Specialist ground engineering contractor Ground Developments Ltd (GDL) was one of the first companies in Scotland to upgrade its fleet to machine control. Eleven years ago, SITECH UK and Ireland, a leading distributor of Trimble machine control technology, began supplying GDL with hardware and software that allowed it to improve measuring accuracy and increase its operational efficiency. The partnership has continued ever since.
Based in Whitburn, Scotland, GDL operates a large plant fleet, including excavators, dozers, and heavy compaction equipment. Most of its plant is equipped with GPS machine control, which helps the company prepare sites for new developments. Eleven years ago, GDL saw the Trimble Machine Control solution advertised and knew that it was the technology the company needed to improve delivery on site.
In 2010, GDL started adding Machine Control to its fleet to further facilitate accuracy on site. Partnering the hardware with the software enabled positioning detail to increase, while construction programmes became clearer. Site deliverables became accurate quickly, and thus material placement could be managed better. The company was aware of SITECH’s technology expertise, so it approached the Trimble distributor for support. SITECH then invited GDL to Newcastle, where it gave a demonstration of its various solutions.
After the demonstrations, GDL purchased the Trimble 3D GCS900 Grade Control System, which it installed on its Cat® dozers. The company also purchased Trimble Base and Rover systems. This initial hardware suite facilitated new efficiencies in its construction approach. GDL has continued adding heavy construction Trimble GCS systems, Trimble Earthworks and Trimble Base Stations to its fleet to further assist deliverables. It also added geospatial solutions like Trimble’s SPS930 Robotic Total Station, Trimble Dini, Trimble SPS985s, Trimble VRS, Trimble T7 and others to further increase site measurement accuracy. The company has heavily utilised Trimble Business Center software, which is the tool that enables the detail to be created.
“The type of work we were pursuing, and the constraints required in delivery, meant that we needed increased precision while gaining efficiency. The original methodology wasn’t adequate, and this was an issue for us,” explained Julius Newman, Technical Director at Ground Developments Ltd. “Therefore, we were looking for a partner that knew about construction solutions and who understood us as a business. We found that partner in SITECH and the relationship has continued to grow.”
“Because of our partnership with SITECH, we’ve already seen productivity increase immeasurably,” added Wayne Barr, Project Director at Ground Developments Ltd. “As well as being able to monitor data from our sites, we’ve won repeat work because clients are happy with what we deliver. This has been vital to our business during the pandemic.”
“We understood the challenges of varying topographies and knew why Ground Developments wanted to upgrade to machine control,” explained Brian Core, Key Accounts Manager at SITECH. “With its portfolio of site positioning and machine control software, the company can carry out stabilisation and earthworks projects quicker and more efficiently. This means it can quantify more accurately than beforehand and win more tenders — giving it a competitive advantage.”
