Sean from Skyline Services has over 20 years’ experience in the civil construction industry, with extensive experience using Trimble products and machine control on a wide range of equipment.
He was first introduced to Trimble GPS while working for Abigroup on the Southern Hume Alliance, just north of Albury, NSW. Abigroup, strong champions of Trimble technology, had most of their equipment fitted with Trimble GPS, from 16H Graders to 825H Compactors.
“I remember a brand new D8T Dozer with a twin mast system arriving on site and impressing everyone with its accuracy. The first 16M Grader with GPS arrived not so long after. While I did not operate it, I asked the operator who was new to the M-series grader how he found it, and his response was: ‘there’s nothing else comparable on the market, it’s next level’.”
It wasn’t until he started his second project with Abigroup, the Geraldton Transport Corridor, that Sean had his own 825H Compactor with a Trimble system that was measured from the receiver to the base of the steel feet. This proved simple yet effective when running bulk fills with a fleet of 651E Scrapers.
“I worked in Melbourne on the Peninsula link project with Abigroup from 2010-2013, where I gained a lot of exposure to a 143H Grader with single pole GPS and UTS systems. I found this a breeze to operate as I had gained a basic understanding of GCS900 from the days in the 825 compactor.”
Abigroup also replaced their trimmers with GCS900 from an old 2D system which had a convoluted process to ensure accuracy, and that was almost impossible to train someone to use. In its place, the Trimble system worked great with the trimmer, and to this day is still used within the company, now known as ACCIONA.
In 2015, leveraging his Cert IV in TAE, Sean founded Skyline Training & Assessing. His passion for sharing knowledge extended beyond new starters to seasoned operators adapting to new technology. By 2019, Sean diversified his services, founding Skyline Services WA, which has grown into a labour and plant hire business while maintaining its training roots.
In 2021, encouraged by Dan Cox from Odell Resources, Sean decided to purchase his own 140M Grader with Trimble equipment, marking Skyline Services’ entry into the plant hire market. Since then, he has grown the company’s GPS fleet to include two additional M-series graders. From Sean’s own experience and feedback from his clients and operators, he shared that Trimble technology, including Machine Control systems and Total Stations, allows for significantly improved efficiency and a higher quality of work to better meet job requirements.
“Over the years, I’ve been privileged to work with the skilled and knowledgeable personnel from SITECH WA. While some of the faces may have changed over the last 20 or so years, it has always been a pleasure working with the team at SITECH WA and maintaining professional relationships with past and current staff in this ever-changing industry.”
