The American Surveyor Blog

October articles posted

2009-11-06T13:45:00.002-05:00

Editorial: Intergeo 2009
We recently attended Intergeo in Karlsruhe, Germany. Billed as the world's most important surveying congress, this year's show attracted more than 16,000 attendees--22 percent from outside Germany--and 475 exhibitors. For years, we've heard how nice it would be if we had a large show here in ....Read the Article

Rebuilding the Greens at The Olympic Club Lake Course
The history of San Francisco's Olympic Club dates back to 1860, making it one of the oldest such golf clubs in the country. The club has hosted four US Open tournaments over the years with its fifth slated for 2012 and the Lake Course enjoys certain notoriety. It has no ....Read the Article

Verdict at the Little Bighorn
There probably aren't many people alive today who have never heard of the name of Lt. Col. (Bvt. Maj. Gen.) George Armstrong Custer. Probably even fewer have never heard of the battle that made him famous (or infamous, depending on who is telling the story) the Battle of the ... Read the Article

USGS Quadrangles in Google Earth
QUADS (http://www.metzgerwillard.us/quads/) is a web-based service for visualizing USGS quadrangles in Google Earth that provides an easy-to-use framework for retrieving geo referenced PDF topo maps from the USGS Store. QUADS also includes USGS, or USGS derived, overlays ...Read the Article

Software Review: Magellan Professional ProMark500 RTK
It's nice to pick up a piece of equipment that works right out of the box. That was my experience with the Magellan Professional ProMark500 RTK system. Building on the blade technology that made the ProMark3 RTK system such a capable L1-only RTK system, the ProMark500 is a full-on GNSS receiver, able to receive both ....Read the Article

Vantage Point: On the Waterfront—or Not
Those who have deeds citing frontage on a body of water are very protective of that frontage. When natural phenomena such as avulsion, alluvium, or erosion change the physical proximity of a land parcel to water, we are generally familiar with the effect on boundaries. Of course rights along water boundaries are....Read the Article

Reconnaissance: Retracement Surveys and Undocumented Corners (Part 1 of 2)
Recently I was dismayed by a discussion thread on one of the surveying bulletin boards that related to the perpetuation of a section corner and an undocumented monument that appeared to be marking that corner. The thread started with a posting that referred to a "monument" (a nail) that was found ostensibly marking a public ... Read the Article

A Walk In The Park
On a sunny day in the middle of May, two survey colleagues and I spent the day in Muskego Park along with five advanced high school math students. This was the second year the program was presented to a group of students. Our goal was to show them that there are every day practical applications for math. We had ...Read the Article

A Fallen Hero

2009-10-27T11:55:00.001-04:00

A Fallen Hero... The sad news of more fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan recently took on a much more personal note in our community of Frederick, Maryland when the photo of 24-year old Lance Cpl. Jordan Chrobot appeared on the front page of our local newspaper. While on patrol in Afghanistan on September 26, Jordan took a bullet just above his vest, and died in surgery shortly afterwards.

The stinging news of Jordan's death was driven deeper because we knew him personally. We watched him grow up in our church, and have enjoyed many years of friendship with many members of his family. During his recent deployments to Iraq first, and then Afghanistan, his grandparents frequently requested our Sunday School class to lift his unit in prayer and for strength for Amber, his young wife of two and a half years.

Support from the community has been immense. Jordan's funeral was attended by more than a thousand people, including 80 members of the Patriot Guard, a Viet Nam veterans motorcycle group that held flags and saluted the casket as it passed by. The vest on one of the bikers (right) said it best: All Gave Some, Some Gave All. (Click on the link to see more pictures.)

Jordan's body was laid to rest at the cemetery across the highway from his grandparents' home. In that home, Jordan and his siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles spent many happy hours. Jordan and Amber were even married there in the back yard. Following high school he worked for his grandfather, who had served as a Marine in Viet Nam. He and his family all knew that Jordan wanted to be a Marine from the time he was a little kid.

At Jordan's funeral, pastor Jimmy Inman said that Chrobot died doing something he loved. He fought for his country and to bring the hope of freedom to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. He knew what he wanted in life and pursued his ideals to the end.

While the current economy is ravaging this country in ways that nearly every American is experiencing, many of the families of our fallen and wounded military men and women are hurting even more deeply. I'm sure that many of you have been touched by the ultimate sacrifice of a soldier. Jordan's death brought the news headlines home for us. In spite of political upheavals and current events, it's good to know that there are so many heroes among us. Let's keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

September articles posted

2009-10-27T11:52:00.001-04:00

Rebuilding the Greens at The Olympic Club Lake Course
The history of San Francisco's Olympic Club dates back to 1860, making it one of the oldest such golf clubs in the country. The club has hosted four US Open tournaments over the years -with its fifth slated for 2012 -and the ....
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USGS Quadrangles in Google Earth
QUADS (http://www.metzgerwillard.us/quads/) is a web-based service for visualizing USGS quadrangles in Google Earth that provides an easy-to-use framework for retrieving georeferenced PDF topo maps from the USGS Store. QUADS also ...
Read the Article

Hardware Review: Magellan Professional ProMark500 RTK
It's nice to pick up a piece of equipment that works right out of the box. That was my experience with the Magellan Professional ProMark500 RTK system. Building on the blade technology that made the ProMark3 RTK system such a capable L1-only RTK system, the ....
Read the Article

Vantage Point: On the Waterfront--or Not
Those who have deeds citing frontage on a body of water are very protective of that frontage. When natural phenomena such as avulsion, alluvium, or erosion change the physical proximity of a land parcel to water, we are generally familiar with the effect on boundaries. Of....
Read the Article

August articles posted

2009-10-27T11:49:00.001-04:00

Editorial: ESRI UC and Survey Summit
Jack Dangermond, who founded ESRI in 1969, has long envisioned products that allow us to view and interpret graphical data, and in doing so, deepen our understanding of how we interact with planet Earth. In the ESRI User Conferences that I've attended for the past 10 years, there ....
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One Company Two Brands: The Future of Topcon & Sokkia
These days it's easy to become discouraged about the state of the land development industry and the effect on surveying. In speaking with surveyors across the country, it seems that transportation stimulus money is going mainly to ....
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A New Defense Application for Satellite Technology
It would not be accurate to state that the world changed on September 11, 2001--terrorist attacks on civilians had taken place in troubled areas of the world for many years prior. At the time, the attacks weren't even the first to occur in the United States in many years. But the ...
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Laser Scanning Brings New Asset to Accident Investigations-and Surveyors
Laser Scanning Brings New Asset to Accident Laser Scanning technology is revolutionizing many aspects of surveying and applied measurement, but it's been especially game changing in the rarified niches of ...
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Measuring Granite Peak
It's official now, or is it just more official? The tallest mountain in Montana-Granite Peak-is 12,807.09 feet high, give or take a half a foot, according to a Billings crew's Global Positioning System survey on Aug. 16, 2008. The peak's exact location is latitude 45 degrees, 9 minutes, 48.34170 ....
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Portable Expert: Keeping The Crews Moving
Matt Bryant knows networks. He worked for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Information Systems Division (ISD) for five years, providing training and support on GPS, surveying and CAD software to ....
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A Fresno State Surveying Student Exercises Leadership
That the finest American presidents to date, Washington and Lincoln, started out as land surveyors is a well-known fact of history, and that we surveyors would still be better leaders of the free world than lawyers or oil men, or engineers, is merely a simple factual ...
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Vantage Point: Why Do the Research?
A number of years ago I was giving a seminar on how to do legal research when a gentleman in the audience suddenly interrupted with loud disdain. "Why should surveyors know how to do this, anyway? I can just hire a paralegal to do it for me." At first taken aback since ...
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July articles posted

2009-10-27T11:48:00.000-04:00

Guest Editorial: The Sky Is Falling!
Whoa! Let's take a few deep breaths and calmly assess some of the news hype over April 30, 2009 Government Accounting Office (GAO) report on GPS. Firstly, read the actual report (www.gao.gov/new.items/d09325.pdf) and not the wildly imaginative interpretations recently spewed out by a ....
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ASPRS 75th Anniversary
Without a doubt, photogrammetry has been an essential part of the mapping and land development process. Without it, the completion of our national topographic quadrangles would have been impossible. And I'm sure most of our ....
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Aerial Imaging Technology Spotlight
The vision of the founding members of ASPRS was farsighted indeed. Their 1934 mission to advance knowledge and understanding of the mapping sciences today encompasses a broad spectrum of scientific, social and commercial enterprises. To complement the timeline in ...
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BIM and Laser Scanning for As-built and Adaptive Reuse Projects:The Opportunity for Surveyors
In his inaugural speech the new President made many references to using our natural resources more wisely, to reducing our carbon and water footprints, and investing in ...
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Rapid-Fire Surveying
When the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) set out to rebuild Interstate 15 south of Salt Lake City, the department needed accurate one-foot contour interval mapping and a digital terrain model (DTM). With accurate maps and models of the 20-mile stretch of ....
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A Visit to Hemisphere GPS
In keeping with the magazine's mission of presenting new technology and introducing our readers to the people who make it happen, it was with pleasure that I recently visited Hemisphere GPS (Hemisphere) in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company is headquartered in Calgary, but most of ....
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Vantage Point: Phasing in the New Elevation Certificate
At long last, the revised Elevation Certificate arrived on April 2, 2009, bringing with it new building diagrams and new instructions designed to further the goals of sound floodplain management. No doubt, by now many have seen the memo issued by FEMA a month after ...
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Model Behavior: The How-To Guide to Successful Surface Modeling
I'd like you to take a moment to think about what it is we do in this (not so very) new digital world as it relates to our traditional work products, specifically making maps. I realize many of you may perform boundary surveys, write legal descriptions, and engage in ...
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Surprise Bridges the Gap between CAD and GIS
Located in Arizona's Sonora desert, the city of Surprise is a booming Phoenix suburb with a small-town feel and big city amenities. One of those amenities includes the city's GIS, which has helped meet the technology requirements of one of America's fastest-growing cities. At the peak of ...
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June articles posted

2009-10-27T11:46:00.000-04:00

Editorial: Following the Footsteps, Old and New
Our cover this month pays tribute to a group of Wyoming surveyors who organized an expedition to Surveyor's Notch in the Wind River Mountain Range, following the footsteps of the Hayden expedition's surveyor/topographer/cartographer A.D. Wilson and ....
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Wow Factor: Image Integration: A High-Productivity Approach to Managing Digital Photography
Surveyors today employ a variety of ways for documenting their field surveys. Measurements and descriptions are recorded in electronic data collectors. Audio recorders can be used to record comments and ....
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Surveyor's Notch
It's March 2008. I'm in the office downloading data, and Jay says "Hey, I found something in a book I was reading about a feature in the Wind Rivers called Surveyor's Notch. Have you heard of that?" "Yeah," I reply, "it's right there by Wind River Peak. I can see it from the top of ...
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Celestial Observations: A Brief History of Elgin, Knowles & Senne and their Ephemerides
Until the early 1980s practically all surveyors used the Altitude Method to determine the astronomic direction of a line, based on a celestial observation of the sun. That method ...
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Marketing Techniques for Laser Scanning Service Providers
I frequently hear surveyors and office managers saying, "This scanning stuff, in ten years everyone will have it—that's the future." That is confirmation that 3D Laser Scanning has been accepted among the general land surveying community. Those of you scanning for a ....
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Mobile Scanning is Good Business
Killer bees, 108-degree heat and minus 45-degree cold: these are conditions under which Clay Wygant has worked, and they're all too familiar to many surveyors. But what excites the senior surveyor and his team today is mobile scanning technology. Since implementing an Optech LYNX ....
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Hardware & Software Review: Carlson Surveyor and SurvCE
If you're in the market for an extremely durable, fast, comfortable and well-equipped data collector, check out the Carlson Surveyor. Based on drafting specifications by the folks at Carlson Software and using the very reputable people at Juniper Systems to make it a ...
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GIS Data Integration with the GCDB
In April 2000 by the Western Governors Association adopted the Bureau of Land Management's Geographic Coordinate Database (GCDB) as the preferred representation of the Public Lands Survey System (PLSS) for GIS applications. This is significant in the western states where ...
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Vantage Point: Watch Your Language
If we as surveyors sometimes find the language of deeds murky, imagine the misunderstandings among laypeople—many attorneys included. Recent clients had to defend themselves against new neighbors claiming a right to cross my clients' property, based upon recycled language in my ...
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FeedBack
Compass Pointers. In reference to "Training Recruiters: A New TwiST" by Tim Kent, LS, [Feb. 2009], here is a tip for compass pointing students. Take the pens out of your hand. A typical ball point pen will draw the needle considerably. Also, a cell phone within a few ...
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Survey Or No Survey: The Unlicensed Land Surveyor
When is locating someone's property corners or boundary lines not considered the practice of land surveying? Unfortunately, this question has become a gray area in the surveying profession, and some licensing boards are seemingly unable to control the actions of unlicensed ...
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April/May Articles posted

2009-10-27T11:45:00.000-04:00

Editorial: SPAR 2009 and the Carlson User Conference The American Surveyor has covered a whole lot of territory since our last issue! As part of a second road trip, I attended both SPAR 2009 conference in Denver and the 2nd Annual Carlson User Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, with a quick trip out to Logan, Utah in between (more on that leg of the .... Read the Article

WowFactor: SOKKIA Mobile Reference Station
As GPS has been adopted by surveyors, its proven benefitshigher productivity and efficiencyhave been recognized. The unfortunate tradeoff to these benefits remains the high system cost of a traditional base and rover setup. To reduce the costs of GPS surveying, many countries have installed a permanent RTK infrastructure which .... Read the Article

A Model Home For NASA's New Space Telescope
NASA commissioned construction of an environmental simulation test chamber which was completed in 1964 at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. The facility, Chamber A, was invaluable for testing spacecraft and satellites before deployment to space. By testing spacecraft in an environment similar to ...
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John Austin Survey
To become an owner of land in 1824 under Mexican law one had to do certain thingspay a fee, take possession of the land, perform certain rites, and reside on and cultivate the land for a minimum of two years (this also meant defending one's life and properties against any war parties of ... Read the Article

Conference Review: GNSS - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? - Part 1
A December 2008 meeting hosted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California brought together not only the "Big 3" GNSS constellation providers but the new kids on the block as well, driving home the point that while GNSS may be "worldy" by nature it is getting "worldier" (if I can coin a term) by the .... Read the Article

Equipment Review: JAVAD GNSS Triumph-1
In the world of precision GPS, Javad Ashjaee continues to push the industry ahead with new technologies and new options. With roots that date back to the early days of Trimble Navigation, Javad was integral to the creation of the first combined GPS/ GLONASS system. More than a decade ago he was .... Read the Article

Direct Reflex vs. Standard Prism Measurements
Upon reading Mr. Pepling's product review of the Spectra Precision Focus 10 in the October 2008 issue, I took notice to one of the paragraphs on page 52. Mr. Pepling, and hopefully others, thought it would be interesting to see the results of a test comparing traditional prism measurements to ...
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Field Notes: Contemplating Cooley
Rules for retracing the subdivision of sections are well and good provided the rules were followed in the first place. Sometimes they were not. If you have already made that discovery for yourself, my story will sound familiar. If you have not, read on anyway. With a job like this it's better to live ...
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Vantage Point: Mapping the Zone
In March of 2007, the National Academies/National Research Council (NRC) informed me that I had been provisionally accepted as a member of "the National Research Council's Committee on FEMA Flood Maps: Accuracy Assessment and Cost-Effective Improvements". The first official meeting of ... Read the Article

World’s oldest surveyor dies at 113, official says

2009-06-19T11:22:00.001-04:00

Japanese ex-land surveyor drank milk every morning and avoided alcohol

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31439522/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

GPS Gone Wrong!

2009-06-11T14:00:00.006-04:00

Homeowner Says Crews Demolished Wrong House

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/19715994/detail.html

Interesting Case from Pennsylvania

2009-06-03T11:20:00.003-04:00

This is as big as Kelo v. City of New London

A 3Mb PDF of a newspaper article from the Potter Leader-Enterprise can be downloaded here: http://www.amerisurv.com/PDF/Potter_County_Article.pdf

Tracking employees with GPS

2009-05-25T11:16:00.003-04:00

Q. I recently found out that the company I am working for has been tracking us through a GPS service on our mobile phones. What bothers me is that we are supposed to always have our phones with us. This means they know where I am away from work, weekends and evenings. Any employee can log on to the Web site and know where I am. Is this legal?

A. Yes, it is probably legal.

Companies probably should not track their employees when they are not on duty, but as long as you have been made aware of your company’s policy, they are not invading your privacy under the law. It is possible that this sort of action will be illegal in the future, but for now, it is acceptable.

If you want to keep your job, your options are not good. If you take a stand, you may lose your job. If you sue your employer, you must then endure the hardship of a lawsuit just to prove you were right. (And you will probably need to find a new job as well.)

Houston Chronicle - United States
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/lipman/6438192.html

Surveyors need to be registered

2009-05-16T19:45:00.002-04:00

Surveyors need to be registered
Sunday Vision, Uganda

The way the surveying profession is being run in this country leaves a lot to be desired. Various qualified land surveyors, quantity surveyors and valuation surveyors are being deliberately denied registration by the Surveyors Registration Board.

They have made applications for registration many times which the board keeps rejecting, giving lame excuses.

The situation is quite alarming as, according to the list published last year, there are only 83 registered surveyors in Uganda. It is interesting to note that of over 200 students have graduated in Land Surveying from Makerere University since 1994 but only 10 have been registered. One wonders how the 10 were considered and the 190 rejected.

Most members of the board have there own private surveying firms. The fear of competition from the young surveyors has, therefore, resulted in them being blocked by denying them registration.

We appeal to the respective authorities to intervene to save the terrible situation in the matter of registration of surveyors in this country.

Concerned Surveyor
Kampala

http://www.sundayvision.co.ug/detail.php?mainNewsCategoryId=7&newsCategoryId=131&newsId=681536

Trading a motorcycle for antique compasses

2009-05-11T13:57:00.019-04:00

When I was in the Army in Germany back in the late sixties and early seventies, a friend and I each bought a BSA motorcycle. I bought the 650cc Lightning, and my friend bought the Firebird Scrambler. Both were twin-carb models, and the only other difference was that the Firebird had upswept tailpipes and a slightly different gear ratio, more suitable for off-road riding. Here's a 1970 shot in Germany:

The Army had a program whereby you could get out of the Army in Germany and you then had a year and the Army would still fly you back to the US for free. So, we both got out and drove our motorcycles all the way to the edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. As we were returning to Tangier, the clutch on my bike went out, so we put the bikes on a Czech freighter bound for NYC. After returning by train to Germany, we flew home, had a new clutch installed in mine in NYC, and then drove them to Oklahoma City. Just outside OKC, the oil pump on my bike went out so my parents came with a trailer and got us. And so, my bike sat in my parents' garage from the Spring of 1971. I always figured I'd get it fixed so I could putt-putt around town, but finally realized that I'd never get it fixed. Here's a shot in my parents' garage:

One of the writers for the magazine, Jeff Lock of Akron OH, has had an award-winning 35-year career in antique automobile restoration. About 10 years ago he decided to get into 18th century survey instrument restoration and he's had a few articles in the magazine about that (you can search for Jeff Lock on our website to see his outrageous photography. He even made a presentation at Oxford). When Jeff heard that I had the bike, he said he'd never done a motorcycle restoration and offered to trade the bike for an antique compass. So, on one of my road trips, I stopped by my parent's house and picked up the bike and drove it to Akron. Jeff decided that the bike was worth two compasses, and here's what I traded for (instrument shots by Jeff):

Young & Sons Explorer’s Compass: This miniature compass, made to the very high standards of Young & Sons work, is a smaller and more easier transported version often used where its diminutive size was advantageous to the surveyor. Very few of these, because of its size, are recorded.

Plane Table Compass (a.k.a. trough compass): This professionally-manufactured, Colonial plane table compass is unique in the fact that it has a complex needle lifter mechanism internal to the case. The style of needle and rope knurling of the needle lifter screw suggests a high level of competency in manufacture. The thick ivory scale, extending from 30-0-30 on each side is expertly divided and the case is constructed from Cuban mahogany and retains a warm, reddish-brown hue.

Here's some shots of me and Jeff in his workshop in Akron:

And here's Jeff's efforts thus far on the restoration:

All in all, I'm pleased with my trade. Instead of a motorcycle I hadn't seen or ridden in nearly forty years, I now have two compasses that I can enjoy every day.

February and March articles posted

2009-05-11T12:55:00.006-04:00

Editorial: Raising the Stakes
Having once spent time blue-topping hubs for I-40 west of Oklahoma City, I can probably safely say that wood pounding is something surveyors won't miss when it comes to new technology methods--like machine control...
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Point to Point: GIS Follies
This just in from the You've Got To Be Kidding Department: There has been a serious attempt to develop algorithms to convert vague metes and bounds calls into mathematical data...
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The Caves of Naica
Since it began operation in the late 1800s, the Naica Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico has proven to be one of the richest silver deposits in the world. In 1910, at a depth of 120 meters, a small cave was discovered. Named the Cueva de las Espadas...
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Descending to the Challenge
In one sense, it was an exceptionally straightforward job: all that Illinois' V3 Companies was being asked to do was survey a mostly straight, 1,600-foot long, limestone quarry tunnel...
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Training Recruiters: A New "TwiST"
A question often asked of surveyors is "Are we doing all we can to get the word out to the next generation of potential surveyors?" As a professor of geomatics at Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT)...
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A Visit to Altus Positioning Systems
For Olympians "Citius, Altius, Fortius" is Latin for "faster, higher, stronger." For surveyors, Altus Positioning Systems draws its name from the Latin word meaning high and deep. High (in terms of their GNSS satellite-related equipment) and deep (from the heavyweight lineup of...
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A Visit to Septentrio Satellite Navigation
I first became acquainted with Septentrio Satellite Navigation in 2001 when the company's CEO, Peter Grognard, made a presentation that was favorably received at a Civil Global Positioning System Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) conference...
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Vantage Point: Selling the Profession
A few months ago, I was deposed by the plaintiff in a suit for which I was serving as expert witness. The peculiar part was that the defendant had hired me, so I had an inkling that this would be an adversarial affair...
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Parallax: Acts of Notice
Years ago, making the transition from strictly construction surveying to land surveying, I took employment with a tactless, rude and crusty old surveyor that really had a massive heart of gold. This fellow suffered from an affliction that I have unfortunately witnessed far too many times in our profession ...
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March 2009 articles:

Editorial: Trimble Dimensions 2009
Defying the economy, Trimble's fourth annual user conference hosted more than 2,400 registered attendees from 67 countries. In his opening keynote, Trimble CEO Steve Berglund presented refreshingly candid remarks by saying that 15 months ago (at the last conference), participants were ....
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A Visit to Amberg Technologies
As I have written before, one of the things I enjoy most about my job as editor is bringing new technology to our readers, so it gives me great pleasure to present something entirely new in this issue. Last November we journeyed to ....
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Refined Dimensions - High-definition Scanning Helps Redefine Oil Refinery Fabrication
Today's modern oil refinery is a huge, efficient industrial facility that takes crude petroleum pumped from deep within the earth and turns it into useful products such as ...
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A Line Runs Through It - PLSC Supports New 40th Parallel Exhibit
The northern Front Range of what is now Colorado was a pristine wilderness well into the 1850s, trampled only by a small number of trappers and explorers, and by the ...
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ASTM E57 - 3D Imaging Systems
In 2003, in response to a request from the scanner manufacturers and consumers of scan data, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) agreed to develop standards and specifications for both equipment and methods. Subsequently, the American Society for ....
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Conference Review: Leica's HDS Conference Encourages New Scanning Companies
In past issues of this magazine, I have been intemperate in my praise of laser scanning's potential to remake surveying, engineering and, indeed, all of infrastructure. Or was I? Because the continued ....
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A Teen's Lunar Quest
Operation E.A.G.L.E is not a military project. It is a scientific endeavor undertaken by 16-year-old Rebecca England, a sophomore at Demopolis High School in Alabama. While many teenage girls are focused on celebrity ...
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Vantage Point: When Saving Is Not Equal to Preserving
We try to "save" buildings for many reasonsto save a slice of history that happened there, to reflect life as it used to be, to save samples of a famous architect's work, and sometimes just for their sheer beauty. But what does it mean to "preserve" a building? Does it mean to ...
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FeedBack
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. I enjoyed "Hidden Point Offset" by Shawn Billings [Nov 2008], but have a small bone to pick, with all due respect to Mr. Billings. If one uses Mr. Billings' formula of Nl - [(Nl - Nh)/(HRl - HRh) * HRl substituting the appropriate terms for ...
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April/May articles posted

2009-05-11T12:51:00.003-04:00

Editorial: SPAR 2009 and the Carlson User Conference
The American Surveyor has covered a whole lot of territory since our last issue! As part of a second road trip, I attended both SPAR 2009 conference in Denver and the 2nd Annual Carlson User Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, with a quick trip out to Logan, Utah in between (more on that leg of the .... Read the Article

Surveyors Being Blamed for Ike-damaged Homes

2009-03-04T15:28:00.000-05:00

By Eric Dexheimer
March 3, 2009
Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX

It’s not often we get to use the words “investigation” and “Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying” in the same sentence.

At last.

Typically, the state surveying board flies well below the public radar. The vast majority of its enforcement actions involve low-level boundary disputes, about 60 a year.

But late last month the agency recommended an unusually large $6,000 fine for each of two South Texas surveyors accused of violating state rules. The mistakes the surveyors are accused of making, however, will probably end up costing a couple dozen Texas homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars.

First, the history, courtesy of TBPLS investigator Garey Gilley: Years ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency let cities and counties choose if they wanted to participate in its flood insurance program. Those that did agreed not to permit any buildings below what came to be known as the base flood level.

Jefferson County decided that the ground floor of structures had to be at least one foot above base flood elevation (also known as the 100-year flood plain). Structures built above that mark were not required to have flood insurance. Local surveyors pinpointed the base flood elevation using 30-year-old federal measurements inscribed on concrete-and-brass monuments erected by the National Geodetic Survey.

In the mid-1980s, FEMA published a new flood insurance rate map, but with different measurements. It recalculated the base flood level based on a new study showing that the Beaumont-area flood plain had actually shifted about three feet since the federal government’s first measurements in the 1950s.

But, Gilley says, local surveyors didn’t know about the new map. They continued to rely on the old NGS elevation numbers. Unfortunately, that meant that people who thought their new homes were being built above flood level were actually building two feet below it.

Gilley says about 20 homes near LaBelle were mis-constructed. “That’s what got the surveyors in trouble,” he says. “They never looked at the new FEMA map.”

The three-foot difference became crystal clear in 2008, when Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast. Some residents whose homes should have been above the flooding found themselves wading in water instead.

Worse, because of the wrong measurements, they had not bought flood insurance. And now that the homes were in a recognized flood plain, FEMA would not permit them to be rebuilt.

Although two surveyors — Soutex Surveyors Inc., of Port Arthur and Harold F. Locke and Associates, of Port Neches — are the current target of the Board of Professional Land Surveying action (see the agency’s report here) Gilley says other surveyors are being investigated for making the same expensive mistake. The three-foot discrepancy has also spawned a half-dozen lawsuits against Soutex.

According to Gilley, there are many similar areas across Texas, where, unbeknownst to homeowners, new FEMA maps disagree with old federal measurements. “There are absolutely more situations like this,” he says.

Judge Awards $405K in Lincoln Flood Plain Suit

2009-02-11T14:11:00.002-05:00

By Lori Pilger
Lincoln Journal Star - Saturday, Dec 27, 2008

A Lancaster County judge has ordered the city of Lincoln to pay $405,000 to three couples given city-issued building permits but not told that their new homes would be in a 10-year flood plain.

The city owes Troy and Shari Stonacek $165,000, Brad and Jennifer Sheaff $140,000 and George and Lori Bristol $100,000 in damages for not informing the families when it gave the permits for them to build, according to the ruling by District Judge Steven Burns.

Government officials told the families at a meeting in May 2005 their homes were in a flood plain - prompting three lawsuits.

In 2007, Burns found the city negligent after a bench trial.

On Dec. 1 and Dec. 4, he heard testimony again in the cases.

At issue was the amount of damage the couples had as a result of the city's actions.

Experts for the couples and for the city didn't vary greatly as to how much the homes in the Cardwell Woods subdivision in southwest Lincoln would be worth if they weren't in a 10-year flood plain, where 4 to 5 inches of rain in 24 hours causes a flood.

The Stonaceks' home would be worth $600,000 to $630,000; the Bristols' $300,000 to $330,000; and the Sheaffs' $500,000 to $525,000, they said, according to the order.

"However, there is significant difference between the experts on the method of determining the amount of damage to the properties in this case," Burns wrote.

John Bredemeyer, the expert for the plaintiffs, put total damages at $755,000. Defense expert Frank Frost put it at $178,125.

In the end, Burns ruled almost smack in the middle.

According to the order, Bredemeyer considered that the couples essentially could not use their basements; that homes within a flood plain were valued 5 percent less than comparable homes outside the flood plain; and that the homes were affected more because they were in a 10-year flood plain rather than a 100-year flood plain.

Frost argued that method unfairly compounded damages. He said the only question necessary was if the property was in or out of a flood plain. He said he relied on three studies that reflected an 8- to 12-percent difference in price between homes in a flood plain and homes that aren't. It was his opinion the homes had been damaged by 12.5 percent.

But Burns' order said it was unclear how he arrived at 12.5 percent. He said Frost testified that he had found two homes in a flood plain in Lincoln that sold for 18-19 percent less than homes like them that were not in a flood plain.

"The court is persuaded that it must guard against overlapping impact on value from the variables considered," Burns wrote.

But, he said, he was persuaded to take three factors argued by the plaintiffs into consideration:

1.) That there is a distinction between a home with a dry basement and one that takes on water, regardless of if it's in a flood plain;

2.) That a home in a flood plain would be valued differently than the same home in another location, and;

3.) That the frequency of flooding probably also would affect what someone would pay for it.

Burns said he found it is "more than probable than not" that the plaintiffs have been damaged in the three areas.

"Having made this finding, the court of necessity must engage in some degree of estimation - speculation, if you will - as to the amount of the damage," he said.

Then Burns entered judgment for the Stonaceks for $165,000, the Sheaffs for $140,000 and the Bristols for $100,000.

According to court records, the city knew well before 2005, even before the families purchased the lots, the area was in a flood plain.

A state Natural Resources study of the area, completed and submitted to the city in January 1997, showed a flood-elevation level of 1,208 feet.

City employees put the map in the Cardwell Woods file at the Building and Safety office. Yet, when the city issued building permits to the families between 1998 and 2003, each was given a flood plain elevation based on an older, and inaccurate, FEMA map.

At trial, the city argued - among other things - that it had no legal obligation to the families. It also contended it was immune from the claims because whether or not its employees disclosed the Natural Resources map to the plaintiffs was a "discretionary act" and, thus, protected by tort law.

Burns rejected the arguments.

Surveyors Face Penalties for Elevation Certificates

2009-02-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

By Jessica Holloway
KFDM-TV News - Beaumont,Texas,USA
February 9, 2009 - 6:34 PM

Two Southeast Texas surveyors will be penalized for mistakes in determining the elevation of homes in West Jefferson County. KFDM News has learned one of those surveyors is Anthony Leger from SouTex surveyors in Port Arthur. The board has not released the name of the other surveyor but decided they both broke at least five board rules.

The US Geological Survey identifies benchmarks and sets elevations. FEMA uses that information for its flood maps. Surveyors are required to use FEMA's numbers. In this case, FEMA changed the elevation of areas in Jefferson County by three feet. However, many surveyors were not made aware of the change. At least 160 homeowners want to take advantage of a government buy-out because of questions about elevation.

"FEMA didn't bother telling anybody about it. They were relying on information they had. It was erroneous," said Tom Roebuck.

Many people who live in the Country Road Estates neighborhood found out their home elevations were off by three feet. One of the people who helped bring that to light was in fact, Anthony Leger. Now he and others could face penalties, ranging from a fine all the way to the maximum, license revocation. Garey Gilley with the Texas Board of Land Surveying says that's unlikely.

"I do not believe it will be the maximum. I assure you it will not be revocation of license. We'd have to demonstrate they knowingly disregarded over time," said Garey Gilley.

Staff members should make a final decision by Tuesday. Others who want to file complaints can do so by filling out a complaint form on-line at the board's website. If the surveyors are found in violation, they'll face the same penalties.

Surveyors face punishment for elevation errors

2009-02-07T00:47:00.002-05:00

The Texas Board of Land Surveying met in Austin Friday. It's decided two Southeast Texas surveyors violated at least five board rules. ...

Surveyors face punishment for elevation errors
KFDM-TV News - Beaumont,Texas,USA
February 6, 2009
Jessica Holloway

KFDM News has learned two Southeast Texas surveyors who shot elevations of homes in West Jefferson County could face punishment for how they carried out their work. The Texas Board of Land Surveying met in Austin Friday.

It's decided two Southeast Texas surveyors violated at least five board rules.

The surveyors filed elevation certificates for families living in the Labelle-Fannett area of West Jefferson County. After Hurricane Ike, homeowners in that area found out their elevations were off, in some cases three feet lower than they thought. As a result, many people in Country Road Estates had several feet of water inside their homes. Some lost everything.

A few homeowners have filed civil lawsuits against their surveyors. They want to recoup the 25% of the lost value of their homes not covered by FEMA.

Monday two staff members from the board will decide the appropriate disciplinary action. That could include a fine or the maximum penalty, losing their licenses. The two surveyors have the option of telling their side of the story before the Texas Attorney General. The board will have the final say.

As for any other property owners who file a complaint against a surveyor, those complaints will be investigated by the board and if it rules against the surveyers, the same range of punishment is guaranteed.

Jefferson County homeowner claims incorrect survey caused home to flood

2009-02-05T21:31:00.003-05:00

Jefferson County homeowner claims incorrect survey caused home to ...
Beaumont Enterprise - Beaumont,tx,USA
Majors, 43, of Port Neches, will present a complaint against Soutex Surveyors, Inc. of Port Arthur to the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying for ...

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/jefferson_county_homeowner_claims_incorrect_survey_caused_home_to_flood_02-05-2009.html

Jefferson County homeowner claims incorrect survey caused home to flood
By KYLE PEVETO
February, 5, 2009

James Majors' Hillebrandt Acres cabin would not have flooded if surveyors who established his property's elevation had done their homework, the homeowner said.

Majors, 43, of Port Neches, will present a complaint against Soutex Surveyors, Inc. of Port Arthur to the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying for issuing an incorrect elevation certificate for his home on Hillebrandt Bayou in 2003.

The surveyors acted in good faith, the company president said, but the error may be rooted in a natural phenomenon discovered last year.

"I want someone to hold up to their objectives, to say, 'I made a mistake'," Majors said by phone Thursday.

In 1996, Majors hired Soutex to complete a property survey for his cabin in the Hillebrandt Acres subdivision near the LaBelle area in unincorporated Jefferson County. Before building a cabin on the property along Hillebrandt Bayou, he wanted to find the property's elevation above sea level so he could research the historical floods that hit the area and build above that point.

The survey placed his yard at 10 feet above mean sea level, according to his complaint, and in 2003, he began building almost 3 feet higher than that to rise above the historical flood level in the area.

In July 2003, Soutex created Majors a final elevation certificate he could file with Jefferson County to receive final permits, placing his home's bottom floor at 12.9 feet.

At that level, the Hurricane Ike storm surge should have hit more than a foot below the cabin's bottom floor.

Majors contacted Soutex to ask about the discrepancy, and the survey company's president, Anthony Leger, told him about other homes in the Country Road Estates area across Hillebrandt Bayou that had similar problems.

Dozens of homes in the LaBelle area were lower than their elevation certificates said, and after the storm, many were too low to get building permits from Jefferson County, because they were below the 100-year flood plain. Majors' home was above the 100-year level. Still, the storm surge pushed more than a foot of water into his house.

For 30 years, property elevation in the area of Country Road Estates and other homes in the LaBelle area had been produced using data from a federal monument - a brass disk - placed a little more than two miles northwest of Port Acres, Leger wrote in a letter to Jefferson County in May 2008.

That monument, placed by the National Geodetic Survey in 1954, placed the monument's elevation at 6.32 feet above sea level, Ronnie Taylor of the National Geodetic Survey told The Enterprise in late December.

Federal surveyors checked the area again in the early 1980s for FEMA flood maps, and the benchmark's elevation was 3.1 feet lower.

Professional surveyors cannot take the time to establish mean sea level each time they shoot a survey, Leger said, so they rely on government data from the hundreds of thousands of benchmarks across the country. The benchmark's level remained too high in the government record.

Leger said the benchmark's level could account for incorrect elevations throughout LaBelle. When he learned of the problem in spring 2008, he wrote a letter to the county.

The benchmark's elevation change may be caused by subsidence - the sinking of soil often caused by oil drilling or groundwater pumping in an area. A 1983 FEMA flood study said in the area where the benchmark lay, "the subsidence is about 3 feet."

Majors said the surveyors should have known about the benchmark's elevation change and should have not have used data from the benchmark that changed.

"I did my homework (while building the house)," Majors said. "Why didn't they do theirs?"

Surveyors rely on published data from the monuments, Leger said, unless the benchmarks prove incorrect.

"It's a normal practice, yes, sir," Leger said. "It's just unfortunate that LaBelle is in that situation."

The surveying board will meet at 9 a.m. in Austin and may issue its findings at a later meeting. The board can revoke or suspend surveyors' licenses.

January articles posted

2009-01-08T11:53:00.002-05:00

Editorial: Passive Monuments and Dynamic Changes
In response to a long-standing request by NGS to the Geomatics Industry Association of America (GIA), and under the auspices of ACSM, a two-day symposium was held at NGS's legendary Corbin, Virginia facility in December. The purpose of the NGS-Geomatics Vendor Summit was to explore ways in which NGS can ....Read the Article

Point to Point: Minimum Level of Competency
We turn now to a subject that has annoyed me for years, and shortly you shall see why. Discourse is, by its very nature, most useful when the language used moves the conversation in a helpful direction. But we have a term in licensing that (to me) seems calculated to truncate that conversation ....Read the Article

Finding My Inner Indiana Jones—Using Carlson SurvCE
Every day as I headed to my job, the theme from Indiana Jones kept running through my head. I even had the hat! The site I was surveying was older than any piece of property I had ever worked on before. I was working in the dry, barren desert sands of ... Read the Article

A View into Stadium Innovation from the Top
The new 63,000-seat-plus Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis will no doubt serve notice to sports fans, sports media and industry around the nation that the Circle City is a serious entertainment and convention business player. The facility is designed for ...Read the Article

Conference Review: JAVAD GNSS User Conference
Under pleasant sunny skies, I gathered last July with nearly 70 users and dealers from around the world to attend the first annual JAVAD GNSS User Conference in Moscow. At the time, the first order of 100 Triumph-1 receivers was being distributed, and a second production run of 1,000 receivers was in ....Read the Article

Equipment Review: Spectra Precision EPOCH 25 GPS System
The EPOCH 25 GPS System, manufactured by Spectra Precision, is a unique system that markets to a unique customer base. Priced in the neighborhood of $25k for a complete system, the term return on investment doesn't sound so dauntingespecially for those who are only now considering entering the....Read the Article

Vantage Point: The Curse of (Certain) Tall Buildings
Everyone was wearing red, there was shouting in the streets, and trains headed downtown were filled to capacity on that bright Halloween morning. While this may not sound like the start of a surveying/land use story, be patient. Will Rogers, American humorist, social commentator, actor, and icon, once said ...Read the Article

It's Your Business: The Business Of Surveying—People, Product and Profits
As Americans grind through the painful realities of an economic recession, valuable lessons are being learned. This article is for anyone running a surveying business, considering running one, or hoping to have more impact as an employer. All of us know someone that started their ...Read the Article

FeedBack
Regarding Joel Leininger's article "Boundaries by Acquiescence," [Oct. 2008], there is one sure-fire method that surveyors can use to permanently fix any boundary that may have been established by acquiescence or that is otherwise ambiguous, provided the adjoining landowners are willing to go along. It is a written ...Read the Article

Surveyors Report: Yellow Jackets and Other Vile Critters
One of the most glorious occurrences in this business of land surveying is that magical moment you sight through the instrument's telescope only to behold a true wonder of nature. On line 200-300' ahead are your front man and brush cutter doing the yellow jacket shuffle. You know ...Read the Article

An inclinometer for 99¢!

2008-12-09T18:20:00.006-05:00

Technology is amazing. The new iPhone G3 contains three built-in accelerometers, accurate to 0.1º. For only 99¢ you can buy an app from the AppStore that will transform your iPhone into both a level bubble and an inclinometer. For those of you who aren't a surveyor or someone who needs to determine tilt (such as a geologist), once installed you can use it for hanging pictures or anywhere you'd need to level something. You can control the background color and even calibrate the device. The company's website is HERE. Here's what it looks like:

December articles posted

2008-12-09T18:15:00.001-05:00

Editorial: Tumultuous Times
If you've reached the end of 2008 feeling just a bit worn out, you're not alone. From the adrenaline highs of Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals in the Beijing Olympics to the depressing lows of an economy in crisis, and from the euphoria surrounding Obama's November election to the sobering realities of the ....Read the Article

Point to Point: The Digital Surveys Archive
A show of hands now: How many of you produced a hand-drawn plat or map within the last month? Within the last year? Undoubtedly there are surveyors still drawing by hand, but their numbers get smaller and smaller as the years pass. For the rest of us, the digital age means not only that computations and ....Read the Article

A New Star Over Milan
Innovation and precise surveying bring complex architecture to life. They are meant to impress. Designed by cutting-edge architects, today's office buildings, commercial complexes and public buildings are taking on new and exciting forms. With glittering facades and ...Read the Article

A Visit to MicroSurvey
In my forty-some years in the survey industry I've crossed paths with lots of interesting people, each with a story to tell. The roads that led many to successful careers were a `straight shot' for some, with a specific goal in mind and clear-cut steps to get there. But for many others the stories include tales of ...Read the Article

The WowFactor: Topcon ImageMaster
Surveyors traditionally have welcomed emerging technology when it offers an improvement in the accuracy and integrity of measurement and mapping. One of the most revolutionary tools of late for the surveyor has been the emergence of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The term encompasses ....Read the Article

ProFile: Sam Diaz - Chief Surveyor of Bechtel Corporation
One of eight brothers and sisters, 54-year-old Sam Diaz grew accustomed to changing locations and making cross-country moves early in life. Today, having changed world time-zones as easily as some people change radio stations, we are pleased to have this veteran surveyor and world traveler share ....Read the Article

Scanning In The Streets
Anyone who's visited Fenway Park to see the Boston Red Sox knows that current principal owner John Henry is among the world's best in sports event marketing. The Red Sox Nation experience spans generations and economic strata and reaches from eastern Maine to ...Read the Article

Surv-Fi, Part 3: Defending The Future
There had been so much interest in the case, that the venue had been changed to a hearing room at the state capitol. The notices and press releases included an invitation for attendees who wished to arrive early and use their own instruments to observe three test marks set up in ...Read the Article

Product Review: The Topcon IS Imaging Station
The Topcon IS (Imaging Station) is the latest offering from Topcon Positioning Systems' optical equipment lineup. It is built on the 900 series robotic chassis, however its expanded capabilities go well beyond a typical servo-driven total station. True to Topcon's philosophy of reaching the masses, they have managed to ...Read the Article

Vantage Point: Fiddling with Floods
My brother and I recently spent several days in New Orleans working with Habitat for Humanity on new, elevated homes in the Upper 9th Ward. On our way to the job site each day, we passed businesses and houses that, three years and a month after Katrina's tumultuous visit, look like ...Read the Article

November Articles Posted

2008-11-10T08:05:00.002-05:00

Editorial: CGSIC in Savannah
The 48th meeting of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) was held September 15-16, 2008 in Savannah, Georgia. Of particular note was the announcement that NDGPS will continue. Funding is still a challenge, but the powers that be have decided that NDGPS, like GPS, is ....Read the Article

Point to Point: Relatively Speaking
Sooner or later it happens: one of your friends or relatives asks you to survey their property, or otherwise act professionally on their behalf. Is that all right or do we have a higher obligation to the public concerning impartiality? Although I have not conducted an exhaustive examination of the ....Read the Article

More Than a Simulation
When work such as land surveying requires precision and gets impacted by changing technology, it makes sense to be introduced to high-tech equipment on an actual project rather than on a simulation exercise or in a classroom setting. That runs counter to ... Read the Article

Optech Incorporated: The Lidar Company
In the early 70s, Dr. Allan Carswell, a physics professor at York University in Toronto, developed a pulsed laser system used in the world's first lidar bathymetric mapping system. Based on his research, Carswell founded Optech Incorporated in ...Read the Article

The Wow Factor: SmartWorx from Leica Geosystems
Every version of Leica Geosystems software contains user requested features. The latest product request that made the final cut was a "Field to Office" application. This full-featured FTP and transfer software is now built into the operating system of all System 1200 sensors, making it possible for ....Read the Article

Visualizing N G S Control Stations in Google Earth
Google Earth is rapidly becoming the land surveyor's tool-of-choice for preliminary job site reconnaissance and survey planning (see "Topography is Dead," by Joel Leininger, March 2007). Survey projects often begin with the investigation and ....Read the Article

Surv-Fi, Part 2: Boomer's Hearing
Stand back from the cradle Hector!" Vel warned her colleague. "You could receive a rather nasty static shock as it spins up!" Hector Fontecilla stood shivering in the still Chilean Patagonia morning awaiting instructions from Vel Kawashima. Ten thousand ...Read the Article

Tips & Tricks: Hidden Point Offset
Let's say it's 5:30 Friday afternoon and you're past ready to call it a week. You've just calculated the angle and distance to look for one of the last monuments you need to tie in. You turn the instrument to the angle and shoot a distance that measures just behind a tall tree. After a few minutes' search ...Read the Article

FeedBack
Wendy, quite possibly the best article ever written in a surveyor's journal ["If Not Now, When? Sept. 2008]. It matters not how technically proficient we are, how much money we make or how well "esteemed" we seem to be in our profession when we face serious illness or death. What do our friends and ...Read the Article

Vantage Point: Diversions in the Park
There is not a lot of unused land in our urban and increasingly suburban areas. It disappears under shopping centers and houses and roadways at a rate unimaginable a century ago. So it may not be unusual to start eyeing land that was set aside for parks and open space at ...Read the Article

October articles posted

2008-10-09T11:19:00.003-04:00

Editorial: Setting Our Sights
Years of planning and construction went into Beijing's iconic bird's nest stadium that is now synonymous with 2008 games. With Vancouver slated to host the Winter Games in 2010, surveyors have been hard at work helping to ready the infrastructure. Diversifying: For those of you looking for ....Read the Article

Point to Point: Boundaries by Acquiescence
We retracement surveyors, for the most part, labor within a stable and consistent part of the law. By this, I mean that from place to place, and over time, there is little variation in the doctrines defining correct practice. Monuments, everywhere, trump courses and distances, in the event of ....Read the Article

WowFactor: The Trimble VX Spatial Station
It's not unusual to find a digital camera as standard equipment for a survey crew. Providing photos of monuments, project sites and other evidence is a routine part of the surveyor's work. Nowinstead of a flat drawing and some simple snapshotsimagine giving your client a 3D walkthrough tour of ... Read the Article

Vancouver Trains For Olympic Games
More than one million athletes, judges, volunteers and visitors are expected to converge on Vancouver, Canada, and surrounding areas during the 2010 Olympics. Yet many of these visitors won't realize the Olympic-sized engineering and ...Read the Article

Tips & Tricks: Getting More from Your Handheld GPS Unit
Are you getting all that you can from your handheld unit? Are you able to directly observe State Plane coordinates with your handheld? Although inexpensive units may not have a selection for the State Plane coordinate grid that you use in your state, if your State Plane Coordinate Zone uses the ....Read the Article

Survey Reports: Preparing a Survey Report—Part 5
This is the fifth and last article in a series of articles suggesting formats and contents of a survey report. Previous articles dealt with opinions on the location of corners and boundaries [Feb. 2008]; encroachments, gaps and overlaps [Mar. 2008]; limitations of the surveying services [June 2008]; and....Read the Article

RTN101: Monitoring with RTN (Part 15)
Monitoring is essentially tracking movement over time and is often part of a surveyor's regular line of business. Such tasks are known by many names: subsidence monitoring, deflection monitoring, deformation monitoring, structural integrity monitoring, compliance monitoring, and ...Read the Article

Product Review: Spectra Precision FOCUS 10
The Spectra Precision's FOCUS 10 brings back a lot of memories from an instrument I reviewed several years ago. Without a doubt, the FOCUS 10 has benefited from the former, but is updated and less expensive even in terms of 2002 dollars. And that's a good thing, since ...Read the Article

ProFile: Marshall Robinson
We allow little time in our day-to-day schedules to get to know people much beyond their shells. It was therefore a pleasant change of pace when I received a phone call awhile back from Marshall Robinson, who was calling to order a map from our website ...Read the Article

Vantage Point: Tough Times
The construction slowdown has hit different parts of the country with varying ferocity. The latest jolt to "life as we know it" is a uniform blow to businesses of all sorts, and has the potential to change the financial plans of a number of surveying firms. Within a week, three U.S. motor vehicle ...Read the Article

Surveyors Report: Mimi the Elephant
Years ago I worked for a medium-sized private engineering firm in Denver. We negotiated a continuing services contract with the City and County of Denver for surveying services, and my crew was elected to conduct this work. The City was understaffed by one crew for ...Read the Article