b'AIRFIELD MAINTENANCESGR61Back in Sugar Land, Rosenbaum relishes the citys new culture that promotes innovation. Its not just the autonomous mowers, its using technology to help us be more efficient, she remarks. It took six years, and its just the beginning for us.Kubista, of RC Mowers, commends SGR for facing the challenges associated with turf management. They are very innovative, he says. Its not a mower thing; its not a technology thing. Its about solving a labor problem.For Durbin, it came down to diligence and collaboration with his team, airport administration and the city of Sugar Land. If you look at the whole journey, the city went through a transition in leadership. The new culture was breaking the status quo. Without the support of leadership, we would not have been able to doCrews mow 400 acres weekly. this, he reflects. Durbin also credits SGR maintenance workers (shown right) for embracing the new technology. They are learning everythingand revising the mowing plans. They are truly behind the success, he emphasizes. With the mowing robots in service for a few months, Durbin and his crews are steadily refining mowing plans to createROBERT ORTIZ MIGUEL TAPIA JOEL PORTILLOmore efficiency and free up time to tackle the rest of the non-autonomous airfield maintenance tasks.AirportImprovement.comMarch | April 2025'