade control and remote monitoring capability.