HS2 Sees 30% Increase in Productivity Thanks to Innovative Surveying Technology

The team working on the Aylesbury section of HS2 have increased field productivity by 30% with the help of some unique technologies.

The HS2 project, with an estimated £72 to £98 billion cost, has been slow to progress, but EKFB who have been appointed to deliver civil engineering works across 80km between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, have made efficiency a priority. 

As a result, the KOREC Group were tasked to supply Trimble R12i surveying solutions, including over sixty GNSS systems, thirty robotic total stations as well as ground-breaking technologies such as the SX10 Scanning Total Station and the X7 3D Laser Scanner. 

The extensive Trimble survey fleet was selected both on its own merits and as an important part of the workflow, which would see easy movement of data around a project that also uses Trimble Machine Control and Trimble WorksOS. 

Responsible for the survey team on the Aylesbury section is Senior Land Surveyor, Rajesh Madanlal. Rajesh and his team undertake a variety of tasks such as topographical surveys, boundary surveys and vegetation clearance, as well as checking all design, earthworks and setting out temporary drainage. 

With all the usual pressures faced when delivering works to budget and time schedules, there were also a number of other challenges that would need to be addressed to mitigate any further delays. Working near or under trees and dense hedgerows, and with significant uneven ground and ditches peppering the site, such landscapes would require extensive surveys so getting the technology right for this section of the project was vital.

Results Beyond Expectation

Keen to streamline processes, Rajesh had worked on previous projects that successfully used Trimble technologies and he wanted to give them another go due to their accuracy levels and reliability. After implementing the new technology, Rajesh said: “Whilst we’re still clearing the site, we’re carrying out lots of hedge line surveys near or under dense vegetation. Previously, we would have set up temporary benchmarks and used a total station. This can be a time consuming task and also means that we need to carry two sets of equipment to cover any eventuality. 

Next to pylons or dense vegetation a standard GNSS can struggle, but with the R12i that hasn’t been the case. It reliably picked up the high accuracy positions that we needed in every situation. It takes less than a minute to get initialised and then we’re good to go. Even on a small daily survey we’d expect to save lots of time in the field simply because we’re not having to set up the total station.”

As a result of the implementation, the Aylesbury survey team have reported significant time savings, equating to approximately 2 hours per day, allowing them to focus their attention on other areas of the project. Rajesh said: “Without a doubt the new technology has proved its worth on site and we’ve increased our productivity by around 30% each day, and this was one of the main reasons behind our choice. Our team can go out confident that the day will go smoothly with pretty much seamless surveying. We also have a much better idea of how long a job will take and that enables us to plan our time more effectively.” 

Rajesh was also keen to see the rollout of the innovative technology across other sites on the HS2 project as a way to increase overall productivity, reduce costs and improve working environments where multiple solutions would usually be required. 

To learn more about the HS2 Aylesbury section and how the Trimble R12i technology is being used, check out the full case study over on the KOREC website