Case Study: Southland Industries achieves 30% faster layout on massive LAX project with Trimble SPS986 GNSS and FieldLink

Southland Industries Performs 30% Faster Layout on Massive LAX Project with Trimble GNSS Technology

Southland Industries, a national MEP design-build-maintain firm, was contracted to install mechanical, plumbing and HVAC systems for a massive consolidated rental car facility at LAX—roughly seven million square feet across a 110-acre site. The scale (miles of piping and complex multi-level work) made traditional Robotic Total Stations slow and cumbersome, creating a need for faster, flexible and precise layout workflows.

Southland switched to the Trimble SPS986 GNSS Smart Antenna paired with Trimble FieldLink for an office-to-field solution that eliminated time-consuming benching and line-of-sight issues. The GNSS setup delivered sub-inch accuracy, allowed one base station to cover the whole site and enabled simultaneous underground and elevated work; result—layout efficiency improved 20–30%, one technician can mark ~500 points/day versus ~300, and setup/time savings produced significant cost payback.

Southland Industries

Chris Eskridge

Senior Project Manager