November 2008

Due to ongoing demand, Maveric Contractors is now recruiting for an experienced Civil Engineering All Rounder

• Experience of Trimble surveying equipment and software. Terramodel, CAD. On site experience necessary.
• Experience in infrastructure planning, motorways, drainage, airports.
• Experience in site management as resident engineer or similar position for infrastructure projects
• Good experience in Trimble GPS (road construction) Terramodel AutoCAD skills a plus.
• Proficiency in English required. Other languages (Spanish, Portuguese, or Polish a plus)
• Excellent skills in MS Office
• Ability to work in a team
• Must be a team player, have a commitment to the job
• Must be open to new technology and be a very good communicator.

Location – Galway/West of Ireland. Foreign travel may be required

Contact: Philip McNamara

April 2008

Maveric Contractors have been featured on the Nationwide program on RTE. Please view the 7 minute program.

23 Dec 2007 By Emma Kennedy

Maveric Contractors was set up three years ago, when its founders saw a gap in the market for a technology savvy engineering firm.

The firm now has 33 staff and is working on ten projects, including the construction of the N6 road. Most of the firm’s projects are based in the west of Ireland and its clients include Roadbridge, Burkeway Construction and JJ Rhatigan.

Ronan Burke, controller of Maveric Contractors, said the Galway company used the most modern technology to control costs and make engineering jobs more efficient. The firm has tried to move away from paper, and its staff use BlackBerry devices to receive their e-mails remotely.

Maveric also uses global positioning system (GPS) technology for a range of purposes.

For example, Burke said the technology could be used to prepare a three-dimensional map of a site to give the builder an estimate of how many houses would fit on the land. The site’s contours are mapped out using the GPS technology and this gives accurate information for the rest of the design process, according to Burke.

He said this model could also be used as a reference point for machines once the development work began on the site. The GPS technology can be used to guide and track machinery, so the company knows what each machine is doing, whether it is working, idling or stopped.

Vehicles are also covered - if a jeep belonging to the firm is speeding, for example, the boss gets an e-mail.

Maveric Contractors also uses ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology on its construction projects. This type of technology is used to identify objects beneath the surface of a site, such as buried pipes or utilities.

Once any objects are identified, the GPR technology can be used to help with the excavation of the site in advance of any building work.

Burke explained that this cutdown on the number of people required for certain parts of the development, and so cut costs.

The use of technology extends to the firm’s website, which is in four languages - English, Polish, Spanish and Portuguese - in response to the large number of people coming to settle in Ireland from other countries. The company recently won an award for best professional services website at the annual eircom Golden Spider awards.

The awards recognise companies for their achievements online and Burke said that Maveric was the first construction firm to win such an award.

‘‘It says a lot about our stance on technology,” he said.

- John Collins - Dec 07

Galway civil engineering firm Maveric Contractors has shaved between 5 and 15 per cent off the cost of individual contracts through the application of technologies such as GPS tracking, electronic signatures and on-site servers.

As a result, the three-year-old firm has won a number of high-profile contracts, including work on the M6 motorway from Ballinasloe to Galway.

According to Philip McNamara, marketing director of Maveric, the founders were frustrated at the lack of technology used in the construction sector. "We wanted to be more efficient and accountable to our customers," said McNamara. "When our assets are €300,000 machines based at different locations around the country, they need to be working or we are not earning money."

Maveric specialises in preparation of sites right up to the stage where construction begins. "We know exactly how much each metre of earth we move costs," said McNamara. "We can provide a lower price than our competitors and still be profitable."

All the heavy plant it buys from Caterpillar comes equipped with GPS and machine control technologies from its partner Trimble Control Technologies. Although this can add up to €60,000 to the cost of each machine, it means the blade on a dig can be precisely controlled to eliminate errors.

Management can also know, from anywhere in the world, what each machine is doing - working, idling, stopped, or even speeding. The managing director automatically gets an e-mail when an employee goes over 100 km/h in a company vehicle.

Server technology installed on site means that any changes an engineer makes to a project plan are automatically notified to the architects using a 3G mobile broadband card.

McNamara says the firm invests 7 per cent of its annual turnover in technology, but he believes the investment will protect it during the downturn in the construction sector.

"We're not your typical builder," said McNamara. "There are no copies of the Sun hanging out of our back pockets - you're more likely to see a Blackberry, a ToughBook or remote access servers on site."

 

 

Oct 2007

On the 12th October staff of Maveric attended The Malton Hotel, Killarney for the 16th Annual NISO (National Irish Safety Organisation) Awards ceremony. To the delight of all involved the company received a ‘Certificate of Merit’. The award is the second received by Maveric Contractors in as many years and was seen by all to be a great achievement.
        

With the popularity of the NISO Awards increasing annually, demonstrated by a record number of entries year on year, it is of particular interest to Maveric that the company stays on NISO’s Award winners list for future years to come.

 

 

Aug 2007

Maveric Contractors in Galway have been recently awarded a “first in Ireland” for safety. The SafeTcert was awarded to Maveric Contractors, which was issued by the CIF in conjunction with the IOSH. Maveric Contractors was the first civil engineering subcontractor in Ireland to achieve this prestigus award, and the first civil encompany in the west of Ireland to get the award.

Maveric Contractors employ 31 full time staff, with Cathal Uniacke acting as the full time safety manager. The company is very serious about safety on site, and goes the extra mile by installing reversing cameras on all machines, reversing beepers and movement alarms on all machines.

Maveric are also working on a new detailed vibration policy where they measure the vibration of each individual machine and set policies for each prior to future legislational requirements.

 

 

Aug 2007

When it comes to IT, Maveric Contractors has turned to some very innovative techniques. It’s website, Mavericcontractors.com has won praise for its innovative use of technology and design. On site, the company is working with specialised suppliers of IT equipment to move all paper processes to electronic documents, which are emailed to head office. Deliveries will soon be signed for electronically and labour, plant and material returns will be electronically transferred.

In the head office, managers can monitor over the exact location of each machine, jeeps, trucks, etc… wherever it is working around the country. The software also tracks the hours worked and when the next service is due.