There are seven days in a week, seven colours of the rainbow, seven seas, seven continents and now Survey Solutions has seven Trimble X7’s!

Following Survey Solutions’ recent acquisition of three further survey companies, Survey Systems, Locate Surveys and Kempston Surveys,  it is now the UK’s largest engineering survey company and one that prides itself on offering ‘more than a survey’.  Survey Solutions sees investment in the latest technology as an integral part of that process and has an extensive survey fleet that reflects this forward thinking approach. Most recently this has included expanding and updating its range of 3D Laser Scanners.

With nine offices – from Scotland to Somerset – company CEO James Cooper was particularly keen to ensure that his regional teams had access to a 3D Laser Scanner that would meet their demands for high quality data, ease of use and excellent productivity in the field.  In upgrading the fleet’s older laser scanners, he was also keen to replace them with an instrument that all the surveyors and engineers would engage with. Their choice was the Trimble X7.

Seven scanners later, we caught up with Survey Solutions South East Director, Dave Bredin, who kindly shared his views on why the X7 has been such a popular addition to their survey fleet.

Top of Dave’s list was onsite registration. With seven X7’s in constant use, the increased efficiency on site and time saved in the office is considerable and a vital part in helping their clients meet important project deadlines. Dave estimates that on every job, office time is reduced by at least one third with the registered point cloud going straight in to drawing up.

The onsite registration also ensures that the Survey Solutions surveyors have total confidence in the data they have captured with the ability to check there and then that there are no gaps or missed areas. This reduces rework as well as time spent travelling back to a site if additional information is required. Tellingly, Dave says that it would be counter-productive to highlight a specific example of this function earning its keep because ‘… it’s every time on every job’!

Second on the list as a requirement for any laser scanner to be used nationwide was ease of use. With a large number of surveyors having access to the instruments it was vital that they could pick up the workflow quickly, with minimal training and have total confidence in their ability to collect high quality data from the off.

Dave reports that aside from the sensible pricing of the X7, there are many features that make it a perfect fit for the Survey Solutions’ fleet. These include it being easily carried in a backpack (many jobs in his SE area are undertaken in central London), the auto-calibration and self-levelling functions that ensure greater productivity on site and the Trimble RealWorks processing and analysis software that handles and combines data from different sensors. However, the real proof of an instrument’s contribution to a fleet is how it’s perceived by those who use it every day. Dave concludes, “The mark of a good piece of kit is the feedback from the surveyors who actually use it and every one of our surveyors loves it! Clearly the advancements in the Trimble X7 represent the next step in laser scanning technology and the X7’s easy to use and productive workflow is highly beneficial to both ourselves and our clients. It certainly ticks all the boxes for Survey Solutions.”

It’s always interesting for us here at KOREC to see what sort of reception a new product gets and we have to say the Trimble TSC5 Android data logger has certainly had its fair share of coverage on social media since its March launch. We’ve had everything from the Trimble ‘data logger evolution’ picture to some really useful feedback and opinion from all over the world.

Rather than reproduce a Trimble press release, we’ve decided to keep things fresh with a few bullet points and hot off the press feedback from those who’ve aleady been lucky enought to get their hands on a TSC5…and they don’t all agree!

The six stand out features of the TSC5 commented on by our KOREC customers:

Straight from the site – early customer feedback

“At Tri-Tech we embrace the latest technology and innovation and today I’ve been out stretching the legs of of one of our new Trimble TSC5 controllers paired with a Trimble R12i. A real step up in performance in so many ways from the much loved workhorse that is the TSC3. The TSC5 is lightweight, fast and seems very durable so far, so hopefully it will stand the test of time like the TSC3 has. It’s light but powerful and the hand strap on the side is a useful thing as is the protective ridge around the screen. They keyboard is great and I love that the light comes on with the caps lock. The fact that it’s Android is also useful because that means we have access to all the data storage apps as well such as Google Drive and Dropbox and dfx and dwg viewers. You’d need a USB C if you’re not using the data storage apps.  The battery life is also impressive. I was out yesterday, used it for around 9 hours and still had 50% left in the tank!

I’m still getting used to the screen because normally I use this version of Android on a larger one so would definitely recommend the stylus, at least initially.

I liked the TSC7 and I like the TSC3 but the TSC5 is a a great bit of kit and makes good business sense as and when we upgrade. All the team are looking forward to using it. Thank you to the KOREC Group and Amanda Bradshaw for getting the kit to us so promptly – great service as always.”

Ted Harland, Director, Tri-Tech

Ted has been trialling the TSC5 with his Trimble R12i

“I used the TSC5 the other day paired with Trimble’s R12i GNSS and noted some good improvements from the previous TSC3. The new Android system is exactly what was needed, this completely eliminates our use of USB’s as we can now directly download and then upload our data directly to our Google Drive system so all our information is accessible at any time. Another good improvement is the keyboard, I like how it is set out and with the LED’s that light up when you press the caps lock for example. Although it would be nice if the screen could fill the whole area, I’m not sure if that is physically possible. Overall I think it is a great logger and is a superb upgrade from the TSC3.”

Jack Brittain, Engineering Surveyor, Tri-Tech

Jack Brittain does the unboxing!

 

“Finally got my hands on the new Trimble TSC5 today and….I love it!

The TSC7 is nice but I found it a bit too big for running around with. The TSC5 is thinner, lighter, very quicker and it’s easy to see what’s going on with a screen that doesn’t blind you. It also has a narrower neck so you can reach everything you need with a single hand. The TSC5 is a great addition to the range.”

Paul Williams, Director at Survey Dimensions Ltd

Paul Williams rates the form factor of the new TSC5

Did you know that the Trimble X7 3D Laser Scanner has an integrated calibration feature that offers full auto-calibration of range and angular systems in 25 seconds with no user interaction or targets?

This Trimble technology is a smart feature that monitors environmental temperature, ambient light, vibration, instrument temperature and vertical speed to take the guesswork out of your data.

With all the X7’s unique benefits, it’s possible that this one can get overlooked but in fact, when we talk to KOREC customers, they cite the low running costs and maintenance of their X7 as one of the major factors behind their purchasing decision.

Here are five reasons why auto-calibration really delivers:

Find Out More

What’s the best way to stay in the loop with the current trends, events, offers and news in the geospatial industry?

Well, one way is to make sure you’re signed up to the weekly KOREC round up email.

Every Friday, we curate a selection of the most relevant, interesting and informative content from KOREC, our partners, and the wider industry – and deliver it straight to your inbox.

That way, you know you’ll never miss out on upcoming offers, promotions, webinars or events.

And because we’re feeling extra generous, from April onwards, we will randomly select 5 lucky people from our mailing list to receive a mini R12i figure, totally free!

All you need to do is sign yourself up to the mailing list; Sign me Up!

Feeling lucky? Sign up and you could be winning!

The Ts & Cs

  1. To qualify for the free gift, you must complete the mailing list sign up page in full, with your name, email address and company name
  2. At the end of each month, KOREC will randomly select 5 individuals from the mailing list to win a free R12i model
  3. KOREC will email the 5 lucky winners in order to obtain a postal address for sending the free gift. If we do not have a response to this email within 10 working days we will pick an alternative winner for that month.
  4. Maximum of 1 free gift per customer
  5. This offer is only open to customers who are based in the UK (excluding Scotland) and the Republic of Ireland
  6. If no R12i model is available we will offer a gift of similar value, or higher.
  7. This offer begins in April 2021. We reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time.

We’re delighted to have been featured in several industry publications this month!

GeoConnexion UK (March/April 2021)

Our group Commercial Director, Mark Poveda uses his regular colum in this issue to look at a quarted of technology solutions that are helping the engineering and construction sectors stay safe and adapt to the new normal.

Read it here

Civil Engineering Surveyor (February 2021)

A single click…

A 21st century workflow designed to tackle some very modern challenges

How the ECC Group tackled COVID head-on with a unique digital construction workflow designed to keep their largest projects on track, improve site productivity, cut contractor’s unseen costs and reduce the impact of COVID – all through a single click on a URL.

Read it here

AEC Magazine

A problem shared

We’re back to the ECC Group and their 21st centruy workflow with this one which was featured in the March/April issue of this useful BIM technology publication.

Read it here