THE GAME CHANGER

Let’s face it: going digital in construction has its challenges, which is probably why a new report has revealed that construction sector digitalisation has stagnated. But that’s certainly not the case at Galtec, a leading groundworks and civil engineering company based in Gloucester, UK. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Galtec has up to 30 Kobelco excavators, ranging from five tonnes to 30 tonnes, supplied by Molson Equipment UK, and another 15 or so Hitachi machines, all fully equipped with the latest Trimble® Earthworks Grade Control Platform, supplied by SITECH® UK & Ireland.

“We have been using machine control now for about six years and we wouldn’t have it any other way,” says Jim Swift, Galtec’s machine control fleet manager. “The Trimble Earthworks Grade Control platform has been a game changer for us, saving the company both time and money.”

Those comments contrast significantly from the report by facilities management platform Plan Radar that shows 77% of respondents were struggling to implement new technologies, and while the UK was among the most adept nations, only around a quarter of companies polled (28%) say implementation is easy or very easy.

Surveying over 1300 construction professionals across 15 countries, including the UK, Australia, France, Germany, and Spain, the study examined existing levels of digitalisation in the construction and housing sector, as well as its growth prospects over the next three years. The data suggests the construction sector has a long way to go in terms of digitalisation, but Galtec are way ahead of the field, as we discovered when we recently visited one of the company’s many projects being fully streamed on GNSS, a 200-unit new housing development in Gloucester where they are carrying out groundworks on behalf of Taylor Wimpey.

Trimble technology brings people, machines and workflows together into a cloud-enabled environment, giving access to real-time, real-world data.

Utilizing Trimble GNSS technology, supported by Trimble’s Business Center and Trimble WorksManager Software, has enabled Galtec to work not only more accurately but also in a faster, more productive and more efficient way. It brings people, data, machines, and workflows together into a cloud-enabled common environment, so you can access real-time, real-world data and deliver what your teams, partners or customers need — when they need it. You can keep project budgets, schedules, resources, and teams on track — from planning and design through to operation and maintenance.

Galtec’s process begins when the client forwards a scope of works along with a topographic survey of the planned project. Then a dedicated team of office-based Galtec Estimators employ the latest Trimble software to quantify and price the project as part of the tendering process. If that process is successful, the next stage of the digital workflow sees the topographic survey being used to create a 3D model which is then streamed down through WorksManager software direct to the machines on site.

It is rare that anyone needs to leave the office to go out to the site to check the machines before all the relevant information is sent back remotely as Asbuilt data. Any faults can be diagnosed, or if needed adjustment to the designs can also be done remotely.

The company was one of the first in the area to use what’s called an Internet Base Station Service (IBSS), a remote internet base station which can cover an area of up to 30km. It provides superior range compared to traditional radio-based systems, and is not affected by physical obstructions like buildings or hills that can block radio signals. It sends Real Time Kinematic (RTK) corrections to the machine with a very fine accuracy of 15-20mm. It also eliminates the need for surveyors to carry and set up radio equipment on site, saving them valuable time and reducing the risk of theft.

"We have been using machine control now for about six years and we wouldn’t have it any other way...

Currently, Galtec operate around a dozen Trimble SPS855 GNSS Modular Receivers, but have recently introduced two of the new Trimble R750 GNSS Modular Receivers which have a larger display, and significantly have a SIM card slot offering the ability to configure and start a base from a cell phone, with better signal tracking than the version it replaces.

“Being able to utilise a SIM card rather than set up a separate wi-fi connection makes the R750 a more integrated unit and allows us to run three or four different sites within a 20 miles radius with just the one base station doing RTK corrections for up to 100 machines over those multiple sites.

“Normally, you might have three base stations set up individually,” says Jim. “In my opinion it is a game changer and will allow us to dispense with at least half of our older SPS855s, all of which result in a considerable saving.”

Another big saving is that the Trimble GNSS technology helps the company to reduce the number of engineers needed on site. “We currently operate 23 sites with about 40 machines working there, and that means we would need maybe 15 engineers out on those sites, but now we can deploy maybe five or six as the technology gives us the ability to monitor each machine remotely and quickly respond to any issues,” says Jim, who adds that Galtec will also be exploring the potential of using its own surveying drones on site to gather relevant data.

Conducting topographic surveys with traditional approaches could take several days and weeks to complete; manual survey methods are labour and time intensive, but survey drones can produce complete and accurate maps over large plots of land in a single flight using GNSS points, enabling surveyors to acquire measurements of distances, elevations, surfaces and volumes free from human errors.

"Introducing Trimble GNSS technology has probably resulted in savings to the company of around 40%...

As we mentioned at the beginning, taking on new digital technology can be challenging, especially for long serving individuals in the industry, which is why Galtec runs a dedicated training programme on the Trimble Earthworks platform for all of its plant operators.

“Once you get your head around the technology, you wouldn’t go back to old ways; introducing the Trimble GNSS technology has resulted in substantial savings to the company,” says Jim who makes special mention of the service and support he has received from SITECH UK & Ireland.

JIM SWIFT MACHINE CONTROL MANAGER Galtec.

“It has been excellent,” he says. “Their technical sales manager Carl Parsons has always been on hand to keep us on the right track. His technical expertise is second to none and he knows the Trimble product inside out and has been very instrumental in helping Galtec to adopt the technology.

“It’s been revolutionary for us, especially in the last few months and I believe that within the next 10 years the whole industry will have gone digital.”

Initially focusing on the newly released Trimble Earthworks 3D Grade Control Platform to help provide a more efficient way of working but then we were asked "what's next? How can we improve from here" .We then looked at the Trimble portfolio with a holistic approach and introduced Trimble Business Center for estimating and modelling and Trimble Works Manager for remote support and design management. We moved further forward with a fleet of Trimble Site Positioning Systems for the Site Engineers. To this day, I’m still challenged with "what's next?". We recently setup an IBSS (Internet Base Station Service) that can transmit RTK corrections for up to 30Km helping them run multiple sites from one base located in their office all through a cellular network.