b'56 Sugar Land Regional on the Cutting Edge SGRAIRFIELD MAINTENANCE With Autonomous MowersBY MICHELLE GARDNERWith spring arriving in southeasta handful of maintenance staff busy for about Texas, the grass will be growing44 weeks a year, with little to no time for faster than ever at Sugar Landother tasks. But that is already changing with Regional Airport (SGR) near Houston. ThatSGRs new autonomous mowers on the job.FACTS&FIGURESmeans its go time for employees whoWhen the field advisor told Durbin it was maintain the grounds, including 400 of thetime to retire the airports aging fleet of Project: Autonomous Mowing Equipmentairports 639 total acres that need to be Location: Sugar Land Regional Airport, near Houstonmowed weekly. mowing equipment. Durbin knew that simply replacing the equipment with like units would Profile: Natl reliever for William P. Hobby Airport &This year, three autonomous mowersnot improve efficiencies, so he and his staff George Bush Intercontinentalare supplementing SGRs maintenancebegan researching other options in 2019. Maintenance Staff: 9 crews, with each able to mow more thanWhile looking online at the latest equipment, Turf to Maintain: 400 of 639 total acres needs to1.4 acres per hour. And despite some initialone staffer found autonomous technologies be mowed weekly trepidation, the human workers are fullyadapted to mowing. Strategy: Augment aging diesel-powered fleet withembracing their new robot crewmates. At the same time, equipment that doesnt require hands-on operators Ken Durbin, assistantSugar Lands new city Vendor: RC Mowers director of Aviationmanager was creating Model: A-60 Autonomous Mowing Robotsfor Maintenance andthe department of Cost: $165,000 for 3 units Operations, notesData and Innovation Funding: Airport that turf managementto help various city Project Timeline: 2019 to Dec. 2024 accounts for 45% of thedepartments (including labor budget for SGRsthe airport) use dataRACHEL OWENSKey Results: Improved acreage/hr. mowingMaintenance Division.KEN DURBIN to improve efficiency. rates; reduced labor hours for mowing; freeing up maintenance personnel for other crucial tasks;Due to the temperateRachel Owens, assistant director of Data improved morale among staff climate in Sugar Land, turf management keptand Innovation, remembers that Durbins March | April 2025AirportImprovement.com'