Case Study: Thiess achieves faster, millimeter-accurate runway resurfacing with Trimble SPS930 and GCS900

Thiess Accelerates Runway Resurfacing Project for Indonesia Airport with Trimble

PT Thiess Indonesia was contracted by Vale to resurface the runway at Soroako airport, a vital transport hub for the local mining community. The job required cement stabilization, re-grade, trim work, chip seal and markings on a much tighter schedule than usual—reducing a typical month-long resurfacing to just a couple of weeks—while meeting very tight accuracy tolerances, minimizing rework, and coping with adverse weather and limited labor.

Thiess worked with SITECH to deploy Trimble SPS930 Universal Total Station, GCS900 grade control, CB430 control box and Business Center - HCE for survey, machine guidance and data management. The system enabled the grader to hold +/-3 mm accuracy, cut passes and rework, and maintain progress in poor weather; Thiess completed the runway in just over two weeks, stayed on budget with no extra material purchased, improved fuel and machine efficiency, and has since rolled the Trimble setup out to other projects to boost ROI.

Thiess

Mark Surtees

Manager of Survey and Technology