Position Partners to offer Carlson Machine Control to South East Asia

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Position Partners recently signed a contract with Carlson machine guidance, enabling Position Partners to offer Carlson machine guidance and fleet management solutions for the mining, quarrying, dredging and landfill operations in South East Asia.

“We are delighted to be able to offer our customers this complete range of machine guidance options,” said Martin Nix, Managing Director at Position Partners. “Carlson has an open system architecture which enables the products to work on most makes and models of mine equipment,” he added. “We look forward to working with Carlson Machine Control to deliver the right combination of solutions to help increase productivity, improve safety and machine utilisation,” said Martin.

“Position Partners has been an exclusive Carlson Machine Control distributor since 2013 for Australia and New Zealand having made significant inroads in mining and solid waste landfills,” said Randy Noland, Vice President and Director of Machine Control, Carlson Machine Control. “The expansion into South East Asia headed by Mike Forrest, Executive Director for SEA, is a natural market progression. Indonesia, has ramped up their coal production becoming the world’s fourth largest producer. We look forward to working with Position Partners in the mining, quarry and landfill markets providing a strong value proposition in service, support and pricing,” said Randy.

Position Partners will be offering Carlson’s complete range of machine guidance solutions for mining operations, including Carlson Grade™ for dozers, graders, scrapers and other surface grading machinery; Shovel Grade™ for excavators & shovels; Drill Grade™ for drilling machinery, and TruckPro™, which monitors position and load information across the truck fleet.

For on-site management and inspection, Position Partners will be offering Carlson Grade Supervisor™, which delivers an integrated 3D and GNSS solution for mine and quarry surveyors and supervisors. For monitoring from the office, Position Partners will offer Carlson Fleet Manager Office™, which enables real time communication between managers and with multiple machines. The software can also be used to generate a wide range of data from machine performance to progress reporting.

For landfill applications, Carlson offers Landfill Grade™ which can be used across compactors, dozers, graders and scrapers to increase compaction and reach optimum density faster.

For dredging applications, Carlson provides Excavator Grade™, for long reach excavators, barge heading, and cable cranes, etc. supporting multiple sensor types such as line riders, flow meters and encoders. Multiple attachments are also supported including finger grabbers with open & close visualisation.

For more information, call +62 813 1651 0880 or visit http://www.positionpartners.asia/

One-man bathymetric surveys

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Shane Watson is a Senior Mine Surveyor for Newmont Mining Corporation, based at Boddington Gold Mine in Western Australia.

The recent downturn across the Australian resources sector has resulted in many companies exploring the latest technology to improve efficiency and lower operating costs.

In response to a callout by Newmont to reduce operating costs across the mine, Mr Watson undertook a cost/benefit analysis of purchasing an unmanned survey boat to conduct bathymetric surveys and manage water usage across the site.

Mr Watson and his team are responsible for conducting monthly Residue Displacement Area (RDA) surveys, in addition to regular volumetric surveys of dams and water storage facilities throughout the mine site. The team monitors sediment build-up and is also conducting resurveys across all dams on site, due to inaccurate historic data.

“Previously, we contracted out our bathymetric survey work each month,” Mr Watson explained. “When I heard about the new remotely operated survey boats appearing on the market, I thought it would be worthwhile to explore our options to see if the technology could save us time and money.”

Mr Watson explained that local support was a key factor in the decision making process. “We narrowed it down to two systems, but chose the PosiCraft by Position Partners because they have an office in Perth and a team that would be able to assist us with training, support and any repairs when required,” he said.

Other key factors were safety and the ability to conduct one-man surveys. “The PosiCraft has a unique trailer launch system that allows the surveyor to stand at a safe distance from any hazardous water while launching the boat,” he added. “Also, it is a lot lighter than other systems on the market, enabling a one-man lift that reduces manual handling.”

The PosiCraft is a purpose-built remote control survey boat that has been designed for the survey and mining industries. It uses on-board GNSS positioning and/or a total station, combined with a survey-grade eco-sounder to create highly accurate models of the ground and volume of water. 

Return on investment has been excellent, Mr Watson said. “The payback period for the system was very short and the survey process is a lot more efficient with our own remote control boat.

“Using the system is very easy, I like the fact that the ground control station is an all-in-one unit so you don’t have to connect up a separate laptop, power source and radios,” he added. “It gives me the freedom to move around while conducting a survey, so I’m not restricted to a small area.”

The all-in-one ground control station enables Mr Watson to begin a survey in under 10 minutes. “I simply take the system out of the car, power it up and get ready to launch – the PosiCraft is extremely easy to setup and use,” he said.

“Once I’ve finished the survey, I return to the office and use the Hydromagic software to post process the data. I’ll have an exportable file ready within half an hour, so the workflow is very quick and efficient.”

Mr Watson explained that they had a few teething problems with the PosiCraft at first, but these were quickly resolved by the support team at Position Partners. “As with any new technology, we had a few problems initially before it worked perfectly, however the team at Position Partners came on site to troubleshoot and make sure we were up and running again in the shortest possible time.

“The handover and training process was great, we’re now using the PosiCraft regularly with no problems and it is a very simple all-round solution that fits our needs perfectly,” he added.

Having reduced a two-man operation with an external contractor down to a one-man, in-house operation, Mr Watson said they have saved both time and money, whilst increasing flexibility for conducting bathymetric surveys.

“Owning our own system enables us to conduct surveys at a moment’s notice, without being dependent on the weather or availability of a contractor. So far, the venture has been a resounding success,” he said.  

 

 

Position Partners expands into Indonesia

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Position Partners has announced it is expanding into South East Asia, with the opening of a new branch in Indonesia.

This latest move sees the Australian-owned positioning and machine control solutions company building upon its recent expansion into New Zealand, to meet the increased demand for its services outside Australia.

Position Partners managing director Martin Nix said there was increasing demand in the region for new technologies.

“By opening an office in South East Asia we will be able to offer a range of solutions for the mining, engineering and construction industries,” he said.

Mr Nix said Position Partners’ South East Asia would offer sales and hire services across a range of positioning technologies, including Topcon Machine Control for civil construction, MAVinci and AscTec Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Carlson machine guidance for mining.

Managing the new branch is Business Development Manager, Evan Stead, who has worked for Position Partners for almost two years.

Prior to joining the team Mr Stead was an engineering manager with Thiess Queensland.

 “I see this as a great opportunity to increase efficiencies and productivity, within the region’s mining and construction industry, I am looking forward to demonstrating how our technologies can improve customer’s bottom line”

“Position Partners’ South East Asia team is confident of success thanks to the backing of Position Partners’ extensive resources in Australia.” said Mr Stead.

“With more than 200 colleagues and a multiple business area specialists on hand to provide support, our customers can be confident they will receive the highest standards of expertise and support.  

For more information visit our South East Asia Website: http://www.positionpartners.asia/ 

Yielding results in agriculture with aerial mapping

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Cohen & Associates is a Tasmanian survey company with a core business of land surveying, including cadastral and engineering projects. Recently, the company has invested in state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology and is pushing the boundaries in near infrared and aerial mapping for the agriculture industry.

Adrian Fairfield is a Director of the company and a registered land surveyor. He explains that his team’s prior experience with remote sensing applications using satellite-based and manned aircraft led them to explore the possibilities of saving time and increasing efficiency with an unmanned solution.

“Over the years, we’ve developed unique processes for remote sensing applications using satellite-based and manned aircraft,” he said. “These had their limitations, however, as you needed to wait for the satellite to be in the correct position and manned flights were both weather-dependent and had to be scheduled in advance.

“I could see the advantages a UAV system would have over these methods, as they enable rapid data capture with the ability to launch a project immediately and deliver high quality results,” he added.

The right solution

After some online research and product comparisons, Mr Fairfield attended a demonstration of the SIRIUS Pro UAV in Adelaide, hosted by Australasian distributor, Position Partners.

“I was impressed with the in-flight stability of the SIRIUS Pro, its long flight time capability and the unique ability to achieve five centimetre accuracy without the need to set out extensive ground control points,” he explained.

The SIRIUS Pro UAV by MAVinci is a fixed-wing remotely piloted aircraft that utilises high precision GNSS positioning to achieve five centimetre accuracy without the need to set out ground control points. Through a combination of an on-board GNSS receiver and ground-based GNSS antenna, the SIRIUS Pro effectively puts the ground control points in the air automatically, eliminating the need to physically set them out on the ground. 

“Another key factor in our decision-making process was having local support from the supplier, which we receive from Position Partners,” Mr Fairfield added.

“We like to push new technology to its limits, really delve into it and customise it to our needs and unique applications, so having the support of Position Partners along with the research and development team at MAVinci in Germany has been terrific. They are always quick to respond and assist us, MAVinci has also been helping to customise some of its software to accommodate our needs.”

Going through the regulatory process to become a certified UAS pilot was a challenge, Mr Fairfield says, but an important one. “Gaining our certification was a lengthy and detailed process, but as you go through it you realise how critical it is to be able to deploy these systems safely and proficiently,” he said.

“I understand that now the process is becoming more straightforward, but when we did it CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) was still finalising a lot of the regulations, so it took a little longer. We had great support from both Position Partners and CASA to help us with our certification and training, and we have two accredited pilots now in our team,” he added.

Pushing the boundaries

Cohen & Associates has completed many projects and testing with the SIRIUS Pro UAV. The company has experienced great success with precision farming applications, having undertaken a number of projects that involve the use of near infrared technology for crop monitoring and yield mapping.

“We have been experimenting with a number of unique applications, including breakthroughs with weed and crop health mapping to support better management practices,” he said.

“Unlike manned flyovers, UAS technology offers access to highly detailed data in a very short time period, which is important in precision farming as you need to take action quickly based on the results. If you have to wait for weeks or even days for the outputs to come through, it’s already too late to make critical management decisions.”

Mr Fairfield explains that the use of near infrared technology and aerial mapping enables agriculture specialists and farmers to accurately analyse their crops and link this data in with yield mapping information.

“Farmers can compare their yields with the mapping information we provide and prove there has been an improvement,” he said.

“We feel there is a lot of potential in this area and we’ve been working with MAVinci to establish procedures that deliver early results from a flight before you even leave the paddock. That is very powerful information for an agriculture specialist to have, they can take action based on initial results right away and fine tune it when the more detailed data analysis has been completed,” he added.

Realising the potential

In addition to precision farming applications, Cohen & Associates has also deployed UAS technology for stockpile, quarry, landfill and coastal projects. “The safety and efficiency benefits in applications like these are enormous – UAS enables us to survey areas that are too hazardous or inaccessible to survey using traditional methods,” Mr Fairfield said.

“There are so many applications that UAS technology is well suited to, and we can adjust the accuracy of the results depending on the job,” he added. “We can easily achieve 2-5 centimetre accuracy when we need to with the SIRIUS Pro, but not every application calls for that level.”

Mr Fairfield said that he’s impressed with the turnaround time they are able to offer to clients on projects. “Being able to provide such a detailed data set in a single day as opposed to weeks is a fantastic benefit of this technology. We are also pleased to have a system that enables us to customise solutions and push the boundaries, with the support we receive from Position Partners and MAVinci,” he said. 

Eagle-Eye for Modern Surveying

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Jared Reeves has worked as a Surveyor for more than 10 years. When Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology came across his radar, he saw the huge potential to save time, improve data quality and increase efficiency for a wide range of surveying tasks in numerous industries.

“Having spent many years working in the field collecting data manually using GPS, I understood the impact UAS technology could have on the surveying industry from an efficiency perspective,” Mr Reeves explained.

“I also think that many survey firms will find it hard to justify the costs of investing in a drone themselves, so I saw the opportunity to start my own aerial survey contracting business to provide specialist services,” he added.

Mr Reeves said that one of the biggest advantages UAS has over traditional survey methods is the quantity and quality of the data generated. “Drones provide a complete historical record of the site with aerial imagery, enabling you to go back and survey different areas or check details at any point, without having to go back out on site,” he said. “If you are conducting regular monthly surveys, it also enables you to ‘go back in time’ to check the progress at each stage of project development” he added.

Choosing a system

Mr Reeves spent a great deal of time and effort to ensure he picked the right UAS for his needs. “I did a lot of research online and came up with a master chart that listed all the different makes and models,” he said.

“I narrowed it down to two systems, based on a combination of accuracy, price, user friendliness, launch and landing options and maintenance requirements.”

Ultimately Mr Reeves chose the Sirius Pro UAV by MAVinci, purchased through local reseller, Position Partners. The Sirius Pro is a fixed-wing UAS with the unique ability to deliver +/- 5cm accuracy without the need to set out ground control points.

“I was keen to adopt the RTK technology that the Sirius Pro offers, as not having to set out ground control saves so much time,” he added. “In addition, it increases safety as I don’t have to walk around the site near heavy machinery to set out ground control points, as well as enabling me to survey areas that are completely inaccessible.”

Proven success

So far, Mr Reeves has successfully completed work for a couple of motorway development projects, along with stock pile volumes for a few quarries.

“I’ve had great success so far with the jobs I’ve done, the clients have been very happy with the level of accuracy as well as the additional data that my services are able to provide,” Mr Reeves said. “Not only do they receive the volumes they required, but they also get a complete digital terrain model of their site as well as comprehensive up to date aerial imagery of the site.  They can also store this data as a historical record and refer back to if need be.”

One motorway project included surveying a causeway across the end of a harbour, an area that would have been very difficult to survey using traditional methods. “The terrain was almost completely inaccessible by foot, so the Sirius really proved its worth in that instance as it would be hard to get accurate data without it,” he added.

Mr Reeves reports accuracies of +/- 50 millimetres or less with the Sirius Pro UAV, but says that proving the reliability of new technology at the start of a project is sometimes a challenge. “I had one client that was concerned about the accuracy I would be able to achieve as they needed it to be +/- 10 centimetres, but because I have full confidence in the system I was happy to guarantee that I would meet their requirements or my services would be free of charge,” he said.

“With a new technology that is still proving itself in the industry, you have to be able to reassure clients and remove the risk for them. When they see not only the accuracy the Sirius Pro delivers, but also the comprehensive data set they receive at the end, clients seem to be very happy indeed,” he added.

More productive workflow

Mr Reeves says the time it takes to deliver a stockpile volume survey on a quarry, for example, is just a fraction of the time that a traditional survey would take. “I spend about an hour coordinating the MAVinci GPS Base station with local coordinates, installing some check points, and conducting the flight on-site, as opposed to a whole day’s data capture using GPS,” he said. “The processing time depends on the size of the site, but on average it’s about four hours, which can be done overnight so it doesn’t impact my work day.

 “The volume calculations take the same amount of time, however the accuracy is a lot better as I have a complete model of the stockpile, not just a series of points like I’d have with GPS. Plus there’s the complete site model and orthophoto for the client that I wouldn’t be able to provide from a traditional survey,” he added.

Mr Reeves invested in a high powered computer to enable fast post-processing of the data. “Instead of outsourcing the post processing we invested in the software and considerable hardware required so that we could maintain complete control over the entire process from start to finish.

Local support

Learning a new technology is a challenge, but Mr Reeves said he has received excellent training and support from Position Partners. “Having local training and local support here in New Zealand has been great, the team at Position Partners has helped to make sure I was up and running as soon as possible,” he said.

“Their UAS experts in Australia and even the research and development team at MAVinci in Germany have been very helpful if I ever have a question or experience any problems. I’ve been very impressed with the level of support I’ve received, it’s an important factor when you’re starting your own business to have suppliers you can rely on.”

Mr Reeves says that although it is still early days for his new company, Overview Surveying, he is confident that a number of New Zealand industries have much to be gained from aerial mapping technology. “There are so many applications that can benefit from UAS technology, we’re really only beginning to make use of its potential,” he said.

“For example, I’m looking to extend my services to the landfill industry this year, as landfill sites are a lot safer and more pleasant to survey from the air rather than the ground!”

 

Deliverinig hands-on experience to undergraduate mining engineers

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Every year, a group of University of Queensland mining engineering students gets have the opportunity to work with the latest mine surveying technology through a unique arrangement with positioning systems and machine control supplier Position Partners.

For the past three years, Position Partners has hosted a practical field survey course for University of Queensland (UQ) second year mining engineering students at the former Wattle Glen Extended open cut mine near Ipswich in western Brisbane.

As part of their degrees, UQ mining engineering students are required to complete a module on mine site surveying, designed to give them a basic understanding of surveying practice and technology.

Up to 100 students participate in the field course, gaining hands-on experience with technology including Topcon TS robotic total stations, Topcon HiPer SR GNSS receivers and ASC-TEC Falcon 8 multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The most recent of these was in October last year, when 70 students were hosted by Position Partners’ survey specialists and technical staff, who provided on-the-spot training in these latest systems, and then helped them work through a series of practical exercises.

Course co-ordinator Dr Basil Beamish – who also runs his own mining services company, B3 Mining Services – said that in the past, the practical side of the survey module had essentially consisted of taking the students to measure a coal stockpile at the Jeebropilly Mine with tapes and handheld GPS  units.

He worked with registered surveyor Hugh Taylor of Taylor Mining Services – who is also a course lecturer – and together they engaged the involvement of Position Partners.

 “This is a major step forward for these courses, where our students can use the latest technology and see it in operation,” said Mr Taylor.

“Surveying is not a large part of the mining engineering degree course, but these young engineers need a basic understanding of surveying and surveying practice and technology.

“It’s really important that graduate engineers have a reasonable understanding of surveying – which is so important to the mining process,” he said.

“I think it is vital for the university to continue with this program.”

Course co-ordinator “Now having them on a site with all this latest equipment means we were able to run them through various formative surveying exercises, get them familiar with the technology and interact with Position Partner’s technical people,” he said.

Beamish said the practical field survey course worked well for a number of reasons.

“For many of these students, this is actually their first time on a mine site,” he said.

“And having them on a site with all this latest equipment means we were able to run them through various formative surveying exercises, get them familiar with the technology and interact with Position Partner’s technical people,” he said.

 “The major development with our latest course was that they were exposed to UAV technology, which is a whole new way things are moving for the mining industry,” he said.

“From my point of view, it makes my teaching very relevant; they are seeing the next wave of technology as it’s being introduced to the industry.

“By the time they graduate, they will be very much aware of all these changes taking place in the industry,” Dr Beamish said.

Alan Fetherstonhaugh, Position Partners’ Northern Region Business Manager for Survey, GPS & UAVs, said the company was only too happy to be involved in such teaching courses.

“They enable tomorrow’s generation of mining engineers to become familiar with the very latest equipment, technology and trends – which are usually not readily available within universities.”

Training for Success

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If you’ve invested in machine control technology, congratulations on embracing a more efficient and productive way to get to grade! However, your purchase is only the first step in the process of reaping the benefits – to really take it to the next level you need to ensure that you fully understand it, and for that you would be well advised to put yourself and your team through a training course to learn the ins and outs of your new system.

Machine control training courses such as those run by the Campus team at Position Partners, give you a thorough background knowledge of what machine control technology is, how it works, the various components used on the machine and the workflow to complete a project.

You will learn the fundamentals of machine control technology, including what makes up a 2D system as this forms the basis for 3D machine control technology.

An overview of how GPS works will enable you to understand the different configurations available and what best suits the application and tolerance levels required, including single antenna, dual antenna, twin antennas or a combination of GPS and laser positioning known as Topcon mmGPS.

Understanding what a GPS base station does on site and the differences between UHF radio corrections and network GPS configurations is vital to ensure you are not only getting the best results from your GPS machine control, but also that you are meeting your legal requirements due to new laws that came into place set by the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA).

Learning about the different sensors and machine control components will enable you to understand what the system incorporates and how it works with the machine to get you to grade. You will be guided through the various components including the blade, slope, rotation and main-fall sensors and how they all work on the machine.

In addition to the machine components, it is important to learn about the overall workflow of a project and how machine control fits into the wider picture. You will be given an overview of the different types of data and how the design is converted into a working machine control file and loaded into the control box in the cab, either via a USB stick or remotely using a telematics solution such as Tokara, which enables the file transfer to happen wirelessly using the Internet.

A dedicated training course will run through how to configure a new machine file, specific to the make and model of machine and type of attachment you are using. There will be unique measurements for each configuration and it is essential that these are entered correctly to ensure you get accurate, consistent results.

If you have a machine control system setup on a grader, you will need to know how to configure the system for grader articulation and how to maximise performance and identify and solve potential errors that can arise if the configuration is not correct.

For excavators, where there are more moving parts and a great number of different attachments that may need to be configured, learning how to measure up each bucket correctly is essential. 

Each configuration only needs to be measured once, you will be shown how to add in new configurations and how to select machine files when you change the attachment or swap the machine control system to a different machine.

Another important aspect is the ability to perform position checks at the start of each day. This is done by placing the edge of your blade/bucket on a known survey mark to check that the positioning information is the same. Doing this at the start of each day will help you achieve consistent accuracy and minimise the potential for error.

A number of ‘tips and tricks’ such as how to store levels and how to back up your machine files to ensure that you never lose your data will be of great benefit. In addition, you can customise the user interface on the control box so that you have the most relevant information to hand, displayed in a way that suits your individual preferences.

Understanding the effects of machine wear and tear on your system is also important. Knowing what is and is not achievable with the type of machine and machine control system you have will help you to get the most out of it – often it is capable of doing more than you think!  A thorough run-through of slope capabilities and best practice measures for working on slopes will be covered in the course.

A series of troubleshooting tips will help you to solve a number of minor problems quickly and easily, without the need to call a technician or a surveyor out to the machine. Eliminate performance issues such as duck walking and waves and learn about correct machine maintenance procedures.

Learning best practice at the beginning will save you a lot of time and help make you as efficient as possible with your new machine control system. Even if you’ve used the technology for a number of years, there are bound to have been improvements and new features that you can learn about to help make the workflow easier.

Technology is constantly evolving, so it is important to evolve your skills alongside it to make sure you are getting the most out of your system. Attending a training course may take a day or two out of your busy working week, however the time savings you get back from using the system more efficiently and reducing downtime will quickly make up the time. 

Civil-ised Surveying

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Coastwide Civil is the primary contractor on a complex harbour excavation project at Shellharbour, on the NSW south coast. The new boat harbour forms part of the Shell Cove development project and, upon completion, will include 300 wet berths and a platform for associated harbour-side development and facilities on the 20-hectare site.

Scott Rogers is Head Surveyor and a Director of the company, which specialises in marine and civil contracting and is based in Albion Park, south of Wollongong, New South Wales.

Scotts’ survey team recently made its first venture into aerial mapping with an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and is experiencing significant time savings and improved project documentation as a result. The company also uses Tokara Link telematics to remotely manage design updates and support for earthmoving machinery fitted with Topcon machine control.   

“This is a large site that involves a number of different designs and a variety of materials, including excavation in an acid sulphate environment and old tip waste removal,” Scott said.

“The UAVs caught my eye when I received a marketing email from Position Partners, who we’ve had a good business relationship with for many years. I thought they could be an ideal solution for this project and save a lot of time compared with traditional survey methods,” he said.    

Fast, efficient and safe surveying

Scott uses a Falcon 8 multi-rotor UAS to conduct daily stockpile volume reports across the site. Position Partners have continued to support Scott and his team, by providing the SIRIUS UAV to assist with two end of month surveys.

“The Falcon 8 is perfect for conducting smaller aerial surveys and doing my daily volume reports,” Scott said. “The stockpiles are quite large, generally between 3000 – 4000 cubic metres, making them dangerous and difficult for field survey crew to climb over with GPS.

“I simply head out each day with the Falcon 8 and use the ‘Quick Survey’ feature to map the stockpile in five to ten minutes,” he said. “There’s no need for a laptop or any other equipment and as soon as I’m done the stockpile can be sent to the crusher. It’s a very fast, efficient and safe way to survey.”

Scott found the learning and CASA certification process wasn’t as difficult as people might assume. “Yes, there’s a process you have to go through and regulations you have to abide by, you can’t just pick up one of these systems and start using it. I attended a fast-track, 7-day course with Position Partners and once you’ve completed the training and got your licence you’re all set. Using the UAV and extracting the data is a very simple process.”

As with any new technology, receiving support and training is all-important. “We’ve been well looked after by Gavin and the team at Position Partners, they are always on hand if we need them. We had a technical fault with our first system and they kept us running by conducting surveys for us while the UAV was getting repaired,” Scott said.

Site-wide surveys                                

Each month, Scott enlists Position Partners’ services to conduct a full site survey using the fixed wing SIRIUS UAV by MAVinci, which is better suited to large scale aerial mapping projects.

“Using UAS technology for the site survey gives us access to valuable data and accurate historical documentation at each stage of the project,” Scott said. “Because there are so many types of material on this site and the fact that we are over-excavating areas of the harbour floor in order to backfill it with waste material, keeping accurate records of what has been placed and where, is important.”

He said this level of visual documentation simply wouldn’t be possible with traditional survey methods. “Traditionally you would document the material types and quantities, but having the ability to go back in time and visually look at any given stage of the project is very powerful.

“On this project there are many vertical faces on the harbour floor. It is important to keep accurate survey records of these as it impacts upon the future design harbour infrastructure. Because we have complete models from each month, it is easy to check that everything is constructed to design and we can easily show this data to the client at any stage, now or in the future.”

Scott explained that the monthly UAS surveys save about a day’s work each month and are a far safer and more efficient solution to traditional survey methods. “Gavin from Position Partners normally flies the site with the SIRIUS on a Friday, which takes about an hour and gives me 2500 photos to process. I then setup the post-processing to run over the weekend so that I have a ready-to-go data set on Monday morning to complete my invoices with,” he said.

Using traditional methods, the same process would involve two and a half days of in-field data capture with a survey crew, followed by a day of data analysis. “Although the end result for getting invoices done would be the same, the data I have from the UAV is comprehensive,” said Scott. “I can conduct fly-throughs of the entire site in a 3D, virtual environment from my office using Virtual Surveyor software. I can see each layer of rock, clay and topsoil at the click of a mouse.”

Keeping machines on track

Another time-saver that keeps Scott and his team in the office and away from the heat and flies on site, is the use of telematics to remotely manage the designs on earthmoving machinery across the project.

“We use Topcon GPS systems across a number of dozers, excavators and graders on site and Position Partners’ Tokara Link system enables us to login to each machine from the office to update the machine to a new design file or troubleshoot a problem,” he said.

Tokara Link removes the need for surveyors to visit a machine in person and transfer a design file via a USB to the control box. Instead, they simply connect to the machine using the Internet and transfer the design remotely.

“Tokara is a great solution and it saves us a lot of time,” Scott said. “If an operator is having technical problems, we try to solve it ourselves first but if we need help, the team at Position Partners in Sydney simply logs in from their office and most of the time we can resolve the problem without anyone actually needing to go out on site and visit the machine.”

 

Adam spends more time at play thanks to his Hybrid Solution!

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Adam McCaull, Survey Manager with Le Mottee Group in Raymond Terrace, north of Newcastle is one of two winners of Position Partners’ Topcon Hybrid competition.

The other winner was Queensland surveyor Matt Watterson, of Max Watterson and Associates.

Le Mottee Group, which carries out all types of survey, planning and engineering work across the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions, recently purchased a Topcon Hybrid package for its survey team.

This package incorporates a Topcon DS-200 robotic total station, a Topcon HiPer SR GNSS receiver, a Panasonic FZ-M1 7-inch tablet data collector, a one-year AllDayRTK CORS network subscription and MAGNET Field software.

 “This is the first piece of Topcon equipment we’ve purchased, and we’ve been very pleased with it in the first couple of months we’ve had it,” said Adam.

He took part in Position Partners’ competition after taking delivery of the new Hybrid, and is now looking forward to using his prize – a Garmin GPS sports device for his various hobbies and sports.

“I’m into general fitness – surfing, running, touch football, skiing/snowboarding and the like. 

“I’ll really look forward to using this device when I’m running or when I go down to the snow, so I can track what I’ve done,” Adam said.

 

 

Introducing the Topcon GLS-2000

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Topcon Positioning Group announces the release of the newest edition to the GLS line of laser scanners — the GLS-2000.  Featuring an expanded field of view, the GLS-2000 is designed to pair with ScanMaster v3.0 software for quickly capturing and processing 3D point cloud data.

“The GLS-2000 is the fastest and most versatile scanning system in its class,” said Charles Rihner, vice president for the Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group. “With a scan range of more than 350 meters, the GLS-2000 is capable of accurately capturing long-distance measurements in applications where access is limited due to safety or logistics concerns.”

Heath Low, Scanning Systems Product Manager for Topcon’s Australian distributors, Position Partners, said that the GLS-2000 is a true survey-grade instrument. “We have conducted a series of field tests with the GLS-2000 and its performance is outstanding,” he said. “Not only is the scanner fast and accurate, but it also comes with a number of unique features that give you a more professional and precise data set, including multiple focal length settings, dual internal digital cameras and 360 degree full-dome scanning.”

Using Topcon Precise Scan Technology II, the GLS-2000 is designed to emit pulse signals three times faster than earlier models. “Using faster pulse signals enables timing to be detected more precisely, which results in reduced noise and higher-accuracy data,” added Rihner.  

“With the on-board control software, scanning can simply be started with the touch of a button. Even entry-level users can intuitively operate the GLS-2000 that comes complete with a color graphical display,” said Rihner.

Additional features include user selectable Class 3R or 1M laser and an exclusive laser plummet function that measures instrument height with a one-touch operation. The GLS-2000 allows you to utilise your current survey prisms for control, streamlining your field work.

For more information about the GLS-2000, please contact Position Partners on 1300 867 266.