Proof in the UK pudding

From childhood friends in the United Kingdom to business partners in Australia, Darren Dean and Sean Henry took what was a gap in the market and brought their surveying knowledge and expertise to Australia to create Asset Survey Solutions. 

Darren Dean and Sean Henry saw an opportunity to grow a business in Australia, especially in the underground services mapping sector. 

Today, Asset Survey Solutions specialises in being a multi-disciplined survey company. 

Henry says since the company’s partnering with Rangedale in 2017, he and Dean have been able to provide effective and innovative solutions for its clients to better resource their projects. 

Following a couple of years of steady growth and business, Asset Survey Solutions has really made a name for itself following works on the Westgate Tunnel Project and the Metro Tunnel Project early works. 

“That’s where we really carved our teeth as a company. From there, over the last two years, we’ve just gone through a rapid rate of expansion and growth and we’ve doubled, even tripled, in size over that time,” Henry says. 

“We’ve recently branched out into other states as well. We are now in Queensland and Sydney, as well as Melbourne. I think it’s safe to say we’re one of the largest servicers in terms of underground service locating and mapping along the East Coast of Australia.”

Dean says that now the business is five to six years down the line, he and Henry have become proactive in proving themselves to be a leading provider in all surveying services, not just underground service mapping. 

He says that by working in a niche market, its long history of adapting innovative technology on high profile infrastructure projects has provided the company with an exceptional amount of experience in delivering surveying solutions for construction, plant, residential and civil infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, bridges, and the trenchless industry.

“Through our extensive range of laser scanners, total stations, GPS/RTK systems and qualified surveyors, we have the capacity to provide specialist expertise, equipment and experience specific to the projects’ requirements,” Dean says. 

Building off the reputation of being the go-to service mapping company, Asset Survey Solutions is at that stage now where it will be recognised for its quality engineering solutions too.

“As a result, we’ve been picking up survey packages for high profile infrastructure projects, such as level crossing removals, including Webb Street at Narre Warren Station. We’ve been getting these packages off the back of that reputation,” Dean says. 

Removing this level crossing will improve safety, relieve congestion on Webb Street, and allow more trains to run on the Pakenham Line, more often. The Webb Street level crossing removal is part of a $15 billion investment to upgrade the Pakenham Line, which will be boom gate free by 2025.

“Asset Survey are working in conjunction with site engineers deploying multiple survey disciplines aiding and supporting the construction of new car parks and train stations,” Dean says. 

“Our role is to ensure that everything that is being installed is in the right place and to within the expected accuracy tolerance. The project only started in September last year, so it’s still really in its early stages. 

“We had some of our team working all throughout the Christmas break, conducting track monitoring for multiple rail projects throughout the Victoria region ensuring any track movement is reported. We work closely with our client and Metro Trains to make sure mandates and safety tolerances are met.”

Continuing to push outside the constraints of surveying, Dean and Henry are able to

accumulate all information, whether it be through service locating, surveying, laser scanning, monitoring, through to one singular conduit of information. Providing a clear line of communication between Asset Survey’s data management teams and Project Design.

“As a result of our continually improving data sets and deliverable standards, lines of communication is improving essentially having everyone singing from the same hymn sheet, that flow of data to the project design team is becoming far, far more seamless,” Henry says. 

The pair were also able to use their insights into Europe’s civil sector to further help Rangedale advance its offerings. Rangedale Group of companies is vertically integrated, allowing turnkey solutions utilising all in-house services. 

With the scale of its fleet, personnel, industry knowledge and expertise, Rangedale Group of companies can provide solutions for drain cleaning, maintenance construction and relining, inspection, maintenance and repair, service locating, as well as mapping, service proofing, saw cutting, restoration, NDD, CCTV, civil works, industrial cleaning, bulk liquid, and slurry waste management. 

Henry says because of its relationship with Rangedale, its clients love that they only have to make one phone call and all services are available under one roof and meet Australia’s equipment standards.

“It only takes one contractor to let you down on a single project and the whole day is ruined, the costs associated with contractor standdown time can blow project budgets way out. Whereas with our in-house connections, it’s one person that they have to contact and if there’s an issue, it’s only one person they’re chasing, and our clients love that,” he says. 

“It goes without saying, obviously, the more resources available to that single point of contact for the bigger projects, the better.”