Welcome to Sitech WA’s Technology Newsletter.

Sitech WA, previously HL Solutions, is your Trimble Construction Technology Provider for Grade Control and Site Positioning Systems. Our newsletter will bring you up to date information on latest technology advancements, project stories and what you can achieve with the great range of Trimble and Cat ® AccuGrade™ Grade Control System technologies.

With the construction industry being such a competitive and aggressive market, we at Sitech WA are here as partners to your business to help reduce your operating costs and improve your productivity.

So give us a call or visit us at our new web address of www.sitechwa.com.au.

Vermeer WA has recently been conducting demonstration trials of their TL1255 surface miner using Trimble Grade Control Systems to highlight the benefits to potential customer’s quarries.  Demonstrations to prove the increase in productivity using a surface miner with Trimble GPS Grade Control System have been met with a very positive feedback.

Midland Brick and Austral Bricks have both hosted the trials in their quarries where uneven surfaces have been efficiently and effectively leveled with proven increase in productivity.  The Vermeer TL1255 machines worked to a flat or sloped plane design to achieve a more controlled finished surface, solving drainage issues and opening areas previously inaccessible.
The GCS900 single antenna system automatically controlled the drum height to the design level, reducing operator fatigue while giving a consistent smooth finish to the working area. Horizontal guidance is also utilized to minimize the amount of overcut and improve machine efficiency.

B & J Catalano are the latest to host a trial at their Wagerup gravel pit.

In this competitive industry, where having the latest technology is so important, you need to make sure you have the best available.

Extended warranty kits are highly recommended to upgrade and protect your whole machine system, keeping all components compatible and working at maximum potential. This ensures you are up to date with the latest firmware and software  versions as well as giving serialized hardware components another year of warranty.

If your software or firmware support warranty has expired, please contact Piero Liscia for pricing to upgrade your system.

Make sure you are up to date in the latest software and firmware versions to ensure you stay ahead of your competitors by using the best features Trimble Grade Control Systems have to offer.

If you have purchased Trimble products or upgrades within the last 12 months, you can upgrade to the latest versions through the Trimble website www.trimble.com.  Browse through the Support and Training A-Z List.  For assistance in this, please contact Paula Whelan on 0400 321 596.

Latest versions as at June 2010:

1. SCS900 software v2.70
2. SiteVision Office  v7.4
3. Trimble Business Center – HCE  v1.5
4. MS990 Machine Antenna     v4.12
5. SPSx5x Receiver  v4.14
6. SPSx61 Receiver  v4.14
7. SPS88x Smart Antenna  v4.14
8. SNB900 Radio  v2.10
9. SNRx10 Machine Radio  v5.02
10. CB430 Machine Control Box  v11.2

Sitech WA is pleased to announce the release of Trimble SiteVision Office version 7.4, which supports Trimble GCS900 version 11.2 and version 4.14 firmware for the Trimble MS990 and MS992 Smart GPS Antennas.

This version provides enhanced support for production reporting, compaction, and 3D paving. It also improves ease of troubleshooting, tracking, and configuration of the Trimble SNB900 radio and related two-way data sites.

SiteVision Office version 7.4 supports embedding a subset of a geoid in the CSIB (Coordinate System Information Block) file, which is exported to a GPS receiver. This provides vertical adjustments and optionally replaces the inclined plane geoid approximation method used in earlier versions of SiteVision Office.

Users who have purchased a previous version or upgrade within the past 12 months, should have recently received an email upgrade notice. The notice will contain an upgrade serial number and a link to download the software. If you did not receive your email notification, please contact Paula Whelan for assistance on 0400 321 596 or paula@sitechwa.com.au.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Paula for any SiteVision Office queries.

Triple F Racing unveiled a new sponsor - Sitech - which will continue their support throughout the remainder of the 2010 V8 Supercar season. 

Sitech WA is proud to be associated with the Triple F Racing team which has its origins in WA.Dean Fiore is a born & bred Kalgoorlie boy who's love of motor racing has taken him from Go-Karts to Formula Fords through to the V8 supercars.

"Its fantastic to have such a blue chip company on board for the season. Every bit of support is helping us on our way to becoming more established within the V8 Supercar Championship," Fiore commented.

Sitech WA wishes Dean & the team all the best for the remainder of the season.

The Trimble Tablet for Construction – an integral part of the Trimble Connected Site solution portfolio of construction solutions. The rugged, easy-to-use handheld computer with built-in connectivity, allows construction job site supervisors, foremen, site engineers, grade checkers and project managers the ability to compute in the field, connect to the office, and make decisions faster.

Trimble has simplified in-field computing and eliminated the need for multiple costly devices, therefore improving productivity in the process. From the field, to the truck cab, to the office - stay connected, work faster, reduce downtime, improve return-on-investment and increase productivity.

The Site Supervisor

With just some basic system training, supervisors are now empowered with the information they required to both visualise the job and check on the progress of the equipment under their supervision.

As part of their day-to-day job, the field supervisors are constantly driving up and down the job-site. By installing the Supervisor System into their site car with the screen display mounted on the vehicles windscreen, supervisors now have access to both basic cut/fill levels as well as long-section and cross-section information – displayed right in front of the operator and covering every millimetre of the roadworks.

The Tablet allows the supervisor to query the design and solve problems on site in a staked or stakeless environment.

Time Savings - a Truly Connected Construction Site

For contractors, the Trimble Tablet offers a distinct advantage – time savings.

This fully connected Tablet, allows the user to make any changes in the field, communicate them back to the office for on-the-spot approvals, and then out to the crew. Trimble has eliminated the need for multiple devices by incorporating a laptop, GPS and controller into one easy-to-use device. Users can prepare data in the field, identify any changes that need to happen, get approvals from the office and communicate those changes to the field – no more driving back and forth to the office.

Cost Savings - Trimble VRS (Virtual Reference System)

A Trimble Tablet with a receiver and an internal GPRS card modem to receive GPS corrections via VRS is a complete site positioning package in one.  The Trimble Virtual Reference System is an affordable solution which replaces the need for setting up a base station, saving time as well as money. 

Trimble VRS provides RTK precision through mobile phone connection with coverage that now extends from Two Rocks north of Perth, south as far as Augusta, and as far east as Dwellingup.

Only Trimble can offer RTK precision through a baseless system, with the nearest competitor offer of only DGPS accuracy.

Taking Site Measurement to the Next Level

Sitech WA is pleased to announce the release of the Trimble® SCS900 Site Controller Software version 2.70 and the new Advanced Measurement Module.

The Advanced Measurement module elevates SCS900 into an exceptional tool for all site measurement tasks and uses the camera on the Trimble Tablet to associate a jobsite photo with a point.
 
New Advanced Measurement Module

The Advanced Measurement module is suitable for all site measurement tasks throughout the life-cycle of a site - site reconnaissance to progress measurements to as-builts. It is easy to use and intuitive and is a perfect fit with all the other great features of SCS900.

Intelligent Coding and Attribute Collection

The Advanced Measurement Module makes use of the standard Trimble FXL feature code library. In the field, select a code and SCS900 automatically knows whether you are recording a point or a line and whether or not the feature should be added to the surface. SCS900 knows what symbols and layers should be used, so when you look at your data in Trimble Business Center - HCE all the symbols and layers will automatically be correct, without needing to process your feature codes.

Categories and the Quick Pick List

An FXL feature code library can be a long list of codes.
Searching for the one you want to use could be time consuming, especially on a smaller screen. SCS900 eliminates this problem by letting you split the library up into different groups and categories. On top of this, SCS900 v2.7 lets you specify your favourite five codes in each group/category and SCS900 will display these in a special one touch select bank of icons.

The quick pick list makes it extremely fast to measure points on cross sections along an alignment and have SCS900 create the correct strings between the cross sections. 

Offset Points and Lines

Using either GNSS or a total station, you can now use offsets to record any points that you can’t physically get to. SCS900 will combine two measurements to record the center of the feature.

SCS900 v2.70 Core Updates

New Database Format

As SCS900 has grown, the database that it uses has been pushed to its limit. SCS900 2.70 introduces a brand new database that can easily cope with all the features of the program.

Information that you want is now just a Tap and Hold away

Tap and hold any point, line or stake flag and you will get the option to view coordinates, line in formation or the stakeout report.
You can edit the antenna height, code or attributes.
 
Total Station enhancements
The new range of SPS Total Stations is fully supported including 3Hz scanning. In tests, this has been proven to be four times faster than previous versions, meaning a dramatic improvement in productivity when scanning areas such as deep cuts, rock faces and stockpiles.

Availability

SCS900 v.2.70 is available for anyone whose software support expires May 2010 or later.
The Advanced Measurement Module is available for purchase for anyone running SCS900 v2.70 or later.
Trimble is offering this module at greatly reduced price until December 28, 2010.
Please contact Paula Whelan for further details on 9445 2020 or paula@sitechwa.com.au.