How to automate your surveying workflow step by step

Surveying is a profession with a long tradition of innovation in terms of field equipment and improving ways of performing tasks on site. Making the surveyors’ lives easier and completing projects even more straightforward is the main focus of Leica Geosystems Research and Development aspirations. For survey engineers searching for an automated total station that is tailored to the users’ needs to measure and layout points, while also being upgradeable and of high quality, the Leica TS13 total station represents the best alternative in the market. It is designed specifically to satisfy project requirements in the Utilities and Civil Engineering segment.

What do we mean by upgradeability/scalability?

Leica TS13 total station was designed with diverse upgrade options. This is unique in Leica Geosystems’ total station spectrum. The three optional steps are summarised in the overview below:

Image 1: Leica TS13 basic version (left) with three upgrade options – display, prism lock and robotic capabilities with SpeedSearch.

Let’s see how the Leica TS13, the “transformer” among total stations, can be upgraded at any point in time, be it before the initial delivery or within the after-sales process:

Basic version: the basic version of the Leica TS13 comes with a 4-button keypad without a screen. A controller is needed to operate a TS13 without a keyboard screen.

Step 1 – Keyboard with 5” WVGA screen: as the first upgrade option, you can replace the basic keypad with an alphanumeric keyboard that comes with a 5” WVGA screen. You can now operate the instrument without a controller and use our field software Leica Captivate (directly on the total station).

Step 2 – Lock: the TS13 already includes automatically aiming to a target using ATR (Automatic Target Recognition). With the “Lock” option, it can also lock to a target, which means it can follow a moving target. There are two use cases for this option: either use it in 2-person mode (a person standing by the instrument and the other carrying the pole) or 1-person mode by steering the instrument from a controller within Bluetooth range ( limited to a short range between the instrument and the controller).

Step 3 – Going robotic over distance: the instrument can be equipped with a radio handle, connecting a controller of choice to the instrument within the full radio range. In addition, our prism fast search option “SpeedSearch” is activated so that the TS13 can perform a quick and reliable search of the prism.

Image 2: Transition from two-person to one-person surveying is possible with an upgrade of the Leica TS13.

There are various combinations of the upgrades above, enabling you to master various use cases on-site. For detailed information, please contact your local representative.

Make the instrument fit your project needs

The main benefit of being able to upgrade your instrument is the option of doing it at your company’s pace. As your projects grow, your needs might grow too – like the necessity of working faster, more reliable, and at a certain point with one person performing the tasks. According to tests, automated total stations reduce operational costs by up to 40% while simultaneously increasing productivity compared to manual total stations. Another component is the safety aspect; the surveyor can work safely in busy environments, thanks to an easier way of completing on-site duties.

Image 3: The new Leica TS13 total station comes with the AutoHeight feature (as a standard)

AutoHeight

AutoHeight is a revolutionary way of measuring the height of your instrument. A simple press of a button replaces analogue and potentially erroneous procedures involving a tape measure and manually inserting the height into your total station. Since the relaunch of the TS13 in November 2020, this is a standard feature available upon purchasing the instrument. It will consistently deliver a correct height for the current station and speed up your setup with a height-measuring time of under three seconds. You will be ready to perform measurement tasks in the field in no time.

For further information on the AutoHeight feature, please download our White Paper.

Service & Support

Whenever you purchase a solution from Leica Geosystems, you can rely on our Active Customer Care – one of the world’s most comprehensive service and support networks. This worldwide network of sales, support and technical service specialists is here to support you in any question you might have. Regional and local sales teams will provide you with any needed product information, training and sales-relevant information. Whenever you are facing issues or open questions regarding your equipment, you can contact our support teams. The third pillar of our all-encompassing customer assistance is our technical service. Once you have located the closest office for Customer Care Packages (CCP), we will have your back anytime you might need hardware maintenance, calibration certificates or repairs.

In order to provide the best Technical and Customer Support Service, we are regularly performing customer satisfaction checks with the independent Net Promoter Survey (NPS). The resulting world-class score motivates us to keep the high level of performance and strive to become even better, day by day.

Image 4: Deciding on buying an instrument goes much deeper than just the initial purchasing price.

Basing a purchasing decision solely on the price of the equipment…

… is a start but not the only aspect you need to consider. The goal is to see beyond the price and include all factors contributing to the final investment. We often receive comments from our customers, claiming our instruments and software do an amazing job – but also at a price. However, there is so much more one needs to think about when purchasing a total station than just the purchasing price.

This step needs to be considered from a long-term perspective, taking into account the entire instrument lifecycle. It is wise to think about all potential direct/indirect costs and the environmental perspective:

• Purchasing price (just the tip of the iceberg)
• Operational costs
• Support and service: maintenance cost, spare part pricing and availability, potential repair costs, software maintenance and warranty costs
• Downtime cost: it is essential to buy reliable equipment to be able to continue working without interruptions
• Lifetime of the instrument: this includes reselling options after you stop using the instrument
• Sustainability of instruments: production, materials, durability, long-term operation, recycling and more

When doing the calculations by including all the factors above, the decision to purchase a high-quality, automated total station by Leica Geosystems is an easy one. It will not only speed up your workflows and complete projects faster; it will also give you the ability to focus on the tasks you enjoy doing on-site by making all processes more comfortable and straightforward. A higher initial purchase price of high-quality equipment will doubtlessly pay off over time and give you peace of mind, thanks to the proven lowest total cost of ownership. With the new Leica TS13, you will gain another option – the previously mentioned scalability/upgradeability of the total station will help you make wise decisions parallel to your business’s growth.

For deeper insights regarding the lowest total cost of ownership, please read our White Paper.

To learn more about the Leica TS13 visit: Leica TS13 total station