A close look at a recent roadside construction project taking place in Brighton, Colorado, would reveal a startling fact. The extension of a popular regional trail system — components of which included excavation for and laying of sewer pipe, placing a stone base, a sizeable culvert installation, backfilling and compacting, then grading to join the project with the adjacent major thoroughfare — was being done not by a team of construction professionals, but by one individual.
Armed with a decent complement of machinery — including automated compact equipment — Jeff Lawrence, doing business as American Contractors, tackled the project alone. In doing so, he is demonstrating the various capabilities of a one-person operation.
Established by Lawrence on the heels of the pandemic in 2022, American Contractors, Inc., is a Berthoud, Colorado-based general contractor. Armed with a wealth of knowledge from a career as a Project Manager for a major area civil contractor, Lawrence’s goals for his fledgling company were simple.
“With just a dump truck and a compact track loader, I set out to provide quality work doing smaller projects: driveways, simple grading fixes, etc. I’ve always enjoyed seeing a satisfied customer,” he said. “I eventually started getting calls to prep for tennis courts and pickleball courts, things that demanded more in terms of grading accuracy, and knew I’d have to up my game a bit to make that type of work happen.”
Around that time, he found out that Foursight Solutions — sister company to 4Rivers Equipment, his John Deere dealer — was hosting an open house to spotlight the newest technology solutions available. There, he saw the demo of a Level Best skid steer grading attachment and a Topcon LN-150 Layout Navigator (LN) powered by Topcon’s MC-Mobile solution.
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“Seeing what they could do with that combination and the accuracies they could achieve opened my eyes to how things could be done. I knew this was the answer I needed,” Lawrence said. “I bought those two components — a GB-108 Level Best Grader Blade attachment and the layout navigator — and got everything set up to do 3D work with my CTL. My first year with that arrangement I did more work than I ever could have dreamed of, and it led to additional equipment purchases — both compact and mid-size — almost all of which now utilize machine control. I used that Level Best/MC-Mobile combo for more than two years. It really made my company what it is today.”
At the project cited above, formally known as the Colorado Front Range Trail (CFRT) Veterans Park Trail Connection, a segment of the trail that had sat unfinished for years was being expanded by nearly 400 feet and connected to an existing sidewalk east of the project.
“Although this is a City of Brighton project, because it exists in a state highway right of way, it has to conform to very stringent CDOT [Colorado Department of Transportation] specs,” Lawrence said. “That was where the Topcon automation solutions I use came into play. Once I got on site, after removing the existing asphalt liner, I used a John Deere 160G Excavator with a Topcon MC-X indicate solution to excavate to subgrade for base under the box culvert. In doing so, the excavation was performed perfectly without disturbing more subgrade than needed. Then, using the CTL, I fine-tuned the subgrade and installed 6 inches of Class 6 road base.”
He added that the comparison between “what is” and “what was” could not be starker than what he encountered in the trail project. Lawrence said that in the past, work would have been done using grade stakes and a tape.
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“I’d have needed a laborer in the hole and then three or four visits from a surveyor,” he said. “Using MC-Mobile’s capability, I immediately got within 1/100th of a finished product. Without that, not only would it have been a fight, it would have been at least twice as long in terms of equipment and man-hours.”
Other parts of the project — excavation for a run of 12-inch pipe, clearing and grubbing, and grading slopes — were handled by his John Deere 60G Mini Excavator equipped with a Nox Tiltrotator. Integrated to the MC-Mobile system on the machine, any movement, tilt, or rotation of the bucket is accurately depicted on the screen in his cab.
“I bought that attachment with the mini ex to do my detail work,” Lawrence said. “Because of how well it works with MC-Mobile, it’s been a huge labor-saving investment. I can get into tight areas, correct grades, slope ditches, get into a corner of a building. It’s a really powerful combo.”
MC-Mobile’s modular design is borne out in the fact that Lawrence uses it in both of his excavators. At the trail site, its strength as a layout tool, however, was proven even before any real excavation took place.
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“I tapped into the solution’s ability to perform many of the tasks for which I would previously have had to hire a surveyor,” Lawrence said. “For example, I was able to map the existing utilities after potholing, which can be a time-consuming effort. More importantly, I was able to check elevations and the locations of tie in points to confirm the design was correct. In this case, it was not, and while we had to adjust for that after we brought it to the engineers, the time savings in doing so at that point was significant.”
In keeping with the sole-performer theme, Lawrence installed the 84-inch by 36-inch concrete box culvert and the nearly 400 feet of 36-inch reinforced concrete pipe, using the forks of his 544P loader.
“Because of the technology I use on a daily basis, there’s not much I can’t do on my own,” he said.
Given his approach to business, it is not surprising that Lawrence regularly cites a very real preference for technology versus manpower.
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“I enjoy working alone and, as a result, have to put available technology to work for me whenever I can,” he said. “The cost of a Level Best attachment with the layout navigator is less than paying a laborer for a year. Once it’s paid for, everything else is profit. And, in addition to getting a tax deduction for the purchase, I don’t have to pay health insurance, unemployment, FICA, etc. The technology has become irreplaceable for me.”
Even in cases in which he is not using the layout navigator or his base/rover, he added, just running an excavator in 2D is beneficial.
“Doing drainage for pipe, I just bench at the bucket each time I move the machine,” Lawrence said. “And when you can say with confidence that a slope is at 1.5 percent — which I did here — that’s time and effort saved.”
Because Lawrence’s foray into the tech world started at Foursight Solutions, he cites them as key to his success to date.
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“Without their help, I wouldn’t be in the position I am today,” he said. “Because of that, I have an open-door policy for the Foursight crew to bring anyone who might be on the fence about the technology out to see me work — even use it themselves. It’s already changed a few people’s minds.”
Lawrence said he is grateful that he got into the small machine revolution when he did, believing it to be a harbinger of things to come.
“I think any smaller operation like mine that does not understand the technology and embrace it, will not be relevant in the next five years,” he said. “Tolerances are getting tighter, schedules are compressing, state specs are getting more demanding, etc. I see that trend continuing, and anyone not aggressive enough to want to harness the technology available today will be left behind. MC-Mobile made me rethink what smaller machines can do. I will not be one of those.”
