Laser Technology

The Days of the tape measures, measuring wheels and height sticks are gone. As for reworking your field data. Thanks to the New Laser Technology of using infrared beams, general construction lasers are short to medium range (500' to 1000' radius) lasers used for exterior applications. Setting concrete forms, checking grade on flat pads, checking depth of footers and trenches, and even providing elevation indication for laser receivers mounted on excavators, backhoes, and the like are common applications for these lasers.

With machine control, a crew needs only one grade setter (instead of three) and an additional operator (to total three) because it’s free of much of the time-consuming nature of traditional stake-and-guinea survey practices.

Using Topcon HiPer receivers and the remote triangulation available through the TopCAL Network gave Paul’s the accuracy they needed to be competitive. With GPS+, the accuracy rate is to one hundredth of an inch out to 14 miles, two-hundredths to 21 miles—providing the convenience of not needing to set up their own base stations at the start of each work day.

With the network, a grading contractor simply shows up on site, loads a machine’s on-board GPS box with the proper site plans, and turns an operator loose to work for the day.

Paul’s Paving & Excavating Inc. estimates that the satellite technology has “created a 30- to 40-percent increase in labor efficiency.”