Author: Peter Haddock
On a busy warehouse development in Stoke-on-Trent, excavators are working continuously as foundations and drainage take shape. Among them is the newest addition to the SO Groundworks fleet: a factory-fitted JCB 140X CL running Leica MC1 3D machine control.
For owner Shaun Oldham, though, the machine is not simply another excavator. It is the latest step in a digital construction journey that started with one very ordinary frustration on site.
As SO Groundworks grew from smaller jobs into larger commercial and industrial developments, traditional setting-out methods began to hold the business back.
"We'd get an engineer to come and set out the foundations and put the pegs in. After that, it was down to me with a 50 metre tape measure, pulling it across the site, checking everything manually. Something that should have taken ten minutes was taking all day, and even then you were never completely confident."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
Any unexpected change made it worse. Work stopped while the site waited for an engineer to come back.
"If something didn't line up, the job stopped. You could be waiting hours before someone came back out. That's where it really started costing us."
Rather than absorb the delays, Shaun decided to bring the engineering capability inside the business.
"I thought instead of waiting for someone else, I'd learn it myself."
Shaun started with the fundamentals of setting out, then was introduced to Leica Geosystems technology by Chris Woodhouse at M&P Survey Equipment. He began with a Leica iCON GNSS rover and a Leica TS16 robotic total station, expecting a tool for basic setting out. It turned into something considerably bigger.
"At first I thought I'd just use it for kerbs, edges and simple setting out. But once you start using it, you realise how much it can actually do."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
Today he handles complete engineering packages himself, working directly from digital 2D and 3D models.
"I'm setting everything out, checking it and managing the engineering side of projects in-house. I didn't realise how far it would take me when I first started."
Learning has stayed a continuous process, backed by regular training from M&P Survey Equipment and Leica Geosystems.
"The support has been massive. Every time you learn something new, you can apply it on site straight away."
One recent addition has become part of the daily routine: the Leica AP20 AutoPole.
"The tilt function is brilliant because you don't always have to keep the pole perfectly upright. Whether you're checking foundations or stockpiles, it makes measuring much easier, particularly on muddy sites."
Bringing surveying expertise in-house changed how SO Groundworks delivers work.
"The biggest benefit is that the job doesn't stop anymore. If something needs checking or setting out, we just do it immediately."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
The saving Shaun values is not the survey invoice. It is the time the site never loses.
"People think the value is doing the engineering yourself, but for me it's keeping the project flowing. That's where the real gains are."
With surveying established across the business, machine control was the obvious next move. After training at the Leica Geosystems Machine Control School in Shropshire, Shaun brought Leica MC1 3D machine control to his existing JCB excavators, retrofitting a 90Z-2 and a 245XR before ordering the new factory-fitted 140X CL.
"Once I'd got comfortable with the surveying side, machine control was the natural progression."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
"The retrofit worked really well because it allowed us to get started without replacing our fleet. When we bought the new JCB 140X CL, having Leica Geosystems’ machine control solution factory-fitted made everything even easier. It's fully integrated, covered under warranty and supplied as one complete package."
Bringing the excavator, the machine control, and the attachments into a single finance agreement also made the investment easier to plan.
"It gives us one monthly cost rather than managing lots of separate purchases."
As the business expanded, Shaun wanted machine control that moved with the work rather than sitting idle on one machine. SO Groundworks keeps Leica MC1 base kits on several excavators and moves the cab kit between them as projects require.
"The tablet automatically recognises the machine it's connected to and reads all the calibration data. It means we can move the cab kit between excavators depending on the project."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
When more capability is needed at once, extra cab kits are simply hired in.
"It keeps costs under control while giving us the flexibility to scale up whenever we need to."
Machine control has changed more than the digging. Operators now run their own quality checks and gather site information as they work.
"Because everything is calibrated, the excavator becomes a surveying tool. It's not just digging anymore. We're checking levels, monitoring progress and collecting data we can actually use."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
The result is more confidence at every stage of construction, and less dependence on separate survey visits.
One benefit arrived unannounced. On a tightly constrained project that involved moving thousands of tonnes of material around site, Shaun needed hard evidence of the work completed. Working with M&P Survey Equipment, he added Leica Geosystems volume reporting to the workflow.
"We were moving huge amounts of material around site, but nothing was leaving. We needed to prove exactly what had been moved."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
The reports produced detailed volume calculations, which were combined with survey information to support the project valuation.
"That's what got us paid, and that was the moment I realised just how valuable the data really was."
As projects have grown larger and more complex, Shaun has extended his digital workflows using BricsCAD alongside Leica ConX. Working straight from the digital model, he can revise designs and push new information to the machines without setting foot on site.
"Using Leica ConX, I can update drawings, send new models directly to the excavators and support the team wherever I am. The job keeps moving even when I'm somewhere" else.
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
The same models are making the sites safer. Existing drainage and underground services go into the model before anyone breaks ground.
"When drains are installed, we map them into the model. Then whenever we're digging nearby, the machine highlights exactly where they are."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
SO Groundworks is now taking the idea further with Xwatch Safety Solutions 3D avoidance zones, adding protection around buried utilities.
"It's a simple idea, but it helps prevent damage before it happens, particularly around gas and electric services."
Operator Emmett has run Leica Geosystems machine control for around four years, and rates the factory-fitted machine highly.
"For a compact excavator, the cab is really spacious. You can position the display exactly where it suits you, and everything has been designed properly from the factory."
— Emmett, Machine operator, SO Groundworks
With Shaun running both the engineering and the machine control, the cab and the office now work from the same digital model.
"Because Shaun understands both the engineering and the machines, we're all working from the same information. Everyone knows what's happening on site."
What began as frustration with a tape measure has turned into a different way of delivering projects. Leica Geosystems surveying solutions, 3D machine control, cloud connectivity, and steady training have given SO Groundworks digital workflows that lift productivity, cut downtime, and put confidence behind every job.
"I never thought I'd be doing the engineering, working with digital models and running machine control systems. It's completely changed how we operate."
— Shaun Oldham, Owner, SO Groundworks
For contractors weighing up the same move, Shaun's advice is short:
"You don't need to know everything before you start. Learn the basics, use it on site and build from there. The benefits come quickly, and the more you use it, the more you get out of it. It's taken the business to a completely different level."
For a groundworks contractor stepping up into larger commercial work, bringing the engineering in-house brought SO Groundworks four things:
Discover Leica Geosystems' 3D machine control solution here: https://leica-geosystems.com/products/machine-control-systems/excavator/leica-icon-ixe3---3d-system
