Heavy Equipment Meets the Digital Age

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Heavy Equipment Meets the Digital Age

March 31, 2025

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The construction sector continues to seek ways to enhance productivity. In response, many contractors are adopting digital innovations such as virtual models, augmented reality, progress tracking, and advanced reality capture tools. Smart equipment plays an essential role in supporting this transformation and meeting the demands of a rapidly evolving industry.

Digitization is having a significant impact on how work is done in the construction sector. No longer a future concept, the digital jobsite is becoming the new normal on many fronts. Physical drawings have been replaced by digital ones and, increasingly, by 3D Virtual Design Construction (VDC) models. Models are becoming more and more robust and include a much richer data set thanks to reality capture tools such as drones, 360-degree cameras, and LiDAR scanners.

As contractors evolve to this new way of doing business, they are relying increasingly on their equipment not only to do the heavy lifting but also to meet expectations that are becoming standard in the digital age.

Productivity Tools

Advanced control systems can now directly integrate design data from 3D models into a machine’s control console, giving operators real-time feedback from the target surface and enabling high-performance features. These include automated grading and digging, auto-tilt bucket control, and proactive dozing control.

These features add value on many fronts. For operators, it increases the precision of the work, eliminates guesswork, reduces fatigue, increases output, and avoids rework.

These tools help track emissions and fuel consumption, empowering customers to make informed decisions. These data-driven insights can aid in the reduction of fuel use and CO₂ emissions, lower maintenance costs, extend equipment lifespan, and shorten onboarding and training time for novice operators.

Komatsu is a global leader in digitally enabled heavy equipment. Since launching the world’s first integrated machine control equipment in 2013, the company continues to stay ahead of the curve with IMC 2.0, the company’s groundbreaking intelligent operating system. SMS Equipment has long served as a collaborative growth partner to contractors, reducing the difficulties of implementing technology and helping them maximize its advantages.

Today, SMS Equipment is also focused on Trimble Field System Technologies, specifically Earthworks products, which provide 3D aftermarket grade control systems for excavators, dozers, graders, compactors, and compact construction equipment. Trimble Earthworks offers both automatic and indicate-only modes, allowing operators to create smooth, flat, or sloped surfaces with greater ease and efficiency. By integrating these solutions, contractors can further optimize performance, increase job site productivity, and reduce operational costs.

Semi-Autonomous Operation

As the digital revolution progresses, machines are able to take on a larger share of the workload that was previously only done by human operators. Today, operators can take advantage of automatic features to supplement their work and, in tele-remote scenarios, can operate the equipment from a nearby console or even many kilometres away.

The technology allows companies to get the maximum output from their most skilled operators and makes the job attractive to younger workers who might be reluctant to relocate to a remote job site. Tele-remote also provides a safer alternative when machines are working in hazardous locations.

Autonomous operation is the result of multiple integrated technologies—GNSS information systems, job-site data networks, central computing facilities, and smart machines—all working together. However, semi-autonomous solutions are already transforming operations by enabling remote troubleshooting, real-time adjustments, and operator training from anywhere. Ensuring seamless implementation and ongoing support is where SMS Equipment comes in. As a collaborative growth partner, we go beyond providing equipment—we equip our customers with the expertise and infrastructure to implement and support smart job sites across Canada, including multi-vendor environments.

Sustainability

Innovations in heavy construction equipment are helping contractors meet their sustainability goals in two ways.

One is that smart features improve efficiency and therefore, many of the features discussed above reduce a company’s carbon footprint. For example:

Semi-autonomous operation means that a skilled operator doesn’t have to travel to a job site, reducing that person’s carbon footprint.
Automatic grading control means jobs can be graded with fewer passes, reducing fuel consumption and other environmental costs that are proportional to hours of operation.
Data-driven business and real-time monitoring help prevent unnecessary downtime and optimize machine performance, reducing waste and extending the lifespan of equipment.
Hybrid and electric-powered equipment are emerging as alternatives that further reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

These advancements not only provide a road to compliance for companies bidding on government projects with green requirements but also offer additional benefits such as quieter operations in residential areas and a more attractive work environment for younger generations who might not otherwise consider a career in construction.

SMS Equipment’s OEM partners, including Komatsu and BOMAG, are committed to sustainability and have long-term plans to continue raising the bar. By integrating these advancements, contractors can improve both environmental performance and operational efficiency, ensuring a more sustainable future for the industry.

Pulling it all together

As the equipment improves, it also becomes more sophisticated and more complex. How can contractors take advantage of all these new features without getting into the technology business? That’s where SMS Equipment comes in. As a Partner in Your Possibilities, we maintain all the resources that enable us to support our customers' technological needs anywhere in Canada.

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