Total Control Across The Fleet

Cameron Civil Ltd owner/manager Tony Wilson admits he is always looking for ways to be more innovative, to get things done faster. Eventually, he says, the need for better project efficiencies led him to Topcon.

“Our first introduction to Topcon was through their drainage laser technology back in 2005. I became aware of the technology and figured it was worth investigating to see how it might speed our practices up.”

“Then we came across Topcon’s machine control systems. We were already using lasers - albeit manually - so I understood what technology like machine control could mean for our productivity. As a result we decided to give GPS machine control a trial.”

And Tony hasn’t looked back, utilising systems on a variety of equipment used across multiple projects around the greater Auckland region.

“Our Caterpillar D7H dozer is fitted with a fully-automated system for the blade, and our Caterpillar 120 grader also has fully-automated machine control technology onboard. We have two excavators - a 16 ton and a 35 ton - which have the system onboard and we’re about to install the same system in our 20 ton excavator as well.”

“We’ve also recently fitted Topcon software to another of our graders, which is off to work on a large scale project in Cambridge. You could definitely say we’ve taken the decision to invest heavily in the technology.”

Rather than a solution to one specific problem, Tony sees Topcon’s GPS machine control system as a way of giving Cameron Civil Ltd an innovative edge across the board.

With so many different projects on the go - including residential subdivision work, roading projects for Councils, school playing fields, Housing New Zealand development work, drainage projects and bulk earthworks - and a variety of machinery needed to complete them; Tony looked to Topcon to provide out of-the-box software to suit anything he can throw at it.

“The technology has definitely improved our productivity,” says Tony. “In some instances I would say we’re working five times faster with the Topcon technology than we would be with manual pegs and string-lines. But there’s much more to it than that too.

“Because Topcon machine control systems are a great time-saver, our labour costs have dropped because we’re giving our guys on the ground the tools to do their jobs faster. It also means we’re better utilising our plant; we use our D7H bulldozer to trim up to 50mm, simply because Topcon gear can get tolerances up that far before we need to hand over to the grader to complete the final trimming.”

And with the company currently working on roading infrastructure, site works and drainage at the massive Westgate Town Centre project in Auckland’s western suburbs, Tony has the ability to utilise all of the Topcon technology at his disposal in one site.

“We’ve even put Topcon’s GPS systems on our Cat 637 motor scrapers, which was something we experimented with ourselves; again, it’s all about innovating and finding new ways to do things. Topcon really does give you the ability to think outside the square.”