Jack explains that with their own in-house drafting capabilities, Lowcock Builders uses the system for building and checking as-builts rather than designing plans. “Although we don’t use the design aspects, it would be easy to create a design that works with the MC-Mobile system – all you need are a few known levels and you’d go from there,” he said.  

Jack’s team loves the new technology and it’s used every day for their projects. They’re currently building a car wash at Airlie Beach and a large commercial warehouse in Bowen that will become the company’s new office.  

“The Topcon systems don’t stop,” Jack said. “I’ve got two supervisors trained up now and we use them for everything: staking out, levelling pads, all our civil sub grades, drainage, electrical, tilt panels, plumbing. Literally nothing is built until it’s drawn up and set-out with the Topcon system.”  

To ensure everything is built to design, Lowcock’s team also does the set-out for all subcontractors and trades on a job. “We set out everything so we know it’s all correct and negate any rework or delays from things not being where they should be. I had that happen once on a job a couple of years ago where the survey had been done and they were working away but it was all wrong, they were building in the wrong spot. It’s easier for us to control it from the get-go, that way we know what we’ve done and that we’re building to design,” he added.  

Operators found it easy to pick up the technology and the setup has reduced manual labour, without the need for laser levels and screeds to keep checking levels.   

Training and support from Aptella, Topcon’s Australian distributor, has helped get the team using the technology confidently. Tokara, Aptella’s remote access platform, enables users to get fast support over the phone, with the ability for technicians to view and control the user’s tablet for on-the-job training and technical support.  

“We haven’t had any major issues, but Tokara has been great for getting a quick fix to little things with minimal disruption,” Jack said.  

Overall, Jack’s team is getting great productivity gains from the technology. “There’s no profiling, you can get on site, set out two points and start digging right away while you set out the rest of the job,” he said. “It’s much faster and more efficient.”  

“With the Topcon system, you’re building accurately,” he added. “You could go ahead and get your fabricated steel and panels built straight off the model with the confidence to know that they’ll slot in perfectly because the job’s been built accurately from the get-go.”