Connected Construction

Modern satellite technology is making life easier for everyone on the construction site and in the office. Most major equipment manufacturers are now integrating GPS machine control systems into the design of excavators, bulldozers, pavers, and motor graders. For stake-less work it is a major component for automatic grading, surveying, and excavating systems, with contractors and construction companies using GPS machine control systems to improve operations.

The Skanska Balfour Beatty Joint Venture has been selected by Autodesk to receive an Autodesk BIM Experience Award.

Leica Geosystems says that its new Viva TS12 performance robotic package offers a comprehensive package of surveying solutions.

Fugro Aperio is launching its SCANNER survey service, which it says offers competitive, efficient and dynamic highways data collection to assist road agencies and local authorities in reporting to National Indicators.

Savoy Computing in the UK has been quick to launch a new version of its AutoTrack swept-path analysis software to take advantage of the latest AutoCAD 2012 platform.

British scanning company 3D Laser Mapping is hoping to benefit from a £3 million ($5 million) fund announced recently by the UK government for police forces to purchase laser scanning technology for accident recording and investigation.

New advanced software is being released for use by those involved in highway design as Adrian Greeman reports. The growing importance of BIM, building or project information modelling, as a design and construction process, and not just 3D modelling, is the driving force for the latest 2012 versions of Autodesk's comprehensive range of software for civil engineers. This is reflected in a new packaging of its various software tools into suites (along the lines of Microsoft's office suites) tailored to variou

GPS technology offers contractors many benefits and product offerings are growing more diverse, Mike Woof reports. The benefit of GPS technology for the construction industry cannot be overstated.

Efforts to improve energy efficiency in any quarry will be furthered by a new EU-funded project now underway. Madrid-based consulting firm Solintel is leading a new €6.3million research and development project, which is part funded by the EU, to find new techniques for modelling and applying energy efficiency improvements for every aspect of quarrying.

While the use of GPS is now commonplace in industry there are locations that do not get a reliable signal throughout the working day. The location, geographical layout and depth of a quarry can cause 'canyoning', where GPS signals are not dependable.Poor signals make GPS-based machine tracking technology unreliable but a Canadian firm has an RFID-based system it believes could be the answer for such sites. This cost effective QuarryTag system has been adapted from a product that has been widely used by the