No one likes to face the unknown on his own and-while the degree of stress may differ-that’s as true for a child headed off to school for the first time as it is for a smaller contractor making his initial foray into GPS. For the latter, abandoning tried-and-true techniques in favor of a new approach is temporarily akin to taking a step backward, a luxury most small firms don’t have. While their larger counterparts generally have existing staff on hand with a proven expertise to help make the transition seamless (or at the very least, smooth), smaller firms bear the brunt of that effort themselves. Without help, the onus falls upon them to master the new technology and integrate it into their everyday business. While some find the effort too daunting and abandon it altogether, those working with an equipment supplier or dealer committed to seeing their customers succeed, can suddenly find it very do-able. The dealer’s willingness to step up and provide the help needed to take them to the next level makes it happen.
For two Western New York contractors, each of whom added GPS-based machine control to their operations, the role played by their dealer made all the difference in ensuring that project goals were met, their insight into the new technology was solid, and their decision to take that bold step was a sound one.
Not Just for the Big Guys
Frederico Construction & Demolition is a Rochester, NY-based firm that specializes in everything from site prep to commercial demolition. Until about 2008, the company relied upon conventional survey methods, thinking, according to co-owner Lee Frederico, there were few alternatives available to a small firm like theirs.
“We had seen all the GPS demonstrations at ConExpo and other shows and liked what we saw,” he says. “But we always felt we were too small of a company to have it; we thought it was for larger earthmoving contractors, not for us. Four years ago, however, we landed a utility relocation project for Rochester Institute of Technology and rented a Topcon base station, rover and data and collector package from Admar Positioning Solutions for a month. We liked it so much we bought it on the spot. Using that technology, not only did we put in 9,000 feet of pipe, we also “˜as-built’ every foot of it, every structure. At the end we gave RIT perfect as-built information.”
He adds that, because of their size and the types of projects they do, they use GPS on probably just over half their work, which means they aren’t able to develop the same level of proficiency with it as someone who uses it all day, every day.
“We might use it on a job, put it away and not use it again for two or three months,” he says. “As a result, we weren’t able to really hone our skills on it. But that’s where Admar Positioning Solutions has proven just invaluable. Not only were they there to initially get us up and running, they have continued to be there for us when we’ve needed them most: down the line. Our level of inexperience means that we have issues others don’t-for that reason alone their support has been huge for us.”
Considering a Bigger Move
A combination of Frederico’s now-confirmed belief in GPS’ benefits, coupled with newer projects with some interesting challenges, led them to contact Admar to discuss rental of a John Deere 700 dozer equipped with Topcon’s 3D-MC2 machine control system. One of those projects, a multigrade site prep for a new, Wegman’s grocery store, has proven their wisdom in doing so, and is pushing them closer and closer to an outright purchase.
“This store is one of the Wegman chain’s last within the Rochester city limits,” he says. “But it is also one of the most profitable, so they’ve decided to build a new, larger store adjacent to the existing one, then, when it is about 95% complete, demolish the older structure. Because of the limited space available and parking being at a premium, all the employees will park in an area under the store.”
Frederico says the very fact that he was able to rent a machine-control-equipped dozer from Admar speaks volumes about how committed they are to their customers’ advancement. “Many suppliers either don’t have that type of equipment or won’t rent it. And some, if you do rent something, will hand you a manual, send you off and say “˜Good luck.’ Admar has multiple people who are skilled at GPS and machine control, available at a moment’s notice to help us through any problem we might encounter.”
Control on a Different Level
The Wegman’s structure’s three different elevations-a slab-on-grade for the store, another for the parking garage, and a third for the loading dock-proved a natural fit for machine control.
“Being able to take that dozer with the GPS and drive it from area to area onsite was a huge benefit,” he says. “Doing the different levels was effortless; there is no changing grades; the dozer does it all. It always knows where it is in relation to what grades are. To create the loading area, we had to put in 8-feet of soil with compaction testing every 12 inches. Typically, we would have to go in and put stakes in at every lift, but with the 3D-MC2 we were able to just set it to “˜Finished grade, minus 7 feet,’ then “˜Finished grade minus 6 feet,’ and so on. Based on what Admar showed me, I did it once and then I showed the operators how to do it and never had to show them again.”
Because they were putting down perfect 12-inch lifts, Frederico says the engineer was happy, the compaction testing company was happy, and because they were moving along, they were also happy.
“That was the third job-and by far the biggest one-on which we used machine control, and we are becoming more reliant on it with each project,” says Frederico. “So it is really just a matter of time until we purchase one outright. But, again, we wouldn’t have had that level of success or confidence in our abilities, without the role Admar played. They’ve been outstanding for us.”
Subdivision Driven
Like Frederico, Frank Rivet of Rivet Construction (Clarence Center, NY) knew the time had come to make GPS part of the company’s operation. Rivet’s more than three decades of experience in heavy-equipment sales left him fairly well-versed in what the equipment could do for them. He says the company had toyed with the idea of adding GPS since attending a ConExpo in 2008, so when a sizeable subdivision project in nearby Wolcottsville came about, he started seriously looking into what was out there.
“I knew quite a bit about the existing technology and understood what it could do for us in terms of eliminating our reliance upon stakes and conventional grade-checking methods. We had just wrapped up a different subdivision job at which we were constantly calling surveyors, then having to wait two or three days to get anything from centerlines in roads, to curb, storm, sanitary, and so on. With a project of this size we felt we could now justify the purchase of a GPS system and be a lot more self-reliant.”
He adds that the company brought its thoughts on GPS to the attention of the subdivision’s owner, looking for his vote of confidence on the matter. Rivet construction put together a presentation showing how survey delays would ultimately cost money and how this system would allow them to eliminate that risk.
“It didn’t hurt that, when we first came onsite, there was another contractor hired to strip the topsoil. He was wiping out stakes left and right. The minute that happens, all reference is lost and surveyors need to be called. That helped make our case; he was still a bit concerned whether we could handle both the topsoil work and the rest of the site prep, but he eventually saw that we were right.”
Learning From Experience
Rivet says the decision to choose the equipment he did-a Topcon HiPer Lite base and FC 200 field controller-was based as much on the support behind it as on personal experience. Having used a different brand of dual-slope laser and suffered through its share of downtime, helped steer Rivet Construction toward Admar.
“After everything we went through with that other brand of laser and the feeling that we weren’t a real priority with the manufacturer, I knew that Topcon and Admar had the upper hand,” he says. “Upon purchase, Rolf Witt, Admar’s sales manager, came out as did Mike Conley, their positioning support specialist, and they’ve been excellent both at the outset and in follow up. They also had dedicated survey specialists who handled our training and really helped get us going.”
In fact, Admar’s people conducted those training sessions at the subdivision Rivet was working and, when they found out how long they were going to be out there, passed along a valuable tip.
“They told us to forget about setting up the tripod every morning and showed us how to establish a permanent post, locate it, and always have it available. We did that, and it’s been great; we just check control points first thing in the morning, and we are off and running.”
Challenges Abound
Rivet’s work at the Wolcottsville development was unique in that the site was composed of three different levels of material, most of which had to be moved at some point to make development even possible.
In addition, the site itself sits on a flood plain, so the company had to excavate out a number of ponds in order to bring it up out of that level.
“We moved better than 120,000 cubic yards of material to make that happen,” he says. “This job was also very tricky from the standpoint that there are three different materials we are dealing with: a 30-inch clay layer on top, 30 more inches of sand below that, and, finally, a wet clay gumbo beneath it all. We had to create sand filters that will serve as the sanitary system for the first 28 homes built, and all the sand was reclaimed from that center layer. The Topcon GPS lent itself well by allowing us to selectively get those materials out of there and put them in the proper location until the right time. When it was too wet in one spot, I could just move over to another one, check the elevations, and know what needed to be done. I didn’t have to get a laser, establish a benchmark, start doing all sorts of calculations, and so on. It really played a huge role in keeping us on track.”
Committed to GPS
Both Rivet and Frederico share a belief that, while technology alone can make a huge impact on a company’s operation, it is the support behind those tools that ultimately determines how beneficial they can be. They each say that Admar Positioning Solutions has proved to be up to the task time and again.
“A lot of companies that are as big as Admar will focus on the sale and drop the ball after that,” says Frederico. “Admar has proved its commitment by starting Admar Positioning Solutions, a segment of the company focused solely on positioning products and users. They have machine control and survey specialists out there; people who only do GPS eight hours a day. It is a nice luxury to have.”
Rivet concurs, adding that he knows he has seen only the tip of the iceberg as far as utilizing GPS capabilities.
“We are looking at a number of different uses besides the large projects like this development,” he says. “Take Topcon’s layout software, for example. We do a lot of digging for new homes, and we are hoping to be able to quickly take the drawings of a house, get the outside corners and then be able get on the site and lay this thing out a lot quicker than we can by pulling tape.
“The important thing for us is the knowledge that, whatever we decide to try, whatever equipment that involves, if it is GPS-related, we know we have the backing of Admar Positioning’s team. We’ve had numerous instances where they’ve already been there for us. Based on how they do business, we suspect that’s never going to change.”
