Gavin Schrock from xyHt gave a detailed and objective review of Sokkia’s GCX3, commonly known as ‘the Bullet’ for it’s compact form factor, speed and precision. I’ll cut straight to the punchline: this little unit performed as well as many of the high-end (and pricier) GNSS rovers I’ve tried, both as a base-rover pair and as a network rover. And I had way too much fun test driving it. Check out the full review here My test drive was by no means a tightly controlled scientific study. But even that minimal data has me convinced that this is a serious and viable system, one that surveyors should consider and test drive themselves (as with any gear). So,
Machine guidance is used in the waste management industry to optimise compaction and give waste facility managers real time data to ensure fill plans are being followed safely and to design. Used widely in large metro waste management facilities, machine guidance adoption rates for landfill operations is increasing steadily with council and privately- operated sites realising the productivity gains that can be achieved with this simple yet valuable tool. One such progressive facility is managed by Toowoomba Regional Council to the west of Brisbane in South East Queensland. The waste facility services a population of around 130,000 people and manages 50,000 tonnes per year. “Safe and efficient use of our council waste facility is important to ensure its
Topcon machine control technology will provide you with the flexibility to mix and match your grader solution to suit different applications at different stages of the project you’re working on. With many of the new graders in Australia arriving from the factory or dealer with the option for an integrated system and basic machine control technology already installed, it is more important than ever to ensure you have the best solution on your grader that will not only suit your current needs but also has the ability to grow with your business. If you rely on a factory fitted system, you may be limited by the fact that these systems are often not upgradeable or transferable between machines,
The Aptella Geospatial team attended this year’s InterGEO Conference, held in September in Stuttgart, Germany. The conference ran over four days and provided attendees with the opportunity to view the latest Geospatial technology in the market. Many of the products available from Aptella were on show, including products from Topcon, Sokkia, Tiny Mobile Robots, Z+F, Quantum, Teledyne Optech and Senceive. The Tiny Surveyor, one of the first robotic instruments brought into the survey industry, was on show demonstrating how it can provide massive gains in line marking. On the Topcon stand, attendees also had the opportunity to see the Topcon LN-150 next gen site layout tool which is being released early next year. This site layout tool features
Michael Connolly is the owner of Western Survey based in Dubbo NSW. After graduating from the University of Newcastle in 2007, Michael worked for a number of survey practices in the Dubbo region while securing his registration and learning his trade. Despite the presence of a large number of competing businesses in the Dubbo market, Michael believed that he could offer something new and different, and in 2018 he established Western Survey. We asked Michael to talk about some of the challenges he faced in starting his own business. Michael said, ‘as an employee in a business, you spend most of your time doing field work and you’re not exposed to business development, client
Calling all MAMILS and cycling enthusiasts! Aptella has got some great new cycling kits available to order online and have ready for Christmas. Whether you’re buying for yourself or someone else, these Pedal Mafia kits are made from the highest quality fabrics and designed with comfort and performance in mind. Much like the MAGNET workplace solution, that’s built to up your efficiency and streamline your workflow. To order, click the link below and enter the password PP19 Buy a full bib and jersey set or just the jersey, there are sizes for men and women. Not sure what size to get? Check out this handy sizing chart (click here to view the PDF):
Another successful conference for the year! The annual MAGNET Conference, which was held on the 22nd and 23rd August, at the Intercontinental Sydney was attended by more than a hundred users from across Australia. This year’s conference was designed to highlight the changes that had been made to the software, by way of the previous year’s wishes and enhancements from the users, and how this can improve their workflows and productivity, with the release of the next version. Included in the day were workshops that were interactive training sessions. These workshops gave an insight into some of the features and methodology of the software, that wasn’t always apparent. Leading on from this, was a workshop that encouraged the
For many survey and geospatial professionals, the early career pathway is similar. After completing tertiary education, they work in a survey business and over the next few years, they gain experience and perfect their craft. While working as an employee in someone else’s business suits some people well, for others, the desire to be their own boss is compelling, and they wish to strike-out on their own and set-up their own survey practice. Starting a business is a big step and often involves leaving the security of paid employment for a more uncertain financial future, but if you have a genuine passion for what you do and relish the idea of building something different or better, then running
