Vocus, a provider of mission-critical private networks across Australia’s mining regions, uses Trendspek to digitise site inspections, cut mobilisation time, and centralise site data, empowering stakeholders to plan with confidence before
setting foot on site.
We spoke with Mark Gasseling, Underground & METS Solutions Team Lead at Vocus.
Vocus delivers private LTE networks that support autonomous haulage, real-time sensors, and production systems in some of the most remote areas of Australia. Managing these networks requires careful planning and oversight to ensure reliable
operations.
“A significant portion of our network supports mission-critical operations across mining sites,” explains Mark Gasseling, Underground & METS Solutions Team Lead at Vocus.
For Vocus, identifying and planning critical upgrade work meant sending multiple engineers and specialist contractors to remote sites for pre-inspection. This involved coordinating multiple contractors, managing OHS paperwork, transporting heavy equipment, and collating enough data to plan work.
“Typically, we do a pre-site inspection where we’d go have a look at the hut and tower, the space, and report back with requirements and issues. Because we're so remote, you’ve really got to plan everything you need and make sure you know exactly where you're going to mount equipment.”
“When using riggers, there’s a lot of extra processes to go through before they can climb… doing these sorts of captures eliminates the need to get a rigging team out there.”
Whilst Engineers received photos and reports from contractors, these often lacked context, making it difficult to measure, plan, or fully understand site conditions.
“In the past, it could be sometimes hard to work out what that picture is of - because you don’t have that 3D sort of space. If you just have a bunch of pictures, they’re all close up, you get no perspective or idea of what you’re looking at and where it’s located.”
Mark Gasseling
Underground & METS Solutions Team Lead, Vocus
Vocus
Inspections completed in under two hours instead of half a day or longer
Inspection programs cut from two
weeks to one
Rigger callout costs removed for pre-inspection work
High-risk climbs eliminated during
inspection and planning
With digital records to eliminate
variability
Exact measurements and supply
lengths ordered without re-visits
Vocus adopted Trendspek’s platform to digitise the pre-inspection process and create a single source of truth for all site data.
Using drones and 3D modelling, the team could capture high-resolution imagery, contextual measurements, and azimuth orientation of equipment. This allowed Vocus to annotate, measure, and verify hardware placement, all within a secure, cloud-based workspace hosted in Australia.
“Now we’ve got a nice model that anyone can come in two years later and look at it… it gives them a bit more of a perspective because some of these [sites] can be different.”
By combining drone captures with Trendspek’s collaborative tools, Vocus is eliminating the reliance on multiple file shares, spreadsheets, and fragmented photos. All stakeholders, from owners, to engineers, to contractors, could now view the same visual record, annotate key points, and plan projects with confidence.
Trendspek has enabled Vocus to reduce the need for personnel in high-risk areas by replacing traditional rigging-based pre-inspections with digital inspections. This not only improves safety but also significantly reduces the complex logistics of coordinating contractors in remote locations.
“Mining companies have a preferred contractor for rigging that meets their OHS compliance. We’ve got to do all the paperwork for them, organise the transport for their equipment out to the site, and because it's classed as high-risk work, there's a lot of extra steps to go through before they can climb.”
“By using a drone and capturing ourselves, we sort of reduce that, eliminate that need to pay for riggers to come out which can be a couple grand a day for a team.”
Inspections that once took half a day can now be completed in under two hours, allowing Vocus to capture multiple sites in a single day and reduce mobilisation from nearly two weeks to one.
Mark Gasseling
Underground & METS Solutions Team Lead
Vocus
With Trendspek, engineers can measure cable runs, verify hardware placement, and annotate 3D models to plan projects before arriving on site.
“Now in Trendspek, we can actually measure that in more detail, so we can then order exactly what we need rather than adding a heap on and then having to cut it back and do all that work on site. Previously, it was sort of an eye estimate.”
“The azimuth projections… we can mark up antennas and understand which direction they're pointing, which is a big thing for us to make sure what was installed is actually what we designed.”
“Everyone's pretty good [at adoption]. We've used a lot of CAD stuff before, so it's not hugely different to what’s done in the past.”
Engineers and contractors can plan lifts and material needs ahead of site visits, which is critical in remote areas where unplanned adjustments can be costly, or impossible.
“Because we're so remote, you’ve really got to plan everything you need and make sure you know exactly where you're going to mount things. Having the model, you can draw it up and have that plan before you go.”
Trendspek centralises site data in a secure environment that ensures compliance for sensitive industrial and government projects. Engineers, project managers, and site contractors can annotate, review, and reference the same 3D environment.
“We've been able to be more efficient back in the officebecause we got that data in a nice sort of visual way rather than flicking through pictures in a SharePoint drive.”
“More people effectively get to see the site and understandwhat the job is rather than just some 2D pictures,” adds Mark. “When we bring the rigging team in, they can also have access to look at it so they can plan how they’re going to do their work.”
This shared visibility improves workflow efficiency, reduces the risk of miscommunication, and provides a living record of sites for future projects. Repeat captures have allowed Vocus to track changes, maintain hardware, and plan long-term interventions.
Teams can also view the 3D model alongside raw images, making it easy to cross-check details and verify information quickly.
“We compared Trendspek to alternatives, and there are a few features, like the ease of use. You can go to the exact point you want to look at, open the photo browser, and see all those pictures. A few others were more complex if you actually wanted to view the raw images.”
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