Investment funds the purchase of specialist Geomatics surveying equipment, software and staff training to deliver improved service and efficiency savings to clients.
M-EC, one of the UK’s leading consulting development engineers, has invested £250,000 to further develop its in-house surveying and mapping division, M-EC Geomatics.
The purchase of the latest state of the art, survey grade hardware and software demonstrates M-EC’s commitment to using the latest technology to provide the full data capture service for the provision of underground utility surveys, land and building surveys, aerial surveys, geographical information systems (GIS) and building information modelling (BIM).
£250,000 Investment Takes Surveying and Mapping to New Heights
The significant investment by M-EC has been dedicated to the purchase of the company’s own Geomatics equipment, including relevant software and to support staff development. This includes the purchase of a DJI Matrice 200 Series Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV/Drone) which will allow M-EC’s engineers to access previously difficult to reach locations, such as construction sites, rooftops or building exteriors more much safely and map large areas from the air much faster than before.
Members of M-EC Geomatics have been professionally trained to pilot UAVs and hold the required CAA PfCO (Permissions for Commercial Operation) license, meaning M-EC can provide its own commercial UAV pilots to carry out aerial mapping and inspection surveys for its clients which include some of the UK’s leading housing developers.
Daniel Halstead, associate director with M-EC Geomatics said: “Providing a comprehensive data set across the lifespan of a project, whether from the air by UAV or underground via the ground-penetrating radar, or anything in between, is becoming increasingly essential in our work. The investment in the new technology is a response to trends we’ve seen to consult on and provide data from the start to the finish of our clients’ projects.”
“It will also help us to provide additional benefits to our clients. For example, by using 3D laser scanning technology, we’re able to capture an increased amount of data more quickly, enabling our clients to access accurate information from the data with no additional time spent on site.”
Full spectrum of Surveying & Mapping Solutions
The investment has also allowed M-EC Geomatics to purchase the following equipment:
Leica GNSS RTK Rover: The world’s fastest Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Rover provides accurate positioning for land and building surveys and features innovative tilt-compensation technology to allow greater accuracy, even under tree cover and hard-to-reach locations.
Leica RTC360 3D Laser Scanner: The latest 3D scanner from Leica, will enable M-EC to capture buildings and the surrounding environment in 3D point cloud data, meaning clients have access to even greater accuracy of measurements and information from scan data.
Leica DS2000 Utility Detection Radar: The latest in ground penetrating radar technology, the Leica DS2000 Utility Detection Radar will be used by M-EC to find potential underground threats, including non-conductive pipes and fibre optics and to detect utilities on potential development sites.
DJI Matrice 200 Series UAV: The high-performance UAV will enable M-EC to map land from the air, providing M-EC’s clients with accurate information in real time. The UAV can also scan buildings, removing the need to erect scaffolding, and will be used in collaboration with other departments and specialists, providing the sharing of information quickly and accurately.
Edward Mewies, managing director of M-EC commented: “Our significant investment into M-EC Geomatics is focused on the needs of our customers and signals our commitment to further business growth. We have invested in the latest equipment to support our capability in providing our engineers, and in turn our clients, with the full data capture service they need to make accurate and informed decisions in the planning of development projects.”
“Having our own equipment provides us with the adaptability to respond to clients’ needs more quickly and will greatly reduce the wait time on developments. I am looking forward to M-EC Geomatics supporting our clients on a wide range of projects over coming months.”
