Galway civil engineering firm Maveric Contractors has shaved between 5 and 15 per cent off the cost of individual contracts through the application of technologies such as GPS tracking, electronic signatures and on-site servers.
As a result, the three-year-old firm has won a number of high-profile contracts, including work on the M6 motorway from Ballinasloe to Galway.
According to Philip McNamara, marketing director of Maveric, the founders were frustrated at the lack of technology used in the construction sector. "We wanted to be more efficient and accountable to our customers," said McNamara. "When our assets are €300,000 machines based at different locations around the country, they need to be working or we are not earning money."
Maveric specialises in preparation of sites right up to the stage where construction begins. "We know exactly how much each metre of earth we move costs," said McNamara. "We can provide a lower price than our competitors and still be profitable."
All the heavy plant it buys from Caterpillar comes equipped with GPS and machine control technologies from its partner Trimble Control Technologies. Although this can add up to €60,000 to the cost of each machine, it means the blade on a dig can be precisely controlled to eliminate errors.
Management can also know, from anywhere in the world, what each machine is doing - working, idling, stopped, or even speeding. The managing director automatically gets an e-mail when an employee goes over 100 km/h in a company vehicle.
Server technology installed on site means that any changes an engineer makes to a project plan are automatically notified to the architects using a 3G mobile broadband card.
McNamara says the firm invests 7 per cent of its annual turnover in technology, but he believes the investment will protect it during the downturn in the construction sector.
"We're not your typical builder," said McNamara. "There are no copies of the Sun hanging out of our back pockets - you're more likely to see a Blackberry, a ToughBook or remote access servers on site."
