Trimble Stratus Drone Technology Takes Off in Australia

Press

From civil contracting, to land acquisition and development – Abax Contracting Pty Ltd (Abax) specialises in civil infrastructure-related projects in and around the greater Sydney Metropolitan Area. Established in 1968, Abax actively services a multitude of clients and ventures thanks to its broad business focus, from civil contracting, to land acquisition and development, specialising in land development related projects. The organisation has recently reaffirmed its leadership in the provision of state of the art construction services, by pioneering the use of Trimble Stratus in Australia, for faster surveying and job site provisioning. Abax joins a growing community of Stratus users in the market.

“Contractually, civil contractors are required to provide progress surveys on their projects and Trimble Stratus will produce these for Abax,” said Jack Widdowson, Abax Project Engineer, about the company’s latest purchase.

Trimble Stratus software allows civil contractors to use drones to map, measure and share accurate information about their worksites and assets. In turn, this enables faster decision making, reduces mistakes on the ground, and drives a more data-centric job site, helping to grow profits by providing the right information, to the right people, at the right time.

With Trimble Stratus contractors can:

Confidently plan and estimate – know what they are quoting, conduct their own site surveys before the job begins and whenever changes occur
Survey frequently and faster – get accurate, up-to-date topographic surveys whenever they are needed, without having to bring in a survey crew
Communicate effectively – a visual timeline keeps everyone on the same page, through the tracking of site changes
Take control – save on consultants and avoid information bottlenecks; get answers to questions with an intuitive, web-based tool
Calculate site volumes – calculate overall material volumes added or removed from pits, stockpiles, cells, drainage channels etc.
Conduct design checks – upload design files to compare actual surface to design surface and track progress. In addition, contractors can easily measure distances, slopes and heights to compare with site measurements

“Stratus will save us a lot of time on site surveying. It will be used in confirming natural surface models and stockpiles, and allows for fast and accurate progress claims. In addition, we can also easily provide project update photos to clients who can log in to a centralised system to view month-by-month progress,” noted Widdowson.

The Stratus solution is seamless for Abax as it integrates with the existing Trimble technology the organisation has in place, such as Trimble Business Centre (HCE). The data created through Stratus can then be used within Trimble 3D GPS Systems for excavators and graders, Trimble Site Rovers and Trimble Connected Community; allowing information sharing in real-time using the Internet and making efficient, integrated data management a reality.

“Trimble Stratus is so easy to use,” says Rhys Geerligs, Survey and Software Sales, SITECH Solutions. “The Aeropoints are strategically placed around the site, allowing contractors to then launch their drones on a pre-set flight path. The dataset collected is processed and returned within hours, allowing contractors to analyse and share sitemaps and models quickly and easily.”

Widdowson concluded: “In addition, there is the safety aspect,” he added. “You don’t need to have a surveyor walking about on site if you have machinery around.”

For more information about Abax, visit: www.abaxcontracting.com.au/