From left to right: Noburu Katsu (Chairman & CEO, Mitsui & Co (Australia)), Ian Petherbridge (Chairman, Aptella), Martin Nix (CEO, Aptella), Nobuaki Kitamori (Representative Director, Senior Executive Managing Officer, Mitsui & Co), Hiroshi Kubo (General Manager, Construction and Industrial Machinery Division, Mitsui & Co). The Mitsui representatives learnt about Tokara Link telematics and remote support technology, developed by Aptella to streamline the design file transfer and technical support capabilities on site by eliminating the need to visit machines in person. Global company becomes a corporate shareholder in intelligent positioning technology provider Aptella to amplify innovation across its core markets. Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui) is a Japanese organisation with operations in 66 countries worldwide. Specialising in identifying and realising innovation
“Mavinci is hard to top because of ease of use, consistency of product and reliability,” said Brent Manuel, Superintendent – Survey, BHP. Brent Manual and his team at BHP are working on site at Mt Arthur, one of the largest producers in the Hunter Valley producing 19mt of product coal each year. The site’s geology is complex with over 120 seams in the mining area which are typically mined in 40 different composites dependent on product requirements. “Currently we are mining down dip into a monocline which we don’t expect to pass in the next five years,” said Brent Manuel, Superintendent – Survey, BHP. “This will result in more through seam blasting and challenge our operations to mine
Topcon Positioning Group announces a new workflow bundle designed to modernise concrete FFL (Floor Flatness and Levelness) applications. A new ClearEdge3D development and sales partnership with a leader and pioneer in 3D laser scanning software for construction QA/QC, Rithm, is prominently advancing the Topcon concrete application offering with a new hardware and software bundle option. It is part of the Topcon comprehensive approach to modernise core concrete applications such as layout, quality control, and concrete screed with the latest capabilities in precise positioning technology. Implementing Rithm on projects for wet, or dry concrete scanning is designed to allow the opportunity to perform FFL analysis directly from scan data loaded into the Autodesk Navisworks software. Operators can find floor
Digwright Pty Ltd had been using Topcon 3D-MC2 systems from Aptella on its dozers since 2009 and had always found the 3D-MC2 systems to be more responsive and smoother than other systems on the market, so when the opportunity to implement the Topcon 3D-MCMAX mastless machine control system arose Digwright jumped at it. “When the opportunity came for us to install a [3D-MCMAX] mastless system on one of our new CAT D6T VPAT machines we were keen to give it go,” said Andrew Wright, Director and Owner of Digwright. “The rate of speed the machine was able to trim at in higher gears is impressive.” Why did Digwright choose the Topcon 3D-MCMAX machine control system for dozer? Mr
Topcon Positioning Systems’ exclusive Australian distributor, Aptella, was awarded top prize for Construction at the recent Topcon Xperience dealer conference held in San Antonio, Texas. Topcon Positioning Systems’ annual dealer conference brings together more than 500 distributors from around the world to network and learn about new technology for the construction, geospatial and mining industries. At the recent event held in December 2018, Aptella was awarded ‘Dealer of the Year 2017-2018’ for Construction, along with awards for ‘Top 5 Year on Year Sales Growth’ and ‘Top 5 Excavator Sales’. “We are privileged to receive Topcon’s Dealer of the Year award amongst all of Topcon’s successful distributors,” said Martin Nix, Aptella CEO. “It’s a great reflection of the support
Peter Windley, Team Coordinator Waste Operations, Shoalhaven City Council waste services was looking to improve machine efficiency, maximise air space and extend the landfill life of the West Nowra landfill site. In particular, Mr Windley wanted to use GNSS technology on the site’s landfill compactor. To achieve these goals, Aptella worked with Shoalhaven City Council to implement the Carlson LandfillGrade machine guidance system. “Overall reduction of landfilling is certainly an organisational goal for Shoalhaven City Council Waste Operations,” he said. “Maximising air space within our current landfills is a major factor in our strategic planning and, when used in conjunction with effective resource recovery activities, will ensure we prolong the landfill lifespan.” “We conducted a trial of the
Topcon Positioning Group announces a new series of documentary videos designed to bring greater awareness to automation and technology in the construction and agriculture industries. Along with thought leadership from Topcon, the documentaries feature interviews with various tangential industry experts and business representatives — including comments from Intel Corporation, SAP, Solar City Corporation, among others — offering their perspectives on how technological advancements have changed infrastructure and what to expect going forward. “We wanted to take a partnership approach to the video series to feature industry experts along with our visionary thoughts at Topcon. The infrastructure industry is changing quickly, and this video series highlights how this advancement is part of a larger story of technology changing the
Cameron Waters, Business Manager – Geospatial Systems, Aptella The construction industry has the lowest productivity and the most amount of rework. So, while the manufacturing, mining and farming industries are all increasing productivity, the construction industry is doing the opposite. So, let’s talk solutions Technology and automation are no longer the future of infrastructure: they are the present. It’s not often that a solution comes along that can improve a workflow so dramatically that it improves all critical performance factors: safety, productivity and quality, not by 5-10% but by 500-1,000%. During the construction of a road there are several line marking tasks that are traditionally done by a surveyor. With the change to a digital construction model the
