Wahoo Middle and High School is an educational establishment in Wahoo, Nebraska, dedicated to offering the best educational experience possible for its students, both in the classroom and on the athletic field.
THE CHALLENGE
Wahoo High School faced a big challenge maintaining accurate field markings with their traditional line marking methods.
- Labor Shortages:
Loss of maintenance staff and difficulty in finding workers. - Inefficient Processes:
Field marking took hours and required a lot of manual effort. - Precision Issues:
Manual marking was stressful and prone to error.
THE SOLUTION
In the summer of 2023 the school opted for the Turf Tank robot to streamline field marking, reduce labor requirements, and enhance precision.
10x Productivity increase
From hours to minutes
Enhanced precision
Streamlined Line Marking Operations
Robert Barry, the activities director at Wahoo Middle and High School, reflects on the difficulties his team faced with field marking before they adopted this new technology. The task used to demand a team of 8-10 people working for several hours, making it an extremely labor-intensive and inefficient process. The situation was further complicated by the labor shortage in the turf management industry, leading to an increasingly unsustainable process. It became clear that the old approach was no longer viable, prompting the search for a more practical solution.
| Line marking in the past |
| 8-10 grounds people |
| Line marking with Turf Tank |
| 1 operator & 1 robot |
“Over the course of the years, we’ve lost some maintenance people, and those have been harder and harder to find. The challenge of hiring maintenance workers has required us to find a different solution to paint our fields and take care of those painting duties. Before we got the turf tank, we’d spend multiple hours out here with a metal detector trying to find our pins and then lining and striping. There would be a crew of eight to 10 guys out here with a couple manual painters to be able to put down numbers and fill in our logos.”
The nice thing about the Turf Tank is I can do all of that myself. So going from eight to 10 people down to one from a cost saving standpoint of manpower or volunteers, has been huge for our district in saving that money.
Robert Barry,
Activities Director
Improved Precision and Versatility in Line Marking
Chad Fox, the head football and track coach at Wahoo High School, has experienced
the difference in field quality since introducing the Turf Tank on their track and field areas. In the past, maintaining straight and consistent lines was a constant challenge, especially when marking curved sections.
“The lines that are put down are so straight. There’s no variation in the lines from back of the end zone to the back of the end zone or on your discus sector. They’re perfectly straight.”
The curved lines that are always really a pain to do by hand are done perfectly with the Turf Tank.
Chad Fox,
The Head Football & Track Coach
Beyond the improved accuracy, the Turf Tank’s versatility has allowed the team to add extra practice landmarks, like hash marks and tick marks, where the numbers would be – markings that weren’t possible with manual methods.These customized lines have enhanced training sessions, offering more specific drills and better preparation for students.
The intuitive interface of the line marking software allows the users at Wahoo High School easily customize their desired fields. But if at any time any issues arise, they are confident to know the Turf Tank’s customer service team is always ready to assist.
The customer service has been second to none.
Robert Barry,
Activities Director
Conclusion
The introduction of the Turf Tank at Wahoo Middle and High School has significantly transformed their field marking process. By reducing the need for a large team to just one person, the school has achieved remarkable improvements in productivity and efficiency. The adoption of this technology has streamlined field maintenance, allowing the school to deliver an outstanding sports experience for its students.
