"Without GPS, we'd be the odd man out," he says. "Clients know how much quicker you can get the work done if you're running GPS. Our team may need four machines and a survey crew if you're doing 3- or 4-foot fills or knocking stakes out, whereas with GPS we don't have to keep re-staking. We check our blade, and we go to work." Since Shipps runs a mixed fleet, the team currently has Trimble GPS on its Caterpillar D5K2 LGP, D6K2 LGP, and D6N LGP dozers, and on a John Deere 700 dozer. Shipps says his machines need to be outfitted with GPS, which is usually installed by SITECH, Trimble's dealership. SITECH helps guide Shipps in using Trimble's GPS systems and makes repairs to Trimble hardware as needed. The team also remotely monitors software to ensure it is continuously up and running. "If I have an issue with a valve or any wires breaking off, I just call them up," Shipps says.