Foreign Case: MC-Mobile- A flexible and versatile Mechanical Control Solution

Frederick Construction & Development, located in Rochester, New York State, is a heavy highway construction company. The company is a regional leader in small-scale projects, municipal projects and concrete contracting. Although the company is not large in scale, it is an aggressive one. For 15 years, they have been a supporter of GPS and GNSS-based mechanical control solutions, which is also the key to their success.

But recently they have found themselves increasingly dependent on smaller and more compact machines. Although smaller excavators are more suitable for the compact places where they often work, they cannot offer the same level of 3D mechanical control system solutions as large machines. However, this situation has undergone a positive transformation in a recent project. They introduced a new solution called MC-Mobile from Topcon Positioning Systems to serve them. It not only brought them a 3D control system that was previously unavailable, but also enabled them to use the same solution in design and layout during work. This has brought their operations to an efficiency level never foreseen and they are very popular.

The first one we came into contact with was the Topcon HiPer series GNSS receiver, and it was widely used in municipal project layout and completion surveying. This changed our construction concept and enabled us to naturally enter the field of mechanical control.

- Lee Frederick

1

SHED project

The project referred to by Frederick is a $150 million glass and steel structure project - SHED is the exact abbreviation of Student Hall for Exploration and Development. The project began in 2020. After completing all the excavation and backfilling of SHED and the foundation of the adjacent Wallace Library, the project was forced to be suspended for nearly two years due to a major renovation of the Wallace Library. However, when FDC returned to the SHED project this year, it found that the newly built building blocked the GPS signal, leaving the staff who were highly dependent on GPS at a loss.

Fortunately, FDC saw the real solution to the upcoming GPS occlusion problem at the WOC exhibition - the Topcon LN-150 layout robot. It can lay foundation anchor bolts with astonishing precision. This is similar to much of FDC's work at SHED.

2

Excellent flexibility

The MC-Mobile solution adopts a modular design, leveraging key elements of measurement and mechanical control technologies to enhance efficiency while reducing personnel requirements and costly waiting times. The staff of FDC found that the solution was both easy to learn and easy to use.

FDC head Sade Anderson said, "It's impressive that we can easily use the tablet placed on the centering rod to perform layout and other measurement-based functions." Then when we are ready to enter the excavator and use the 3D mechanical control, we just need to remove the flat plate from the centering rod, fix it to the bracket of the excavator, switch from the Pocket 3D software to the mechanical control 3D MC software, and we can start and run the 3D system of the excavator. It enables the two construction procedures to be seamlessly and efficiently connected, which is very suitable for us.

3

Dual responsibility

Frederick pointed out without hesitation that efficiency and effectiveness are the key, especially considering that the current labor market is highly challenging - it is very difficult to find people with the right skills. And MC-Mobile can maximize the productivity of employees, making work more efficient and competitive.

The on-site versatility of FDC has also been significantly enhanced, as MC-Mobile works well in conjunction with GNSS-based 3D solutions. On construction sites where large machinery is used, if there is a problem with satellite coverage in a certain area, set the LN-150 at the control point and use it to operate the mini excavator in areas with poor satellite coverage. It can enhance productivity and eliminate the waiting time for measurement.

We immediately saw that with this system, two people could carry out layout work in different tasks. "

-Sade Anderson

4

One more set

What was displayed on the day of the WOC exhibition undoubtedly left a deep impression on Frederick and his team, to the extent that they ordered a second MC-Mobile system on the spot even before they were sure which excavator to use it on next.

Anderson said, "We immediately found that with this system, two people could do layout work in different tasks." Or a pair of independent two-person teams can be dispatched simultaneously - one person does the mapping and layout, and the other operates the machinery. It feels as if two systems have given us the benefits of four systems. "MC-Mobile has indeed doubled our productivity."