CASE STUDY

The challenge:

Carnell are always looking to improve the efficiency of their field operations including their highways drainage surveys for DDMS (Drainage Database Management System). They had been using Trimble devices for their drainage asset capture, but the equipment was top-heavy and performed poorly in difficult conditions, adding time and complexity to time-sensitive jobs, and reducing productivity.

Furthermore, the field-to-office workflow was a manual process that was slow and often rendered incomplete information. The field operative or supervisor would have to bring the device into the office for data to be downloaded and analysed. Photographs and sketches were also not linked with the data, so files often went missing, causing delays.

With a successful history of working together, MGISS were consulted on how best to integrate new hardware and software for maximum efficiency and cost savings.

The solution:

MGISS quickly identified areas for improvement. The Eos Arrow Gold GNSS Receiver was proposed as a possible alternative to their existing hardware. The Arrow Series is lighter and more streamlined, which was useful for field operatives in tricky situations, as well as being more cost-effective and accurate down to 1cm.

A collection of three Arrow Gold Receivers were accepted initially, soon followed by an additional seven with the support of a successful business case.

At the same time as consulting on the field solution, we were also identifying possible improvements to the field-to-office workflow. Many of the issues that were being faced – loss of data, significant delays between data capture and analysis – could be solved by moving the workflow into the cloud. To achieve this, we implemented Esri UK’s market-leading ArcGIS software, including Survey123 – a great way to share, analyse and interpret data between locations. MGISS’s Z-Transform plugin for ArcGIS Field Maps was also deployed to provide real-time cm accurate UK elevation, crucial for drainage network modelling.

Now with everything in the cloud, there is no longer any need for field operatives to physically travel to the office with hardware or hard drives. All data can be captured, viewed, and downloaded in real-time from any site or office, saving significant time and reducing fuel consumption company wide. “We’ve noticed several improvements in our field-to-office workflow,” said Dave Nicosia, Technical Services Manager at Carnell. “One of the best things is you can download data from the cloud as soon as the field survey finishes.”

The online ArcGIS portal also provides a convenient overview of project plans and workloads, so gaps can be identified where surveys and other work are overdue or required.

The results:

Due to their superior accuracy and resilience, the Eos Arrow Series have now fully replaced Trimble’s products for field work and data capture. ArcGIS Field Maps with the MGISS Z-Transform plugin adds efficiency, security, and accuracy to the asset capture solution.

The online digital transformation of Carnell’s back-office workflows is ongoing, but already the new cloud-based systems have significantly reduced delays and have resulted in cost savings. At the successful completion of the initial digital transformation project, Carnell’s Technical Services Manager Dave Nicosia said: “MGISS know our systems very well. They can identify where we can save time and money, and how to improve our workflow. The speed of support is impressive and it’s a pleasure to work with them.”

We continue to support and identify areas for improvement on an ongoing basis. In the short-term, we will be looking at valid commercial applications for the 3D rendering of assets and augmented reality.