SURVEYING

GNSS increases construction productivity

Surveying is the discipline of accurately determining the position of points, along with the distances and angles between them. GNSS supports surveying operations by assisting the operator in person-based operations and machinery guidance, offering the following benefits:

• Time savings, such as faster performance of tasks and reducing passes required by graders and excavators.
• Input and capital savings thanks to fewer errors, maximisation of machine utilisation, and savings in fuel costs, all of which reduce machine wear and tear.
• Improved quality due to repeatable and consistent data recording and improved data exchange between design and construction.

The evolution of user needs will drive market growth

In Land and Marine Surveying, GNSS-based instruments satisfy requirements of a wide range of professionals: constructors, surveyors, engineers, scientists, etc.

• Accuracy: depending on the application and region, accuracy requirements range from centimetres (e.g. control survey for construction) to metres (mapping).
• Availability: multi-constellation is required for improving availability in mining activities, as well as in cadastral and construction undertakings in urban canyons.
• The Time To First Fix (TTFF) and Time-to-Convergence (TTC): high productivity requirements demand fast TTFF and TTC.
• Price: while end-users in developed markets rely on expensive but highly sophisticated equipment with centimetre accuracy, users in large emerging markets tend to favour cost efficiency over accuracy

This evolution of user needs has enabled Asian players to enter emerging industries where they are generating economies of scale and accumulating expertise. Competition between established North-American/European companies and Asian manufacturers will increase not only in emerging markets, but also in mature ones, possibly reshaping the surveying industry.