MARKET REPORT SURVEY EQUIPMENT & MACHINE CONTROL
Set the controls for greater efficiency
Alan Guthrie visits the recently opened West Bromwich depot of Boels Survey & Laser, which is serving as a central hub for its expanding machine control activity.
When Boels Rental bought Supply UK Hire Shops in November 2017, the acquisition obviously included the latter’s specialist Survey & Laser operation. This dates back to 2003 and it was one of the first hire organisations to identify this niche and aim to serve it on a national basis.
And with the resources of Boels Rental now behind us, we have a platform for even further growth.”
Faster results and shorter project lengths
The introduction and wider use of laser surveying instruments from, roughly, the late 1980s transformed the market. Instead of relying on two people with a hand-held level and a theodolite taking measurements across a site, laser controlled machines like total stations and rotating lasers made it a one-man operation with greater accuracy. And over the years, as instruments became more robust and offered user-friendly interface screens, site foremen or other construction professionals could undertake quite complex tasks themselves. Nowadays, data can also be stored on the internet.
Boels Survey & Laser’s Machine Control team working on major site install.
The first Survey & Laser depot shared premises with Supply UK’s original Manchester depot, but additional standalone locations were added as business grew. At the time of the Boels acquisition, the operation had six depots in Dunfermline, Manchester, Derby, Cardiff, Exeter and Larkfield, Kent. In September 2018 a new location in Leeds was opened and another in Yate was acquired when the Dutch-based business purchased Artisan Hire Centres and its SAS survey hire activity. A ninth was opened in West Bromwich in December 2018, dedicated to the supply, installation and servicing of machine control systems, which the company first identified as a growing market in 2017.
“The new West Bromwich premises are ideally situated, being highly visible on a major road with excellent links to the M5 and M6,” said Boels Survey & Laser MD Dave Thomas, who has been with the operation since its foundation. Like many others working in this division, he originally worked for a manufacturer of survey and laser equipment, and this means the business has a comprehensive knowledge base to draw on in identifying and meeting customers’ needs.
“It took 12 months to find the right location and the site is ideal. It is our biggest yet with a 4,700ft2
footprint and a mezzanine floor, giving us ample storage and office space as well as training facilities. 30
“Survey and laser equipment technology changes at a rapid pace and so hire is an attractive option, giving users access to the latest models,” said Dave Thomas. “Also, as new working practices bring faster results and often shorter project lengths, customers can hire machines as when they need them during the site works.
Paul Tuohy, Boels Survey & Laser’s UK Machine Control Manager, adds, “Machine control is a logical progression from optical, GPS (global positioning system) and laser-based survey equipment. During 1983, the GPS as we refer to it today was opened up for civilian purposes, along with many other products across the spectrum, such as SatNav, mapping, phone technology and more. Machine control GPS in construction benefits from this hugely. GPS-based systems were developed for site modelling and measurement, and gradually became adapted for machines themselves working in many areas of construction.
The latest Leica 3D in-cab display on a 360° excavator system.
MOVING FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE
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