A tiny robot that makes a big difference to the estates team

The purchase of a TinyLineMarker Pro X robot is the latest in a long list of investments for Penwortham Priory Academy, as more of the grounds and estates management is taken in-house. Mr Bolton, Strategic Estates Development Manager, says that the TLM robot will reduce expenditure, improve consistency, and encourage interest from more community clubs as the academy looks to increase engagement with the local area. 

Following years of maintenance by both the local authority and private contractors, Priory made the call to get more hands-on with the ground’s maintenance – boosted by a successful application through the ‘Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund’. “With this grant we purchased a tractor, slitter, Quadraplay and mower meaning we’ve been largely self-sufficient for nearly a year now” he explains. 

“In that time, we have welcomed three local community clubs and two neighbouring schools to our facilities which helps to generate much-needed revenue to drive further investment.” 

Mr Bolton continues, “With regards to line marking, we’d previously had people in to do that for us with varied levels of success and could see that having our own equipment would not only reduce cost and improve consistency, but it would also mean we could mark-out as often as we want and better accommodate the needs of those using our surfaces.” 

"Weather and growth dependent, it will be used every two weeks throughout the year – redefining our winter sports pitches through the cooler season, then switching to creating a seven-lane 400m running track and other athletics facilities over the summer.

“We’re already seeing the benefits. We’ve managed to reconfigure the site to mark an additional pitch which is another asset we can now offer to the community. We’ve also been able to save the settings on the software for even more efficiency next time and have begun exploring the possibility of using movable goals and adjusting the configuration to help us manage wear across the site during the more challenging months.

“The labour that this machine will save us will be immense.” Mr Bolton adds, “The possibilities that the TLM gives us to enhance our own site and to offer the service to other nearby schools, is endless.  It's helping to generate further income and investment and boost everybody’s enjoyment of the surfaces we are proud to offer.”