Blenheim Company Uses Teletrac Navman In Earthquake Clean-Up

Simcox Construction has been busy cleaning up the destruction left by last week’s devastating earthquake in the South Island. The Kaikoura quake struck North Canterbury and Marlborough in the early hours of November 14. According to GNS Science geologists the earthquake may have triggered up to 100,000 landslides in the North Canterbury and southern Marlborough regions.

Based in Blenheim, Simcox Construction specialises in civil engineering and construction work and has been busy since last Monday repairing the Awatere Water Scheme which was damaged in the 7.8 magnitude quake. The rural water scheme is located in Marlborough’s Awatere Valley and services the Seddon township and surrounding areas. 

The November 14 earthquake led to massive slips in the region and seriously damaged the scheme’s infrastructure and has left many of the residents without water. Simcox Construction’s workers have set up temporary lines to restore the water supply until more permanent works can be carried out at a later date.

Tracking the teams

General manager Antony Clark says the company’s teams are using four wheel drives and trucks, as well as diggers and other vehicles to carry out the repairs. And Simcox Construction is using the Teletrac Navman GPS vehicle tracking software to keep track of its fleet.

Antony says because their work is located in remote rural areas the system has been essential for them to keep track of their teams and vehicles. Using the DIRECTOR software he can locate exactly where each team is working even if they are outside of normal mobile coverage.

“The Teletrac Navman system is our safety net. If the guys have been in one spot too long, they’re not moving on, then I can check on what’s happening,” he says.

“On the Monday night after the quake happened for example, there was one crew that I couldn’t account for, so I headed straight to the Teletrac Navman system to check on them. It turned out they were safely back in the yard, so that was great, but it showed how we use the Teletrac Navman system for the safety of our staff.” 

Hard work pays off

Antony says the crews started work right after the earthquake struck and haven’t stopped since.

“I’ve had crews out from dawn to dusk.”

And their hard work is already paying off. Antony says they’ve got parts of the scheme up and running again.

“We learnt a lot from the previous earthquake in Seddon,” he says.

“We’ll get the reticulation scheme up and running in the next couple of weeks, but longer term repairs and replacement works could take several months.”

And with Teletrac Navman GPS vehicle tracking software the team at Simcox Construction will be able to make sure everything is going to plan and ensure their staff are safe as they help repair the damage left by the earthquake.