An Insight into Machine Control with James King - Technical Support Manager
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An Insight into Machine Control with James King - Technical Support Manager


By Sophie Holdrick

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James King is working alongside Paul Keenan to build the new Machine Control division, bringing this in-house for Lynch for the first time ever. We caught up with James to find out what it is all about. 

James joined Lynch in March 2020 – “It was actually the day of lockdown!” he remembers. Before joining the company, James worked for Leica Geosystems, who make Machine Control products, and so brings with him extensive knowledge of, and experience of working with, these systems. “What led me to Lynch was actually Paul Keenan. He used to work with Leica Geosystems and he knew I was interested in starting a new job so he brought me on board to help set up the Machine Control division.” 

James fits all the Machine Control kits to Dozers and Excavators, and gets it set up for customers. “When a hire comes in for a machine with GPS, I actually follow it to site,” he explains. “I get it set up, I calibrate it, and then I handover to the site engineer.” James and the site engineer have access to the system and can remotely access the Machine. This allows them to transfer models, download data and shows general telematic information like fuel usage and downtime. 

James believes that Machine Control is the way forward. “It is growing in the UK. All Highways England sites now must use Machine Control.” Having an in-house team of experts has obvious benefits to Lynch. 

“For a start, we have the advantage of being able to manage all of our own kit. This gives us much greater flexibility than if we were using a third-party company.” James comments. “We can address any issues in-house, meaning this is dealt with quickly and more efficiently than dealing with a third-party.” 

We have the added benefit of being able to talk to customers directly, helping us to build relationships and work with them to ensure they get the job done right, first time. “We can offer more support to our customers,” 

James explains. “Having the expertise here, understanding how our machines work and how the system is set up means our customers are fully supported.” 

James is looking to the future with Machine Control in mind, and he hopes that soon, all our plant will be Machine Control ready. James has already reduced the lead time for Machine Control ready plant. “The install would previously be a few days turnaround time. Now we can have it ready for install the next day.” 

We asked James what he enjoys most about his job. “No two days are the same! I go all over to site, I meet all sorts of interesting engineers and I encounter new challenges every day,” he explains. 

“The variety keeps it interesting and having the freedom to build and grow this department completely from scratch alongside Paul Keenan is very exciting.” 

The future is looking bright for Machine Control. 

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