When asked about the performance of Topcon’s new HiPer HR, Survey Manager for Survey Management Solutions’(SMS) Western region, Dean Ramsay said: “It’s definitely the best we’ve ever had. It locks on faster, it tracks satellites a lot faster and overall it’s a really quick and easy to use instrument.”

Used predominantly for subdivision set out and grade checks, SMS uses 18 Topcon HiPer HRs across its Western, Northern and Eastern regions of Melbourne. The company upgraded all of its older RTK GPS systems simultaneously to stay abreast of the latest technology developments.

“As a company we pride ourselves on keeping ahead of the industry with modern technology and systems. We’re fortunate to be able to invest in the latest gear and upgrade everything at the same time,” Mr Ramsay said.

When it came to choosing which system to upgrade to, Mr Ramsay said they opted for Topcon because of its user friendliness and the support the company enjoys from Australian distributor, Aptella.

“We find Topcon to be the most user friendly brand on the market,” he added. “The combination of the remote support we receive through Aptella’, the Tokara telematics platform, and the back-up of their local teams in Melbourne – it is the reason we chose HiPer HR.”

Tokara is Aptella’ locally designed telematics service that enables remote file transfer to numerous assets and sophisticated reporting. Tokara’s ability for technicians to logon to a customer’s device to diagnose technical problems or update software without visiting the instrument in the field is a quick and efficient way to reduce downtime and increase productivity.

SMS uses Topcon’s popular FC-5000 tablet along with MAGNET Enterprise software to manage data and projects from field to office. MAGNET Enterprise connects field and office parties together with the ability to manage projects through the Cloud.

“We find MAGNET Enterprise has really streamlined our workflow by enabling all our surveyors to access the latest project files instantly, wherever they’re working,” Mr Ramsay said.

Overall, SMS is impressed with the performance and ease of use of the HiPer HR GNSS platform. “Being straight off the production line, and as expected with all new technology, we had a couple of teething issues when we first got the hardware; but thanks to the support of Aptella we ironed those issues out pretty quickly, and since then the HiPer HRs have been performing extremely well. For the Western region of SMS at least, we haven’t had to send any back for repairs,” Mr Ramsay added.