A Visit to Trimble Dimensions 2010

Written by Paul F. Hahn

Created on Saturday, 27 November 2010 19:56

Earlier this month I travelled to Trimble Dimensions, a unique and informative users’ conference.  All phases of this conference were well prepared and very professionally presented.

The theme for this year’s conference was Converge, Connect and Collaborate.  It gave attendees the opportunity to do just that.  With over 2900 people from 67 countries in attendance, the conference was a chance to learn from Trimble product experts and each other.  The focus was clearly on education, not just from a new product and solutions point of view, but also for new applications for products already owned.  Many of the presentation made were from users of Trimble equipment across a multitude of applications.  There were over 400 educational sessions presented across 32 specialty tracks.  The stated purpose of these sessions was to “advance your career and business”. Many sessions qualified for Professional Development Hour (PDH) credits.   

The conference was held from November 8^th -10^th in the convention center of the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada where the educational sessions were presented.  An adjoining outside demonstration area was also utilized, as was an off-site  training and demonstration area for heavy equipment and associated positioning solutions.  Within the convention center, a “Partner Pavilion” was also set up for product demonstrations and further education. Trimble employees presented application-based solutions and various kiosk locations within the Partner Pavilion covering mining, surveying, Field and office computing, BIM, wireless communications, engineering, aerial mapping, construction, mobile mapping, GIS, geospatial, utilities and mobile resources solutions.  This approach allowed Trimble product mangers and other company experts to interact directly with users to explain the full capabilities of their offerings and to gain customer feedback and the valuable insight that is used to refine and guide product development.

The individual tracks that comprised the educational sessions included:

·       Building Construction

·       Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing

·       Heavy and Highway

·       Infrastructure

·       Mapping and GIS

·       Mobile Mapping

·       Mobile Resource Management

·       Surveying

·       Utility Solutions

Some of the individual tracks had as many as 20 educational sessions presented within them.  Sessions were also presented to address specific industries.  Some of these included:

·       Airports

·       Emergency Response

·       Engineering

·       Environmental Management

·       Government

·       Railways

·       Roadways

·       Utilities

Within these various industries many different positioning solutions are required to cover everything from “As-Is to As-Built”. From preliminary design surveys, engineering design, construction bidding, construction layout, monitoring, earthmoving, paving, excavating, construction management, building construction, inspection, project management, BIM, asset management, etc. Trimble is growing their portfolios to provide solutions in all of these arenas and many, many more.  Their recent pace of acquisitions indicates a desire to provide multiple solutions to every phase of land improvement and management.

It was very impressive to me to see how many sessions were presented by the actual users of the various technology solutions. Although the Trimble personnel responsible for product development are very well plugged into users and their applications; having the folks that work with the various solutions everyday brings great hands-on insight and often reveals lesser known applications and business opportunities for the other users in attendance.

Within the partner Pavilion were a multitude of non-Trimble companies displaying solutions that impact attendees to the conference.  Among them:

·       Caterpillar

·       Case

·       John Deere

·       Liebherr Construction Equipment

·       Komatsu

·       LASER-GRADER MFG

·       Esri

·       CRITIGEN

·       GTCO CalComp

·       Laser Technology

·       NAVTEQ

·       OHMEX

·       TEKLA

·       terraGo Technologies

·       Times Microwave Systems

·       Timmons Group

·       Technical Sales International

·       TSI

·       UIT (Underground Imaging Technologies)

·       Various industry trade publications

·       AEMP

·       Bentley

·       CustomWorks

·       Cases Plus

·       Kapur & Associates Consulting Engineers (modeling and data prep services)

-      National Equipment Register

Among the various Trimble-owned companies exhibiting were:

·       Pacific Crest

·       Accubid

·       Applanix

·       Meridian Systems

·       Quick Pen

·       Spectra Precision

Additionally, there were exhibit booths that addressed various industries including:

·       Agriculture Solutions

·       Construction Building Tools

·       Mining Solutions

·       Mobile Computing/Forestry

In the mining solutions area I found the newly acquired Terralite XPS technology for GNSS augmentation.  The Trimble MX100G GNSS+XPS system combines GNSS and terrestrial-based “ground satellites” for machine control solutions in the surface mining environment. This is a fascinating solution and a clever combining of existing technologies to form a more robust positioning solution.

It was clear from the professionalism evident in all phases of the conference; a lot of work and planning went into the preparation of the conference.  One Trimble employee told me that the final content of the presentations had taken 4-5 months of review, planning and decision making.  That effort clearly showed.  If you wanted to learn about technologies and their applications; it was a target-rich environment.  Attendees had the opportunity to network with key industry leaders, build partnerships, develop new contacts, discuss opportunities and discover how to overcome obstacles in today’s competitive business environment.  The conference focused on increasing productivity in the field and office by revolutionizing work processes.  As always, Trimble focused on interoperability of technologies and more efficient workflows. Many of the solutions were dependent on application software and communications.  This trend of leveraging the power of the internet has increased in recent years.  One solution in particular, that is worthy of a separate future article, takes advantage of today’s communication capabilities is the “Trimble Connected Community”.  This is an internet-based construction management suite of solutions.  As stated on Trimble’s website:

“The Trimble® Connected Community is a service that enables construction businesses to manage and share information via their own unique web site. Ideal for organization and project management, the Trimble Connected Community introduces communication and collaboration capabilities to significantly increase efficiency and productivity.

By hosting all of an organization's information centrally, the Trimble Connected Community is able to do what no other information management system in the construction industry can - it connects people.

Each organization can grant access to internal and external users. For example, a contractor may set up varying levels of access to project partners or guests such as engineers, sub-contractors, suppliers, head office, and clients. Members can then communicate and collaborate instantly regardless of their location.

Increased visibility and transparency put you in complete control of every aspect of your construction operations - you are no longer subject to the problems associated with remoteness from a project and unreliable data and information. With the Trimble Connected Community you can ensure maximum productivity at all times.”

Keeping an eye on this service should prove very worthwhile for everyone involved in the construction process, especially those looking to improve their productivity.

As in the past; the “Connected Site” concept was a very visible and consistent theme throughout the conference.

Prior to the educational sessions and demonstrations, keynote speakers addressed the attendees.  Trimble President and CEO Steve Berglund welcomed everyone and discussed how the rapid advancements in technology and processes have created an environment of convergence. Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of the consulting, training and research firm of Ferrazzi Greenlight spoke about relationship development.  Ferrazzi is the author of a New York Times #1 bestselling book entitled “Who’s Got Your Back, The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success- and Won’t let you Fail”.  Also speaking was Dr. Steve Squyres, the principal Investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Project, who spoke about the key aspects of management to create an environment of success.

I believe that this concept of presenting application and industry-based solutions combined with user interaction sets a good example for others to follow.  I believe that many benefits were realized by attendees and many of them will see the immediate impact on their operations and profitability. Like many of us; I utilized and realize only a small percentage of the potential benefits of the high-tech products I buy.  The opportunity to interact with other users and learn of new applications for the products already owned will result in even higher returns on investment and perhaps provide a greater competitive edge for the attendees of Trimble Dimensions.

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