Hammer Construction Inc. finishes projects faster at lower costs with iMC machines
Over the past decade Hammer Construction Inc. expanded its services into more commercial projects, providing complete site packages or individual services for customers, including clearing, mass earthwork and fine grading, utility installation, and concrete paving.
“We — and most of our clients — prefer to do a turnkey project where the civil construction schedule is in our hands,” said Robby Moore, president and owner. “In those cases, we self-perform nearly everything and work with trusted partners to get certain items taken care of. We are not opposed to breaking out and doing a dirt- or utility-only job. Whatever the customer wants, we will take care of it. That’s helped us build a solid list of customers that we continue to work for on a repeat basis.”
Typically, Hammer Construction has 15 to 20 projects in the works at a time. In a recent commercial venture, the company provided earthwork for the first phase of a new multipurpose sports complex that will include three baseball fields, concession stands and parking. A crew performed cut/fill operations for general site construction, which involved moving thousands of yards of dirt.
“The project is an excellent example of what Komatsu intelligent Machine Control equipment is capable of,” stated Josh Swafford, foreman. “In some places, there were 12-foot cuts and fills. Traditional methods
would have meant having a survey company come out four or five times to stake it as we progressed. Because the intelligent machines always know where they are in relation to final elevation, much of that is eliminated, so we save time and money by using them from start to finish.”
Increased production time
Hammer Construction used its D61EXi-24 dozer and PC360LCi-11 excavator for everything from rough cut to final grading. Similar to all projects done with intelligent Machine Control (iMC) equipment, it built a site model from a CAD file Hammer Construction received from the general contractor.
“We upload the model to the machines, do a final precheck and go,” said Matt Swafford, foreman. “The integrated GPS control of the iMC machines is extremely accurate. We have never had an issue in the three-plus years that we have used them. Our first unit was a D65EXi-18 that we rented for an oil field job. We bought it because we knew right away it was a game-changer for us. With no masts or cable to put up and take down, our production time increased, so we are able to finish projects faster with reduced costs.”
