3D Drilling Systems: by Randy Noland - Heavy equipment such as dozers, graders and excavators sculpt and grade a site to an engineers design specs. But in many cases their work is made possible by drills. Drills play an important role from highway construction to mining and their contribution is critical for the downstream performance of other heavy equipment. ...

The Bottom Line by Paul Hahn: Scanning, Monitoring and Mobile Mapping - Today’s modern total stations have evolved into incredibly versatile and productivity-enhancing measuring instruments with many applications for the construction site. However, other optical instruments have recently been introduced that can do even more in the specific applications ...

It's All About the Data by Marco Cecala: Do you need both Takeoff and Data Prep Training? As we get more classes filled for training, I seem to get one question that confuses potential students. “Why do I need a class in both Data and Takeoffs?” The two disciplines are related, but in practice are very different. I will breakdown some of the differences. Surfaces …

Machine Control and its Affect on the Engineering Profession by Jay Jones: - We all know by now that the increase in machine control use and its widespread acceptance has impacted the land surveying industry. But what impact has machine control had, if any, on the engineering profession? Are engineers being affected by the increase in machine control use?

Data Prep: Tips, Tricks & Techniques by Chad Cooper: Highway Data Building – The Typical Part of Your Typical Highway   - It has been quite ironic that while I have been writing this series of articles on building data for heavy highways, I have luckily been in the middle of building a number of different heavy highways throughout our Nation. Nowhere in my ...

Machine Guidance Systems by Nigel Adams: Safety and Machine Control– Having recently been involved in an advisory capacity for a client in the application of safety systems in the construction environment I thought it worthy of considering the implications of safety and machine control. The Statistics: Regardless of what industry you are involved in, safety in ...

3D Modeling 101: Triangulated Irregular Network History by Ron Ciccarone, LS: – Before I begin this article, I would like to reference a document as recommended reading from my last article. The late Joseph Dracup wrote an excellent history of US surveying from the 1800’s forward. This is an excellent research of surveying in the US. It is located at the following NGS website ...