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5 Signs Showing You Need

Digital Stationing

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Overview

From project management system to on-site tools, there is a lot of technology out there that offer solutions to problems you don’t even know you have. When it comes to stationing, how do you know whether to stick to the stakes or introduce digital stationing to your projects? We are going to provide you with the 5 major signs that prove you need to switch to digital stationing.

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Spent more than $0 re-staking a project.

Construction worker using a leveling instrument on a construction site with bulldozer and excavator in the background.

Physical stationing is temporary and unreliable due to external factors such as weather and lawn mowers. As surveying costs continue to rise, re-staking projects can become pricey for longer roadway projects. Digital stationing provides you with the power to never need to stake a project again.

Spend lots of time wandering about a jobsite.

Is that a stake or a stick over there? Where was that spray painted marker? Walk here. Walk there. We get it! To do the job correctly, as it is related to the project design, you need to know where you are multiple times a day. If it takes more than 6 seconds to determine your station, you are wandering around lost!

Two construction workers wearing yellow and white safety helmets and reflective vests walking on a dirt and rock construction site.

Must ask, ‘Where are you at and what’s the problem?’

Part of a road has collapsed due to erosion with traffic cones and caution tape, and the edge of the road is dangerously eroded away, revealing a hillside with dense green trees and vegetation.

Humans are visual people (where dogs smell strong!). We need to see things to understand things. Sending a crew out to physically “see” a location is expensive and takes time. The design is set and locked into a coordinate system. See it on your phone instantly and make better / faster decisions.

Made a mistake because of unreliable physical stationing.

Construction site with a partially dug trench containing a red corrugated pipe, surrounded by broken asphalt and small plants, with barriers and vehicles in the background.

True story... a paving crew was setting up to mill a road. Everyone is in place, equipment is fired up, time to get started. Then another team member shows up with OnStation on their phone and asks “why are we starting here? We are 600 feet from the starting station according to the plans.” Not all stakes (or lack thereof!) are accurate. A digital station is.

You’ve named your measuring wheel and talk to it regularly while walking the project.

Two construction workers in safety vests and helmets at a construction site, with a building under construction and a crane in the background.

Do you watch VHS tapes or play CDs? Times change. Technology advances. Measuring wheels were once super cool and helpful. Hanging out of your truck holding a wheel and driving the 3-mile jobsite is not cool and not safe! “Mary” is tired. Drop two points with the OnStation measuring tool connected to your digital stationing and get the same results!