BY DEBRA WOOD

When Brasfield & Gorrie needs to set up an office in a remote location, crews rely on one of the company’s Jobsite in a

Box transportable hotspots to keep them operational.

"It instantly solves a connectivity issue at the jobsite," says Jim Purcell, chief technology officer at Brasfield & Gorrie in Birmingham, Ala. "It is complete data and voice communication in a rugged container, based on cellular communications."

Brasfield & Gorrie, a TEXO and AGC member in Georgia and Alabama, found project managers and superintendents often do not plan far enough ahead to secure hard-wired data circuits and telecommunication services from utility companies for a jobsite trailer to allow for ready communication between the job and outside entities. Other jobs suffer flooding or difficulty getting back operational after a natural disaster, and some projects require a quick start, with team members dependent on connectivity and voice-over IP telephone service.

"It had been an elusive thing to try and fix," Purcell adds. The company tried satellite technology but found it lacked reliability. Then at the suggestion of its cellular service provider, Purcell and Sprint met with Feeney Wireless in Eugene, Ore., and designed a custom box.

"It was a partnership between the three of us to build it specifically to address the problems a jobsite has, such as dust, inclement weather and bumping around, which is different than Feeney’s other customers," Purcell says.

The Mobile Ready Office (MRO) from Feeney Wireless is a complete office-in-abox solution that contains a modem, router, and Ethernet and antenna connections in a waterproof, durable case, designed for rugged environments.

"The MRO’s multiple modem ports provide connection redundancy and cellular amplifiers boost signal strength." says Ben Moore, marketing manager for Feeney Wireless.

When Brasfield & Gorrie crews need instant connectivity, Purcell can ship overnight or hand deliver one of what it calls a Jobsite in a Box. The company currently has 20 in use. As soon as it arrives, the jobsite becomes operational, with multiple employees able to use it.

"The goal of the box was to be temporary, until land lines and a more rugged and sturdy environment can arrive, but some jobsites are so happy with it and its cost, they just use that," Purcell says. "As soon as we can build them, they are 100 percent deployed. There is always a need to be filled by a communication field box."

The boxes are limited by the cellular carrier’s bandwidth. More metropolitan areas with multiple carriers and 4G service allow for greater connectivity at the jobsite, since Brasfield & Gorrie can deploy more boxes, one dedicated to each carrier. The next generation Jobsite in a Box will include a more secure and less intensive bandwidth tunnel.

"We keep evolving it as things in the mobile space evolve," Purcell says. "We are constantly tweaking it, so we get better performance at the jobsite."

Brasfield & Gorrie does not sell Jobsite in a Box. Feeney Wireless units, called the Mobile Ready Office, start at about $2,000.  All models feature a 802.11 router with firewall and multiple modem ports. The Plus and Advantage models offer load balancing. The Advantage also comes with an embedded cellular modem and four analog lines.

With all of the models, Moore says,"you just plug it in and turn it on, and you have connectivity."