The US construction climate is tough right now, with small and medium-sized construction businesses facing obstacles caused by rising costs and labour shortages, and getting left behind as digital technology transforms earthmoving. Affordable, accessible and user-friendly 3D machine control technology can provide the helping hand needed for smaller businesses to be successful, according to Unicontrol – a provider of 3D machine control solutions for the construction industry.

Digitalization is a revolution in construction, boosting productivity, accuracy and efficiency in much the same way the move away from spades and pulleys to heavy construction machinery transformed the sector. However, many companies have been excluded because of the complexity, high price and vendor lock-ins associated with many 3D machine control solutions. Smaller businesses particularly have been left behind, finding themselves on a burning platform and running out of time.

With easy-to-use technology that can be retrofitted to existing machinery for earthmoving tasks, operators can begin working almost immediately. 3D machine control can cut rework costs, improve quality and prevent downtime.

Why smaller construction businesses should act now

Construction industry costs are rising and margins are shrinking. According to the US Construction Financial Management Association, despite experiencing high revenue growth in 2022, construction industry profits fell over the year. The number of companies reporting losses nearly doubled, as financial pressures led to businesses collapsing.

Shortages of trained and available workers are holding many firms back. Wages have surged within the US construction industry, and the problem will grow as most contractors plan to increase staffing levels. Over half a million construction workers will be needed on top of normal recruitment in 2024 to meet demands.

Digital construction technologies are swiftly moving from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’, and SMEs that fail to overcome barriers and embrace new technology get left behind. Research from digital platform Gridfox suggests 84% of construction SMEs struggle to keep up with the digital spending of larger organizations and half claim it has restricted growth.

For many small construction businesses, user-friendly and accessible digital technology can help

3D machine control helps operators by making earthmoving tasks more precise and preventing rework. It uses GPS antennas mounted on the machine with sensors on each moving part to closely monitor the specific environment and task in real time.

With a unique user-friendly interface designed with operators in mind, Unicontrol’s 3D machine control technology can be used by less skilled workers and tasks can be carried out without a surveyor on site. Unlike conventional complex, vendor-specific machine control, it can be retrofitted to existing machinery, instantly improving on-site safety. Unicontrol technology is compatible with a wide range of systems and machines, including swing boom and grading attachments, and it can also be used on large-scale projects alongside other systems for high precision earthmoving or grading. Small businesses can start reducing input bills and increase margins almost immediately without extensive training, reaping the benefits of 3D machine control fast at a price that is up to 50% less than similar advanced technologies.

“What we hear time and time again from customers – and this isn’t just the big companies, this is the small firms, owner/operator businesses, and contractors – is just how easy our technology is to use. And this has always been our goal. We want to remove the barriers to using machine control so that construction businesses can become more efficient, competitive and successful. We firmly believe in the ability of our technology to ensure small businesses survive and increase their profit margins. We have seen how Unicontrol’s brand-agnostic technology can benefit companies, and we want to get the word out to smaller construction firms that machine control is for everyone.”

said CEO Niels Bjerregaard, from Unicontrol.

“Unicontrol 3D was very easy to learn how to use and get up to speed with. They came out, installed it, calibrated it, and the next day we were using it. Unicontrol 3D is helping us do our job better by being more accurate… which is helping us get jobs done quicker and keeping customers happy and getting us more jobs in the long run.”

said Daniel Foushee, Foreman/Operator at Pittsboro, North Carolina business Foushee Grading LLC.

“We just keep moving along and we’re checking the grade as we go. Cuts out a lot of additional labor. And those guys can be doing other things on the project. We no longer needing anyone on the ground checking grade, getting down inside of a hole.”

said Matt Soddy, President – Superior Concrete Inc.