Peter Bell MD of Bell Contracting talks about the industry and his business investments in new equipment, 3D machine control and the AccXel Construction School

Construction and Earthworks Podcast

How do we solve the skills shortage whilst increasing productivity and reducing CO2 emissions? These are just some of the key topics Peter Haddock discusses with Peter Bell, MD of housebuilding groundworks specialist, Bell Contracting onsite at the new AccXel Construction Training School.

In this latest edition of our Think Tank Series supported by Leica Geosystems, Peter Bell talks about how the family business has created key relationships and partnerships with JCB and 3D machine control and surveying specialist Leica Geosystems to change the way the business operates. It's a process that has delivered significant benefits allowing Bell Contracting to grow whilst establishing itself as a key supply chain partner for some of the UK's largest housebuilders.

Peter Bell: "The group has a turnover of around £90m, which is made up of three divisions, Bell Contracting, Bell Plant and Bell Homes. Our growth has accelerated dramatically over the last decade as we have changed the way in which we approach working with our customers, who are some of the major housebuilders in our region.

"Those customers wanted more of a partnership approach, so we recognised we had to solidify our own approach to partnerships within our core supply chain and, in particular, the plant we use. So we started to work with our local JCB dealer, Holt JCB and JCB Finance to look at how we could manage our fleet and get the right equipment matched for the jobs onsite.

"The aim was to develop a better approach to managing the movement of muck that was safer and more efficient. This also involved changing our methodologies and how team members worked together, from engineers to surveyors, site managers and operators. As part of this process, we created another more technically orientated partnership with Leica Geosystems, combining surveying, 3D modelling and machine control as one seamless delivery model.

"It has been a revolution for our business. You know, I never believed that you would get 55 year old excavator drivers to buy into a machine control solution within 24 hours, but it happened to us. And the productivity of the jobs we are now doing is off the scale. We don't bang pegs in the ground anymore. Everything's built on a 3d model, and it's effectively plugged into the machine.

"My excavator drivers and my foreman can actually physically see what they're actually trying to achieve right in front of them. And now they don't have to be close to the machine or climb into trenches anymore.”

Thanks for listening to this episode of our Think Tank series, supported by Leica Geosystems the 3D machine control and surveying specialist.

If you like this one, please listen to our other podcast episodes and check out our video interviews from sites and events on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/contentwithmedia.

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