Site work contractors in and around Branson, Mo., don't have to wonder whether they will hit rock ... they will. Drilling and blasting is the norm throughout the area and a good example of the work required can be found on a new commercial development along U.S. Highway 65 at the Branson Hills Parkway interchange about two miles north of downtown Branson.

New Target, Home Depot and TJ Maxx retail stores are planned for the location and extensive retaining walls and earth slopes can be seen from Highway 65. The complex site work for this project is being performed by LS&C Development Services, Inc., one of three Larry Snyder Company divisions operating out of a corporate office in Ozark, Mo.

To help speed the work at Branson Hills Plaza, LS&C Development is depending on Topcon GPS products and their partnership with Ozark Laser and Shoring, which supplies the equipment.

LS&C started work on the project in mid March, stripping the thin layer of topsoil off the side of the mountain before constructing modular block retaining walls. The extensive tiered wall network is the longest ever constructed in the Branson area.

For a site of this size — 40 acres — mass earthwork involved 500,000 cubic yards of cut/fill excavation. The biggest part of leveling the site was the blasting and removal of 350,000 cubic yards of rock. LS&C also performed construction of the major utility lines: 7,000 feet of storm pipe, 6,000 feet of water line and 5,500 feet of sanitary sewer.

The contractor who anticipates changes to a design is never disappointed. The Target store planned for Branson Hills Plaza is a pilot model being constructed for the first time. Numerous adjustments were made during the course of construction, resulting in multiple change orders. As site work progressed, conflicts between planned water lines and the storm drainage system became apparent.

LS&C Project Superintendent Dusty Emmert and Field Engineer Jeremy Keller teamed up to meet the site challenges and deal with the many changes. Their project management skills and hands-on supervision of field operations put the project ahead of schedule so that they expected to finish their work three weeks early; sometime in September.

Seven years ago, LS&C established a strong business relationship with Ozark Laser and Shoring (OLS) of Springfield, Mo. OLS supplies Topcon GPS+ construction survey and machine control products to contractors in Missouri, northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma and is part of the team that makes LS&C successful.

On the Branson Hills Plaza site, LS&C used Topcon's System Five 3D-GPS+ machine control on their John Deere 850C dozer for subgrade preparation. LS&C's operator has been using the system since March and said the results he has experienced on this project have been very positive. "It saves so much time. These roads would take a grade checker and staking just to get it within a 10th or two. With Topcon's GPS+ automatic machine control, we're getting accuracies of 5/100ths to a 10th."

Keller uses Topcon's HiPer Lite+ GPS+ rover for layout, grade checking, making topographic surveys of rock excavation areas, and recording daily as-builts. Extensive rock removal necessitates accurate measurements to verify quantities with the owner and blasting subcontractor. "The biggest advantage of our Topcon GPS+ survey rover out here is fast turnaround time on topos of rock, dirt and anything we're doing," said Keller. "It enables us to do anything we need to do and put material where it needs to be placed ... and to know exactly how much goes there."

Tracking multiple design changes on blueprints and executing them on-site can become confusing and can be a potential source of error. Using GPS technology for machine control and layout enables LS&C to use digital design data that can be changed and transmitted quickly. The long wait for a revised set of plans is eliminated.

As part of their team partnership with LS&C, OLS introduced them to a consultant, Take Off Professionals (TOPS), specializing in surface file preparation. TOPS prepares point and surface files for the project, then e-mails them right to the job trailer. They also track design changes, modify the data files as required and send them to the site for uploading to LS&C's GPS systems.

Keller spends 10 to 12 hours a day on the job site keeping the workflow moving and Topcon's HiPer Lite+ construction survey system with Pocket 3D enables him to do his job more efficiently. "Topcon's Pocket 3D is awesome," he said. "It's great to be able to look at the job on your screen, scroll through and check your elevations right there in your hand. You don't have to carry plans around. This is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

Suppliers can be an effective part of a construction team when they understand the needs of the customer, provide superior products and proactively provide technical support and service. LS&C has found that partnership with OLS and it is part of their equation for success in site work projects.