Farmington CC is saving costs and manpower on the golf course with the help of a strategically mounted camera and monitor system.
Hindsight is always 20/20—but the maintenance staff at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Va., has taken the meaning of that old saying to a new, proactive and productive level.
Last year, Farmington’s Equipment Manager, Brad Graves, mounted a camera system to one of the property’s two sprayers, and the grounds crew has not looked back since—because the system has made that no longer necessary while spray technicians are performing their duties.
After a brainstorming session with some of the maintenance staff members, Graves came up with the idea to mount a wireless vehicle backup camera onto an arm of the spray boom of Farmington’s primary sprayer, which is used at least three times a week on the 27-hole property during its peak season from May until mid-September, so that the 11 nozzles on the boom are visible at all times. Graves also attached an 8-inch-by-5-inch monitor to the dashboard of the unit. The entire system cost $250.
The Goal: Eliminate spray application errors and potential turf damage by giving the spray technician the visual ability to continually spot-check and identify nozzles that might be clogged or malfunctioning. The Plan: Purchase a $250 backup vehicle camera and monitoring system; install the camera on the sprayer boom and mount the monitor on the dash of the sprayer to provide continuous viewing of spray operations and equipment performance. The Payoff: More efficient spray operations by saving costs and manpower; elimination of possible waste of chemicals and prevention of potential drips onto turf; general peace of mind about the process. |
“With the way the camera is positioned, you can see all of the nozzles as you’re spraying,” states Certified Golf Course Superintendent Scott Kinnan. “You can see if they’re spraying with a quick glance on the screen.”
Kinnan believes the benefits of the system, coupled with the low cost of the equipment, make it a sound investment. “It is absolutely worth it for the peace of mind it gives us,” he adds.
Farmington’s maintenance staff had occasional issues with malfunctioning nozzles before acquiring the camera system, and extra manpower was often required to spot the source of the problem. “When you spray with any of the driving units, you can’t see the three nozzles in the middle or the four on the back right,” Graves explains. “Someone else would have to watch.”
That often meant someone had to be temporarily pulled off a task at the beginning of the day to provide those extra eyes. But the new system has freed an extra crew member during those all-important early morning hours.
In addition, with the cost of chemicals, Kinnan had no desire to let any part of an application go to waste. “We wanted to eliminate application errors,” he explains. “If you have one or two nozzles that are not working properly, you’re not going to get a consistent application. We can alleviate turf damage or turf loss with an accurate application.”
Because part of the sprayer boom was hidden from the technician’s view before the camera system was installed, a nozzle that was malfunctioning could go unnoticed during an entire application. The camera system, which is powered through the sprayer’s electrical system, provides continuous viewing of the application and the equipment’s performance.
“A handful of times we would drive by and see that a nozzle wasn’t working, but the operator wouldn’t know it,” notes Kinnan. “A nozzle would get bumped and turn off, but you couldn’t see it from the operator’s seat. He would have to stop and check the nozzles. If he couldn’t determine which nozzle [was malfunctioning] from his seat, he would call one of us.”
Second Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Ryan Amann, who performs most of the spray applications, says one of the most important benefits of the camera system is how it helps to prevent any misapplication that could be aesthetically or agriculturally detrimental to the turf. “It’s not something I’m constantly looking at, but I can glance at it when I first get started and make sure the nozzles aren’t clogged,” he reports. “It’s definitely useful to know everything is working properly.”
The maintenance staff originally thought of attaching two mirrors to the sprayer, Graves says, but there was no place to put them to eliminate the concern they could get hit or broken. So he decided to install the backup vehicle camera, which is linked to the monitor by a small wireless transmitter.
The system is easy to operate, says Graves—and beyond occasionally cleaning the eye of the camera, it essentially has been maintenance-free. The camera lens is weatherproof, and the spray unit has a top and a windshield, which keeps any glare from the sun off the monitor screen. The spray unit’s ignition switch turns the camera system on and off.
Graves purchased the system online and designed a bracket of 2-inch-by-3-inch flat metal to mount the camera lens and bolted it onto an arm of the sprayer. Some local equipment company representatives have even taken pictures of the system and shown them to their customers, he says.
To learn to use the system, explains Graves, “It was trial and error. We could get more elaborate cameras, but sometimes simple is good.”
Kinnan agrees. He calls the camera system “user-friendly” and says there is potential to do more with it, such as attaching more than one camera to the unit, investing in a camera with a higher resolution, or getting a larger screen. For now, however, the staff is satisfied with the system in place.
So far, Amann has noticed that a nozzle was dripping or malfunctioning about three times since the system was installed. “As soon as you turn on the machine, the monitor comes on and the camera is running. It’s pretty foolproof,” he reports. “It has proved to be an invaluable extra tool and safety check.”
And the maintenance staff appreciates having one less potential headache. “It was a fortunate find for us, and we’re glad we did,” adds Graves. “Anything that makes golf course [maintenance] easier is always a plus.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.