Standard Terracing: survey, balance and build

Tap New Survey

After you tap Standard Terracing, a menu asks What would you like to do? with four wide buttons. New Survey is the first one, at the top. Tap it.

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The Survey screen opens with a dark card in the middle called Survey the Channel. This menu has no Back button: to close it without choosing, tap the X in its top right corner.

Drive to the inlet end of the channel

Drive onto the channel bottom at its high end, where the water comes in (the inlet). Keep the implement raised: the app takes the blade height off every point it records. All three rows on the card should be green: Connected, GPS: RTK and RTK: Stable.

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Tap START SURVEY

START SURVEY is the big green button in the card in the middle of the map. Tap it.

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The card closes and a red banner at the top of the screen reads Recording CHANNEL Survey.

Drive the channel bottom

Drive along the middle of the channel bottom at a steady pace, all the way to the far end (the outlet). The banner counts the points. Need to stop for a moment? Tap Pause in the column on the right, then Resume.

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Tap STOP at the far end

At the outlet end, tap STOP: the red button at the bottom middle of the map, beside the point count.

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A window called Save Survey? opens.

Type a name for the channel survey

Tap the Survey Name box: the keyboard opens (typing on the tablet). Type a name that pairs with the berm you'll survey next, for example "Terrace 12 channel".

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Tap Save

Save is the wide green button at the bottom right of the window. If the keyboard covers it, hide the keyboard first (how).

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A window called Survey Direction opens.

Check which end is the outlet

The window shows the elevation at each end of the channel and tags the lower end OUTLET: where the app thinks the water leaves. The app asks this for the channel only. The berm follows the channel.

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Tap Yes, that's correct

If that's where the water leaves, tap Yes, that's correct, the green button at the bottom right. If not, tap the orange-outlined No — outlet is at START button beside it.

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A second card opens straight away: Survey the Berm.

Drive onto the berm

Your channel survey's name now shows at the top of the screen and on the card (Channel: Terrace 12 channel), and the channel is drawn on the map. Drive onto the top of the berm, on the downhill side of the channel. The card says Drive the berm top, parallel to the channel.

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Tap START SURVEY on the berm

Tap START SURVEY, the big green button in the card.

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The red banner now reads Recording BERM Survey.

Drive the berm top

Drive along the top of the berm, parallel to the channel, end to end. The banner counts the points; the thin green line beside your track is the channel you surveyed.

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Tap STOP at the end of the berm

At the far end of the berm, tap STOP, the red button at the bottom middle of the map.

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The Save Survey? window opens again, this time for the berm.

Type a name for the berm survey

Tap the Survey Name box and type a matching name, for example "Terrace 12 berm".

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Tap Save on the berm survey

Tap Save, the green button at the bottom right of the window.

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Tap Design Channel

The design window, Terrace Design, opens on Select Channel & Berm Surveys with both surveys filled in. Tap Design Channel, the dark-green button under them.

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The design steps are named across the top: Select Surveys, Channel Design, Berm Analysis, Implement.

Read the Channel Design chart

The chart shows the channel at the bottom (the ground you surveyed, the design line in orange, the cut hatched) and the berm above it:

• Berm Current (black line): the berm you surveyed.
• Berm Min (grey dashed line): the finished channel plus BERM MIN HT. The berm must reach at least this.
• Blue hatching (Need Fill): where the berm is too low and needs dirt.
• Green (Surplus): where the berm is already higher. It stays as it is.

Under the chart, the VOLUME BALANCE strip tells you if the channel cut gives enough dirt: +34.3 cu yd surplus here.

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Set BERM MIN HT

BERM MIN HT is the fourth box under the chart (blue edge). Tap + or − under it to change it, or tap the number and type one. It goes from 6 to 36″ (15–90 cm), 18″ to start. The value you leave is remembered for the next design, and it's the same number Simple Maintenance uses as its Berm Offset.

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The other boxes work as in Slope-IQ™ (tap a number to type it):

• DEPTH OFFSET lowers the whole channel. Deeper = more cut.
• MIN GRADE: 0.10% to start for terrace channels.
• CHANNEL BASE WIDTH: the channel bottom width (1–30 ft, starts at your Swath Width). It counts in the cut volume.
• SIDE SLOPE: 1:1 to 12:1. The app sets it from your berm survey when the step opens; the light-blue AUTO button under it does it again. If fewer than 3 berm points stand clearly above the channel design, AUTO leaves the value as it was (its message is hidden behind the design screen in v1.5.4): set it with − and +. Flatter sides mean more cut.

The BERM button at the top right hides the berm lines and the BERM MIN HT box; leave it on. Auto Flow beside it flips the outlet (it then reads Reversed).

Short on dirt? Tap Auto-Balance

When the cut can't cover the fill plus compaction, the strip turns red and says how many cubic yards short you are, and an orange Auto-Balance button appears at its right end. Here BERM MIN HT went up to 36″ and the channel came up about 100 cu yd short. Tap Auto-Balance.

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Auto-Balance adds to DEPTH OFFSET (deepens the channel) half an inch at a time until the cut meets the fill plus 15%. It only ever goes deeper. It stops at the Auto Balance Max Offset setting (in Settings, under GRADING; 36″ to start, 12–120″).

Check the new Depth Offset

After Auto-Balance, the first box, DEPTH OFFSET, shows how deep it went (4.0″ here), and the strip turns green with a surplus.

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Tap Berm Analysis

Berm Analysis is the light-blue button in the bottom right corner. Tap it.

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Look over Berm Analysis

Berm Analysis is a check on the berm, laid along the channel; you can't change anything here. The blue hatch is the fill the berm needs, labelled with its deepest point. The BERM strip under the chart gives the minimum height, how many fill zones, their length and the deepest fill, with a badge such as NEEDS FILL. To change something, tap Back (bottom left).

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Tap Review & Implement

Review & Implement is the green button in the bottom right corner. Tap it.

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A summary called Ready to Grade opens.

Tap Implement Slope

The summary lists both surveys, the length, the channel grade, Min Berm Height and bottom width, then the dirt: Channel Cut, Channel Fill, Channel Net, Berm Fill (in-place), Berm Fill (incl. 15% comp.) and Balance. A plus balance is spare dirt; a minus balance is a shortfall. Then tap Implement Slope, the big green button at the bottom.

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A negative balance adds the hint Redistribute material from higher berm sections to fill deficit zones. Compaction is fixed at 15% in this version; there's no setting for it.

Tap Save & Implement

The window Save Terrace Design fills in a name: the channel survey name with "(Terrace)" on the end. Keep it, or tap the box and type your own. Tap Save & Implement, the green button at the bottom right.

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The app then asks Calibrate GPS?.

Tap Skip (or Calibrate)

Surveyed today on this base setup: tap Skip, in the bottom right corner beside Calibrate. Designing from surveys taken another day, or the base moved or restarted: drive to the field's benchmark (or untouched surveyed ground), lower the blade and tap the orange Calibrate button.

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The Auto-Nudge Mode window opens next.

Tap Enable Auto-Nudge

Auto-Nudge™ cuts the channel in passes of Max Cut Per Pass (2.0″ to start; change it with the round − and +). Tap Enable Auto-Nudge, the dark-green button on the right. Use Manual Nudge, on the left, takes the channel straight to final grade instead.

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The Grade screen opens, stopped, with the channel as the target.

Lower the blade at the start of the channel

Drive to the start of the channel and put the blade down. The Grade screen opens with the channel as the target: in the column of buttons on the right, Channel says ACTIVE, and the green label on the chart along the bottom reads CHANNEL ACTIVE. The berm target is grey and dashed on the chart, with the surveyed berm drawn as a thin line for reference.

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Tap Start

Start is the big green button near the top of the right-hand column, under Home. Tap it. A red banner on the gauge reads Auto Grading Active, and Start becomes a red Stop with a grey Hold under it.

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On a Guidance Only Kit or Ditch Assist Lite you move the blade yourself, by the chevrons and the gauge (The Grade screen).

Tap Pass + at the end of each pass

When you finish a pass, tap Pass +, the blue button in the AUTO-NUDGE box on the right. The target drops one Max Cut, and the counter under it goes up.

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Tap Pass − to go back a pass

The counter now reads Pass 2 of 8, and Pass −, under the counter, is no longer pale. Tap it if you need to go back one pass (to clean up a soft spot, for example).

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Tap Hold

Hold is the grey button second from the top of the right-hand column, under Stop. Tap it. The banner on the gauge turns orange (HOLD — Manual Control) and Hold becomes an orange Resume.

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Tap Berm

While on Hold, tap Berm: the right half of the Channel / Berm button, with a small mountain picture.

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Berm now says ACTIVE, the chart label reads BERM ACTIVE with the berm target in bright blue, and the badge in the top bar changes from CH to BERM.

Drive onto the berm and lower the blade

Drive onto the berm and put the blade down. The big label on the map now measures to the berm target: FILL, with blue up chevrons, where the berm needs dirt; ON GRADE where it's already at the target, as here.

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The berm target is the higher of the surveyed berm and BERM MIN HT above the finished channel, so it only adds dirt where the berm is too low. Build it in as many machine passes as the fill needs.

Tap Resume

Resume is the orange button second from the top of the right-hand column. Tap it. The banner reads Auto Grading Active again, now on the berm.

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Tap Stop when you finish

Stop is the red button at the top of the right-hand column. Tap it when you're done for now. The job saves by itself and comes back from Resume Job. Channel and berm coverage are kept apart.

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In v1.5.4 the berm's pass counter can carry the channel's pass number over (Pass 2 of 1 here). Ignore it on the berm: the berm target is always the finished berm.

Tap Load Surveys

In the Standard Terracing menu, Load Surveys is the second wide button. Tap it. Terrace Design opens with two empty boxes.

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Tap the Channel Survey box

The top box, Channel Survey (Bottom), says Select survey... in grey. Tap it. A list of your saved surveys drops down.

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Tap your channel survey

Every saved survey is listed, so go by the name. Channel surveys show which end you confirmed as the outlet (outlet end or outlet start). Tap yours.

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Tap the Berm Survey box

The channel is now in the top box, with a green tick. Tap the lower box, Berm Survey (Top Ridge).

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Tap your berm survey

Tap the berm survey in the list.

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Tap Design Channel

With both boxes filled, Design Channel turns dark green. Tap it.

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From here it's the same as after a new survey: carry on from Read the Channel Design chart.

Tap Load Saved Design

In the Standard Terracing menu, Load Saved Design is the third wide button. Tap it. The Load window opens on its Designs tab, newest first.

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Tap your design's name

Tap the design's name in the list on the left. It turns light blue and the map on the right shows where it is.

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Tap Implement

Tap the green Implement button on the right of the design's row. The app asks Calibrate GPS?: on another day, or with the base moved, calibrate on the field's benchmark; same day and base setup, tap Skip. Then choose Auto-Nudge as above.

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Tap Resume Job

In the Standard Terracing menu, Resume Job is the fourth wide button. Tap it. Contour-Guided terrace jobs are listed here too.

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Tap Resume beside your job

Jobs are listed by date, with the time they were saved. Tap the orange Resume button on the right of yours. The app then asks Calibrate GPS?: answer it as in Calibrate if it's another day.

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