As the sole Trimble MGIS Sales Representative for the State of Georgia for over 15 years, Jeannine Hightower often has to be (at least metaphorically) in several places at once. “I wish I could clone myself a few times and send myself out to the four corners of the state. Time is everything in this business. One thing that has been a constant in this profession is that you can look for customers, or you can look for time-saving solutions to common problems, and customers will come looking for you. When you choose the latter, everyone wins.”
This was the case with Tommy Carpenter, CMMS Manager for the City of Augusta, GA. I visited with Jeannine after our NEI “All things GPS” Seminar, and we discussed some problems that were relatively unique to mapping professionals. In the current economic landscape, it seems to be more and more important to save a few minutes here and there where you can. Those minutes add up to impact your bottom line when you are conducting repetitive data collection work in the field.
Hightower explains, “Tommy and his crew come across a lot of assets that are located in areas protected by tall safety fences and secured gates. Until now, gaining access to these points has always been accepted to be half the battle against time when conducting a thorough mapping job. The City of Augusta, GA was considering purchasing additional Geo Explorer 6000 units for their field crew until I was able to demo the Trimble Geo 7X and its powerful new arsenal of time saving features and tools.”
Says Carpenter, “The Trimble Geo 7X with the Laser Rangefinder has helped us with GPS-ing water valves in protected areas. We were able to shoot PIV’s (Post Indicator Valves) from outside the fenced in area, without ever entering the gate.”
In addition to this crucial workflow shortcut, with the addition of enhanced GNSS and Trimble Floodlight technology , the Trimble Geo 7X can additionally be customized to include the Laser Rangefinder module. When paired with the Flightwave Technology,this allows the user to create a laser offset directly on the 7X. It is this very technology that ended up being the turning point for the City of Augusta, and they haven’t turned back since.
“My field crews tell me they cannot believe how quick the redraw rate is. Fixed positions are acquired so much quicker than with the old handhelds. We also no longer have to get into high traffic areas to access GPS water valves and manholes,” Carpenter added. “We are happy with the Trimble Geo 7X.”
When her customers are happy, Hightower is happy. You can hear that in her voice when she speaks. “It was a super satisfying feeling to hear Tommy talk about the time they are saving, not to mention the added safety and convenience. Being able to provide solutions like this for my customers end up becoming the highlights of my work week. I can’t wait to get the Trimble Geo 7X in the hands of more public works officials. I really believe that this product is going to reshape the way municipalities do business.”
Jeannine Hightower is the Georgia Operations Manager and Georgia MGIS Sales Representative for Navigation Electronics, Inc., A Trimble Authorized Dealer located in Norcross, GA. Call Jeannine today for a demo of the latest Trimble Geospatial Hardware and Software Solutions including the Trimble Geo 7X, call 1.800.949.1932