Machine Guidance Articles

GPS technology helps Warman Excavating succesfully upgrade a 10 kilometer road for a cozy country-style Canadian subdivision.

Leica Geosystems and UK contractor Conlon demonstrate how digital technology is empowering machine operators.

China-based BUCG turns to machine guided construction to help deliver a $US440 million Maldives Airport expansion project.

Concrete contractors turn to technology for production-enhancing efficiencies and millimeter accuracy.

The construction industry is often known for the slow adoption of technology, however, southeast Queensland group, Bielby Holdings (Bielby), has been challenging this stereotype for the last 15 years – using technology as the number one tool to transform the jobsite.

New Zealand contractor gains major safety and productivity benefits with first Komatsu 'intelligent Machine Control' excavator.

When Beijing’s Daxing Airport opens in 2019 it will reside on solid ground--its flat, compact and reliable base prepared with the help of machine-guided dynamic compaction technology.

As machine control becomes mainstream, more and more contractors are looking to take advantage. This article provides an introduction to the different systems, uses and contractor benefits of machine control technology. 

Exploring reasons to improve grading accuracy and optimise construction productivity with machine-control systems.

Exploring the process of turning complex 3-dimensional engineering designs into real-time machine control information.   

Five key predictions for the development and adoption of technologies within the Civil Engineering and Construction market.

Exploring the Internet of Things (IoT) for construction technology and how greater interconnectivity will help define success.

Small site contractor Tom Gardocki, also known online as the ‘Dirt Ninja’, uses machine guided construction technologies for simplified layout, getting to grade faster, reducing errors and greater profitability.

Victorian-based Sure Constructions uses machine guidance technologies to excavate 6.5m deep bore shafts to "improve productivity, safety and efficiency".

When tasked with constructing a 60km railway line, Finnish contractor Destia embraced the challenge of creating a smooth surface with the help of 3D machine compaction technology – achieving accuracy with maximum efficiency.

Machine guidance technology helps Rabb Construction efficiently achieve grade accuracy to meet tight deadlines on a challenging car-yard site preparation project.

Derrick Koome, Survey Engineering Consultant at Cheswick (Nairobi, Kenya) provides a brief overview into machine control; the future of construction. Topics include an introduction machine control hardware, system functions, contractor benefits and applicable machines. 

Training and access to resources are key to construction success. As John F Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” 

Alan Sharp from Trimble’s Civil Engineering & Construction division discusses the coming year’s advancements and opportunities, from more sophisticated methodologies, to rapid-to-deploy Wifi connectivity.

Alaskan contractor ‘Dirtworks’ uses GPS machine control systems to overcome challenges on big-box Fred Myer site-prep project, allowing them to "keep the fast pace we needed". 

Construction compaction is the process of mechanically removing air voids from placed material to achieve pavement strength and performance. GPS machine guidance systems can be used for viewing, recording, analysing and reporting project compaction status.

2D or 3D: what does it mean and which one is right for me? This article outlines the differences between 2-Dimensional (2D) and 3-Dimensional (3D) machine control systems and common applications for each system.

USA contractor TerraSmart combines their innovative solar panel racking foundation techniques with machine guidance drill systems to accurately install 110,000 ground screws, achieving a 50% program acceleration over traditional stakeout methods!

Civcorp, a Brisbane-based contractor and positioning technology power user, expand their capabilities by equipping their tracked skid-steer Level Best attachment with a 3D machine guidance solution.

Ryan Kunisch from Trimble's Civil Engineering and Construction Division examines how advancements in technologies will continue to play a pivitol role in the construction industry in 2016 and beyond.

Embracing GPS machine control helps a small residential subdivision contractor to realise big results - achieving more accurate grade, faster, and with less effort!

Adopting machine guidance weighing and reporting technology for real-time visibility of site operations has allowed Holcim's Bohle Quarry to bypass their weighbridge and significantly increase their productivity to deliver on the TRR4 project.

An outline of the current and future economic impact of GPS for Australian construction, along with a few key benefits, changes and challenges of the Government's strategy for our industry.

From Formula One tracks and airport runways to highway construction and re-surfacing, 3D machine control paving technology is helping contractors all over the world outperform even the most demanding specifications!

When charged with the challenge of relocating a complex, multi-layer steam tunnel Schneider Excavating Inc employed the use of GPS machine guidance to ensure that the trenches and grades were excavated precisely to plan, all within the project's tight confines.

Across the Australian earthmoving industry, machine control is widely adopted among a core of equipment, most notably dozers, graders and excavators. This article looks at the growing use of this technology on unconventional machines and applications.

Ingenuity at its best. Rather than sending it to the scrap-pile, Streb Construction decided to upgrade their 1999 slipform concrete paver with the latest technology - including a 3D machine guidance system for accurate paving without stringlines.

This article demonstrates how utilising machine control technology helped Sargent Corporation overcome some significant engineering challenges and shave 80 working days off their new landfill site project timeline.

As 3D machine control becomes ever more sophisticated, contractors are often able to extend the use of dozers and complete the entire job from bulk earthworks to finish grade with a single machine.

Ford Civil is one of the first civil contracting companies in NSW to use CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations) network technology to give high accuracy GPS positioning across all earthmoving activities without the need for site-specific GPS base stations.

With 42 machine guidance systems, CoalConnect was the largest machine control earthmoving project in the Southern Hemisphere. This paper details the extensive preparations that ensured a successful machine guided construction site.

This article highlights the importance of survey data modelling and survey data management for construction projects. Accurate survey data is crucial for the efficiency of any construction project, particularly those that uses machine guided construction methods.

The SAFElink Alliance project was, at the time, the largest two-way machine data site in the world. A wireless communication setup between the office and the 22 machine control plant created a connected site that allowed the project to gain a multitude of benefits.

Using four highway construction projects, this article compares the costs of traditional survey methods and machine control methods to demonstrate a conservative 80+% survey budget saving for projects that choose to utilise machine guided construction.

Referencing three separate reports that directly compare traditional and machine guided construction methods this article highlights the 100+% productivity gains achieved by utilising machine control technologies.

The SAFElink Alliance project heavily utilised machine control technologies and had a number of unique challenges including field reference on a pegless site. These challenges were overcome with the help of GPS Supervisor Systems.

Presenting a bird's eye view of machine guided construction from a surveyor's perspective, this article highlights the advantages of replacing traditional survey methods with machine guided construction.

The introduction of new technology to any industry always brings new challenges and this is certainly true of machine guided construction. This article takes a practical look at some of these challenges and how they can be overcome.