We went onsite with C&R Surveyors to see how they are utilising the Leica AP20 AutoPole on a construction project in Orewa. Jordan Zagonel, Surveyor and Gray Robinson, surveying student at Otago were tasked with surveying the site to provide stakeholders with heights, positions and details of buildings and objects.

Equipped with a Leica TS16 robotic total station and the AP20, Jordan analyses the site to assess the most efficient way to complete the job.  Several challenges are immediately evident, including an under construction dwelling and stormwater drain. This is where the Leica AP20 comes into its own and addresses one of the major pain points in robotic total station measurement workflows – by eliminating the need to level the pole, there are several efficiency gains:

• Tilt-pole technology means he is able to hold the pole at any angle including inverted, to quickly survey and stake points, greatly speeding up the field capture process.
• Points that are hidden from line of sight because the prism pole needed to remain level, become visible and measurable with the tilted AP20 often resulting in fewer setups on site.
• Inaccessible areas, or difficult to measure points,  such as stormwater drain inlets and outlets, can be quickly and accurately measured.

This saves a significant amount of time compared to other workflows which are often a cumbersome process and  prone to error.

“What I have found using the AP20 is that it’s quicker and easier to measure an entire site, it’s a very practical solution to overcome difficult to access areas. Previously if there were overhangs or other obstructions between the instrument and the pole, you couldn’t see the prism and would have to either make offsets using topographical calculations, or record distances manually and shift the pole. The AP20 simplifies that and speeds up the overall data capture process.” Jordan Zagonel, Surveyor – C&R Surveying

The AP20 enables Surveyors to tilt the pole and the point is captured exactly at the right place. The more complicated the site is, the more barriers and elements that disturb the line of sight between the device and the pole, and the more time that can be saved. In a busy environment, for example working on a road corridor, there are lots of points where you would need to shift or measure off-centre, but the AP20 eliminates the need for this.

“We wanted to see if the AP20 lived up to the hype, so we tested it for a week before purchasing our first unit. We’ve always been interested in the capabilities of technology. Keeping up to date with the latest innovations provides us with the tools to work more productively and deliver better outcomes for our clients. The C&R team really enjoy how the AP20 solves problems for us in the field, we can reach areas that we couldn’t before and it integrates perfectly into our existing workflows.” Rick Bull, Director – C&R Surveying

The main benefit of using the Leica AP20 on this job was that it enabled Jordan and Gray to reach areas that would have been impossible or complicated without a tilt auto-pole.

The AP20 was designed by Leica to solve several issues for Surveyors in the field. The main benefit on a typical surveying job like this one, is that it enabled Jordan to reach areas that would have been impossible or complicated without a tilt auto-pole. One of the other popular features is the addition of PoleHeight which eliminate mistakes from both manual height reading and manual input into the field software.

PoleHeight functionality will update the height for you automatically as the pole height changes to ensure reliable and accurate measurements. This removes the need to read, check and enter height changes, and eliminates time consuming post-processing effort to fix incorrectly entered or forgotten target heights.

“Rick and his team have been Leica users for many years, and over that time I’ve been impressed by their adoption of technology and innovative way of thinking. They strive for efficiency and that’s a commendable mind-set for any Surveyor and one of the reasons that I’ve always enjoyed working with them and am very happy that Gray has a placement under their tutorage.” Bruce Robinson, Director – Global Survey

C&R Surveyors are a family-owned firm on the Hibiscus Coast in North Auckland, they specialise in surveying services including cadastral, topographic and construction surveys across a diverse range of projects.

Visit the C&R Surveying website for more information on their services.

To find out more about the Leica AP20 AutoPole contact us at info@globalsurvey.co.nz