Affordable 3D machine control
In a tough climate, user-friendly, accessible 3D machine control offers hope to smaller US construction businesses.
Small construction businesses in the US are facing obstacles caused by costs, labor shortages and rising insolvencies, but can get left behind as digital technology transforms earthmoving.
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| Affordable, accessible and user-friendly 3D machine control technology can provide the helping hand needed for smaller businesses to be successful, according to Unicontrol. |
The U.S. construction climate is tough right now, with small and medium-sized businesses finding it particularly hard as material costs rise, labor and skill shortages continue, and margins are squeezed. Affordable, accessible and user-friendly 3D machine control technology can provide the helping hand needed for smaller businesses to be successful, according to Unicontrol.
Digital technology is boosting productivity, accuracy and efficiency in construction, in much the same way the move away from spades and pulleys to heavy outdoor machinery transformed earthmoving. However, numerous companies have been locked out by complex, expensive 3D machine control solutions and vendor lock-ins. Smaller businesses have been left behind, finding themselves on a burning platform and running out of time.
With easy-to-use technology that can be retrofitted to existing machinery, operators can begin work almost immediately. 3D machine control can cut rework costs, improve quality and prevent downtime. “Don't worry about the cost. Get it. It's worth it,” says Matt Soddy, president of Superior Concrete Inc.
Why smaller construction businesses should act now
Construction industry costs are rising and margins are shrinking. According to the U.S. Construction Financial Management Association, despite experiencing high revenue growth in 2022, construction industry profits fell over the year. The number of companies reporting losses nearly doubled, as financial pressures led to businesses collapsing.
Shortages of trained and available workers are holding many firms back. Wages have surged within the U.S. construction industry, and the problem will grow as most contractors plan to increase staffing levels. More than half a million construction workers will be needed on top of normal recruitment in 2024 to meet demands.
Digital construction technologies are swiftly moving from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’ and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that fail to overcome barriers and embrace new technology get left behind. Research from the digital platform, Gridfox, suggests 84 percent of construction SMEs struggle to keep up with the digital spending of larger organizations and half claim it has restricted growth.
User-friendly and accessible digital technology can help
3D machine control helps operators by making earthmoving tasks more precise and preventing rework. It uses GPS antennas mounted on the machine with sensors on each moving part to closely monitor the specific environment and task in real-time.
With a unique user-friendly interface designed with operators in mind, Unicontrol’s 3D machine control technology can be used by less-skilled workers and tasks can be carried out without a surveyor on site. Unlike conventional complex vendor-specific machine controls, it can be retrofitted to existing machinery, instantly improving on-site safety. Unicontrol technology is compatible with a wide range of systems and machines, including dozer and grading attachments. It can also be used on large-scale projects with other systems to ensure high precision earthmoving or grading. Small businesses can start reducing input bills and increasing margins almost immediately without extensive training, reaping the benefits of 3D machine control fast at a price that is up to 50 percent less than similar advanced technologies.
“What we hear time and time again from customers - and this isn’t just the big companies, this is the small firms, owner/operator businesses, and contractors - is just how easy our technology is to use. And this has always been our goal. We want to remove the barriers to using machine control so that construction businesses can become more efficient, competitive and successful,” says Niels Bjerregaard, Unicontrol CEO.“We firmly believe in the ability of our technology to ensure small businesses survive and increase their profit margins. We have seen how Unicontrol’s brand-agnostic technology can benefit companies, and we want to get the word out to smaller construction firms that machine control is for everyone.”
Customers are delighted with the changes 3D machine control has brought to their businesses. “Unicontrol 3D was very easy to learn how to use and get up to speed with. They came out, installed it, calibrated it, and the next day we were using it.” He adds: “Unicontrol 3D is helping us do our job better by being more accurate… which is helping us get jobs done quicker and keeping customers happy and getting us more jobs in the long run,” says Daniel Foushee, foreman/operator at Foushee Grading LLC from Pittsboro, North Carolina.
His comments are echoed by Soddy, who praises the dramatic improvement in productivity his company has seen. “We just keep moving along and we're checking the grade as we go. It cuts out a lot of additional labor. Those guys can be doing other things on the project.” He also highlights the improvements to safety from no longer needing anyone on the ground checking grade, getting down inside of a hole.
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