Leamington Spa to Romford in 5 seconds

Civil engineering and groundworks specialist providing earthworks and laser levelling services at Broxhill Sports Centre.

If your boss gave you the choice of travelling a minimum 5 hour round trip in the car, or to make that journey in 5 seconds at the click of a button, what would you choose?

Well, for engineering surveyor, Gareth Price and his team at civil engineering and groundworks specialist, O’Brien Contractors, that choice has become a reality, thanks to director, Mick O’Brien, whose investment in 3D machine control and Trimble Connected Community software, has dramatically reshaped the business.

In order to understand how the solution works, Finning News took up the offer from SITECH UK and Ireland’s Zoë Adnitt, to visit Mick at a new sports pitch project in Romford and then travel to O’Brien’s head office in Leamington Spa, all in one very long day.

The project itself involved the creation of a brand new 3G sports pitch and a multi-use games area (MUGA), constructed next to an existing sports centre. With very tight tolerances required to meet the exacting standards for the pitch, before the job was secured, the surveying team carried out an in house survey, modeled the whole project in 3D and then monitored it throughout the earthworks programme, as Mick explained:

Having proven the benefits of machine control on previous sports pitch projects, we have now gone to the lengths of setting up a new specialist division for this type of work.

“So in practical terms, our first aim with any project is to try and ensure that no material leaves site, eliminating the need and cost of truck movements. This is achieved by recycling good quality soils and designing in features like earth bunds to use material that would normally be classified as inert waste.

“Our challenge throughout this process is that we have to stick as closely to our design as possible, but you never truly know what you will unearth or how materials will compact, until you actually start doing the job.

“This is why you have to be on top of a project from day one. Typically before GPS enabled 3D machine control, we would have had to send a member of our team down to site on a very regular basis, which is a costly exercise when a round trip is 5 hours. This was the reason that prior to our investment in this technology, we tendered for jobs much closer to our base in Leamington Spa.

“This was obviously quite restrictive to our growth, especially in the more specialist sports pitch market. So by using two-way communication through the Trimble technology using the GPS network, the machines are able to tell us what they have been doing and we can see the daily progress onsite at the touch of a button.

“Equally, we can see the all important levels being achieved and therefore continually update our calculations around material movements, settlement and compaction. This means that Gareth, our engineering surveyor, can make relevant adjustments to the 3D model from his desk, delivering changes to the individual machines onsite, at the touch of a button, via the Trimble Connected Community.

“So what would be a round trip of at least 5 hours to our latest Romford project to upload a file from a memory stick or complete a survey using older techniques, is a 5 second file click and drag process, which is then sent through the cloud.

“In commercial terms, this approach has totally changed our capabilities and more importantly for the customer, changed the way a project is delivered. Our customers get a 3D design matching high quality finish, reduced truck movements, which pleases the local residents and a faster job, at a fixed competitive price.

“It really is a win win for both parties and a transformational journey from regional to national contractor for our business, I honestly don’t know how we could run a profitable job without it.”

So if you’ve got an earthworks project you’re looking to start, click here to talk to us about how we can help you generate cost and efficiency savings.

Team O’Brien hikes across the Malvern Hills to raise money for Help for Heroes

Staff from West Midlands based groundworks and civil engineering specialist, O’Brien Contractors, has raised £6,500 for Help for Heroes.

Staff from leading groundworks and civil engineering specialist, O’Brien Contractors, have strapped on their hiking boots to raise money for wounded service men and women.

Led by managing director, Peter O’Brien, the 25-strong team hiked across the Malvern Hills raising just over £6,500 for the charity Help for Heroes.

The Malvern Hills Challenge is a team or individual walk in the Malvern Hills with a choice of routes: 15km ‘Long Walk’ & 7km ‘Short Walk’, with both taking in Black Hill, Pinnacle Hill, Jubilee Hill and the Worcestershire Beacon, before descending at Sugarloaf Hill towards the finishing line in Rose Bank Gardens.

Peter O’Brien, Managing Director, O’Brien Contractors, said: “Each year staff undertake fundraising events to generate money for local charities. Last year we took on the Wolf Run Challenge, a demanding 10k muddy assault course near Leamington and our fundraising generated just over £2,115 for the Alzheimer’s Society. The year before, we raised £2,026 for Cystic Fibrosis Trust and British Heart Foundation by entering the London Nightrider, an exciting moonlit 100km cycle ride through the capital city. This year, we wanted to go one better and felt the Help for Heroes Malvern Hills Challenge would help us realise our goal.”

Peter has also been impressed by the backing of the team on and off the Malvern Hills, saying: “We’ve had fantastic support from our supply chain partners, friends and family, who have donated very generously. In the office and onsite, the staff I’ve spoken to feel very proud of their efforts and they should be.”

After recovering from the hike, staff have now turned their attentions to next year with plans to raise even more money for good causes.

If you would like to donate to Team O’Brien’s Help for Heroes Malvern Hills Challenge 2016 JustGiving webpage, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/malvern-hills-challenge

O’Brien Contractors sponsor road safety for another year!

Birmingham based civil engineering and groundworks specialist, O’Brien Contractors, has sponsored a Warwickshire road safety scheme

We have once again agreed to sponsor two local primary schools as part of the Warwickshire Road Safety Club. Membership of The Club is available to all primary schools in Warwickshire and is organised by Warwickshire County Council’s Road Safety Team.

The importance of road safety was highlighted by the Department for Transport’s latest research, released in June 2016, which found there were 22,137 people seriously injured in reported road traffic accidents across the UK in 2015, with 1,910 being children aged 15 or younger.

O’Brien’s Director Mike O’Brien will be visiting Our Lady & St Teresa’s this week to find out how road safety education can benefit the local community. Mr O’Brien, said: “O’Briens is a successful, family run business, with a culture of supporting our local community and charitable initiatives. Having seen the excellent work the Warwickshire Road Safety Club do in teaching young pupils how to stay safe on the roads, we were only too happy to sponsor the schools for a second year.” Mr O’ Brien and his brothers all attended the school on Windmill Hill.

The schools will run a series of road safety initiatives throughout the year including the Kerb Safe pedestrian training for 6 – 7 year olds.

Cubbington Primary School will also benefit from the sponsorship again this year.

Eleni Jenks, Assistant Headteacher of Cubbington CE Primary School, said: “The Road Safety Club is a great way to engage with our pupils and get them thinking about road safety. Through the scheme, they learn vital skills that will help prevent accidents and equip them with lifelong skills. We really appreciate the support provided by O’Briens.”