Victorian company Geomatic Technologies (GT) recently secured a contract with NBN Co to deliver a defect-management solution as part of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
The multi-million dollar three-year contract will see GT, an Australian mobile and spatial technology provider, deliver a defect and maintenance management solution (DMS) to support NBN Co's construction auditing, maintenance and operations processes.
GT’s field mobile computing solution (FMC) will enable NBN Co’s auditors to trace, log and manage defects in the construction of the network’s entire physical infrastructure and analyse the performance of construction contractors regarding instances of non-compliance. It provides full traceability of all activities for audit purposes – ‘who did what when’ information – to support construction completion targets.
NBN Co’s head of construction, Dan Flemming, said GT’s expertise in designing, building and deploying integrated solutions in asset intensive industries will ensure fast and reliable delivery of the DMS solution.
“One of our key requirements was to quickly establish a consistent way to check the construction is meeting specification standards and assign responsibility for any necessary remediation.
“We’re very pleased to have secured an agreement with Geomatic Technologies to deliver an efficient, highly reliable and cost effective solution to meet NBN Co’s current and future quality control requirements critical to the successful rollout of the project.
“We were impressed by comparable solutions that GT has supplied to other asset intensive organisations over many years and look forward to the fast deployment promised to NBN Co for this solution,” Mr Flemming said.
The solution will enable the rapid transfer of audit information between field staff and contractors. NBN Co’s audit staff will travel to network sites and capture data from inspections using a ruggedised mobile device equipped with camera, GPS location hardware and wireless connectivity for real-time data upload. Staff will also be able to work in ‘disconnected mode’ in remote locations, where wireless connectivity isn’t yet available, without impacting on workflows and data integrity.
Construction contractors whose work has been audited will then have access to relevant reports and can schedule fast remediation on any defects found. The contractors’ reports will be logged, with photographic and other evidence, on completion for integration into NBN Co’s corporate systems.
The NBN Co DMS solution will include map-based visualisation in the office and field to give users a comprehensive overview of activities across all construction sites, and to assist field users to navigate to and identify audit assets.
GT will deliver the first phase of the project by April 2012 and assist in testing and operation before the second and final phase commences roll-out in August 2012. Full integration with NBN Co’s project management, document management and spatial systems is central to the design requirements.
