Carefree digging with Xsite® EASY
Janne Leppänen is a household name when it comes to Finnish excavation professionals. He has worked in the industry for 35 years, both as an employee and an entrepreneur. Last summer we paid Janne a visit in Ylöjärvi, where a new residential area is currently being built.
Janne started his career as an excavator operator at the age of 17. He then proceeded to start his own business and has worked as a contractor for 30 years. Janne has worked on both large and small projects over the years and is well known for his professional skills.
Currently, his main excavator is the Eurocomach 85, with which he does cabling for Eltel Networks. Eltel Networks provides technical services for the electricity and telecommunications network industry, which is responsible for renewing and maintaining Finland’s electricity networks. Before Eltel, he worked for Tampere Tram Alliance and was involved in building high-speed tram infrastructure in the center of the city of Tampere.
“Working has never been this easy”
Janne has used machine control for almost 14 years. He first tried it in 2003 and then started to use it full time in 2006. Over the years, Janne has tried both 2D and 3D machine control systems. This is how he became familiar with the Xsite® product family. In the Tampere tram project in 2017–2018, he used Xsite® PRO 3D. Towards the end of the contract he exchanged his excavator for a smaller one and acquired Xsite® EASY, a more suitable machine guidance system for managing his work.
Xsite® EASY is a standard level 2D machine control system in the Xsite® product family. It accurately measures depth, distance, and slopes. These are the reasons why Janne decided to put it to use. “Without EASY, construction sites would need staking, and we’d always have to use a laser. When I work with EASY, I just turn it on and get to work”.
More efficient ways to work with Xsite® EASY
Janne is currently working on Eltel Networks’ cable and fiber optic contracts and may visit more than one construction site in one day. He feels that Xsite® EASY makes his work much more efficient, as the system helps the operator reach target levels quicker. “The benefits are visible to my client as well, as the work gets done faster,” Janne says. “I’ve used EASY to make the bases for transformers and measured cable trenches with it. I can also easily check line heights and the yard’s declinations using the system.”
As an expert in his area, Janne knows that he could also use Xsite® EASY to make waterways. “Let’s just say I get a contract where my job is to dig a waterway that should be three meters deep. With EASY, I could take a height reference from the surface of the water with the tip of my bucket. The system would tell me in real time how deep to dig and when my target depth will be reached.”