Flannery Plant Hire recognise the benefits and opportunities provided by digital construction.

It will enable us to improve productivity, increase efficiency and attract a younger and more diverse workforce.

Digital Leadership

We have developed an experienced team whose responsibility is to work with our client base to promote and develop the use of digital technologies. This includes undertaking the following activities:

  1. Undertaking 3D GPS awareness events on client’s project sites. Demonstrating the benefits of machine control, and providing advice and guidance on how it works
  2. Working in partnership to host Digital Days where our client’s personnel will have access to  3D GPS machine guidance and control technologies along with other new technologies in the sector.
  3. Collaborating with our clients at an early stage on new projects to explore the opportunities for utilising digital technology and evaluating where efficiencies and productivity gains can be achieved.

Enabled Machinery

Flannery are a leading supplier of machine guidance & control technology within the UK plant marketplace and have been working with this technology on UK projects for over fifteen years.

We have an extensive fleet of digitally enabled equipment.  This includes the Caterpillar “Next-Gen” equipment and Komatsu’s “Intelligent” excavators and bulldozers.

Our fleet of dozers and excavators fitted with GPS / machine control systems have the capability to cut and grade to millimetre accuracy.

  1. 3D Machine Control systems are used to accurately position earthworks machinery.
  2. The position of the machinery is compared to a 3D design model loaded into the Machine Control system.
  3. By constantly comparing the position of the Blade or Bucket to the 3D design model, the Machine Control system informs the operator whether they need to cut or fill material to achieve the required design.

This technology ensures:

  • The right job is done, first time increasing efficiency and productivity.
  • Greater equipment predictability and control of job costs.
  • It minimises risk at the people plant interface by reducing the need for engineers in work areas.
  • Improved accuracy and quality of work, reducing tolerances and cutting material costs and the need for re-work.
Digital Team

Flannery recognise the importance of providing a competent and skilled workforce with the capability to utilise digital technology.

We have consistently trained and upskilled our team of operators to ensure competency and our training team are enabled to provide training modules on-machine and using plant simulators.

In addition, we are opening a Construction training school at our Birmingham depot in 2020. This will include a Digital Training centre which  will consist of a number of simulators which will be configured with machine guidance and control technology and a field-based training area where we will hold a fleet of machine guidance and control connected machinery.

We have worked with the providers of machine control technology to develop a 1-day 3D GPS Machine Control and Guidance course. This is being delivered by our team of trainers utilising simulators and machine-based technology.

All operational staff, including operations managers, supervisors and hire desk team have all completed a 3D GPS course to ensure they can advise and support our customer base.

In addition, we have trained a team of service engineers to install GPS equipment to our plant fleet and to provide onsite mechanical support.

We have also developed a technical support team to enable support with up-loading models, assist our client’s engineers with technical difficulties.