NSW Council pushes the envelope with Topcon machine control

Forbes Shire Council, in the central west of NSW, has been a pioneer among local government in the state in its use of GPS-based surveying and machine control systems – a move it has found has paid off in terms of efficiency and speed of works. Based around the town of Forbes, located about 400 km west of Sydney, the shire services a population of just over 9,000 people. Over the past five or six years, it has pioneered the use of GPS-based systems among NSW councils for its survey works, and as a result of the efficiencies and successes it achieved, has since moved into machine control systems for its road construction equipment. According to design engineer