Machine Control

Kazac Civil and C.R. Kennedy

For family-owned-and-operated Kazac Civil, 2021 marks 30 years of operations on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast. The civil contractor, which prides itself on its dedication and work ethic, has grown the scope of its operations and steadily built its reputation with local consultants and councils over the years.

Established in 1991 by Steve Cusato, having initially commenced operations with just two employees, two tippers and a traxcavator, Kazac now counts over 50 dedicated full-time employees among its staff, and runs a fleet made up of a wide range of heavy machinery, with it undertaking a variety of projects for domestic, commercial and industrial clients.

Kazac Project Manager, Tyler Oliver, who originally hails from Canada, having relocated from Sydney to Port Macquarie with his young family in 2017, subsequently commenced with Kazac as a foreman in 2018. Tyler explained that Kazac has the capability to work across multiple types of projects simultaneously and provides its clients a range of different services.

“Over the last 10 years, Kazac has really established itself as an industry leader, and has developed a number of great relationships within the community, leading to exceptional growth and ongoing repeat business,” Tyler told EEM.

“We specialise in new subdivision construction, but are also highly qualified and skilled in road building, bulk earthworks, pipeline infrastructure, concreting and commercial applications.”

Kazac has recently finished two stages of the new Charles Sturt University project in Port Macquarie, installing infrastructure and building car parks.

Other recent projects include Sovereign Place, a new town centre for the Sovereign Hills development in Port Macquarie, with Kazac continuing to undertake operations across different areas of this development.

“Kazac are currently working on multiple stages of the subdivision development at Sovereign Hills,” Tyler said. “We are also working on projects at Rainbow Beach at Lake Cathie, the Best Glen Estate stage one subdivision in Port Macquarie, and a large-scale government-funded project called Figtrees on the Manning in Taree.”

NEW TECH HELPS KAZAC STEP UP THE PACE
Kazac’s fleet encompasses excavators, traxcavators, backhoes, compactors, graders, rollers, water carts and dump trucks, among a range of other equipment, with Tyler explaining that the business is “always upgrading to stay up to date with new technology as it becomes available.”

Seeking to gain the most from new developments, Tyler said Kazac has been utilising C.R. Kennedy, the sole Leica Geosystems distributor in Australia, for its technology needs for close to a decade, with Kazac running a range of GPS equipment across its fleet, and pointed to the various benefits provided across different operations.

“We currently have an up-to-date assortment of seven GPS excavators, one GPS grader, one GPS D6 dozer, one GPS compactor and one GPS Drott, with capabilities to plug and play, so to speak,” Tyler said. “We load them up with a model and then you can virtually see the whole job right in front of you.”

“It takes out the need for survey pegs all throughout a job, showing heights and alignment for various different processes. We can establish on a site and almost start work instantly so this is a great advantage when having tight timelines to adhere to.”

In addition to this, Tyler advised that Kazac is running two total stations, five rover setups and three base stations, having in the last 12 months alone upgraded two rovers to the Leica iCON gps 70 T, and one total station to the Leica iCON iCR80, along with adding, or upgrading, three new GPS setups for its machines.

ICON GPS 70 T DELIVERS SUBSTANTIAL EFFICIENCY BENEFITS
The iCON gps 70 T brings together the latest in GNSS and inertial measurement unit technologies, and is equipped with permanent tilt compensation, in addition to being resistant to any magnetic interference.

Built for anytime, anywhere use, the iCON gps 70 T is calibration-free, with it releasing the limitations of working with the pole in vertical positions, and is designed to enhance efficiency by collecting as-built field data and staking out designs faster, while increasing accuracy and reducing errors.

“The new tilt rovers were a bit intimidating to the foremen at first, as they weren’t too sure how accurate they would be, and didn’t really want to rely on it too much, but if you ask them now if they wouldn’t go back, you would get a unanimous ‘not a chance’ from them all,” Tyler commented.

“The accuracy has proven itself, and having the ability to take pick-ups in the invert of pits, or sewer manholes and places that you can’t necessarily hold the pole upright, is a real plus. Picking up stockpiles without having to climb all over them is also a proven time-saver, making it much easier to accurately quantify what is on-site.”

Tyler said that all of Kazac’s foremen and leading hands have received training on setting out jobs with rovers and total stations, noting that the total stations have proven handy in situations calling for very accurate results, such as the final trimming of roads for survey conformance, and setting out kerb alignment and height.

“I have about eight years’ experience with GPS rovers and machines from various different manufacturers, and have found the Leica equipment that C.R. Kennedy provides to be the best in terms of accuracy, ease of use in the field and ability,” he commented.

C.R. KENNEDY PROVIDES ONGOING SUPPORT AND TRAINING
C.R. Kennedy Sales Representative, Joshua Smith told EEM that C.R. Kennedy has forged a great relationship with Kazac since the two started working together back in 2012. C.R. Kennedy has focused on ensuring Kazac gets the most out of its equipment through ongoing support and training.

Together with new technologies having the potential to deliver valuable productivity benefits, helping to speed up projects and drive down costs, C.R. Kennedy ensures Kazac are continually updated of emerging technologies arriving to market that can help bolster their operations and stay ahead of the game.

In line with C.R. Kennedy’s client-focused approach, Joshua is always available and on-hand to provide advice about different technologies, including applications across specific operations and areas where value can be gained, and to answer any questions that companies and equipment operators may have.

Send this to a friend