Category Archives: Surveying
Mine Surveying
Advancements in this discipline reflect changes in productivity and data flow for surveying. Mine surveyors are responsible for maintaining an accurate plan of the mine as a whole, and they update maps of the surface layout to account for new buildings and other structures. They also survey the underground mine workings in order to keep...
Surveyors Are Like Musicians
Don’t underestimate the value of talent. All 26+ years that I worked in the geospatial industry were with survey instrument manufacturers (Trimble and Leica Geosystems, plus start-up Cyra Technologies). But it was only in the most recent years of my time in the laser scanning segment that a major realization hit me about the full...
Close Enough for Government Work
Image above: High-tension measurement: Credit NOAA National Geodetic Survey. We have all heard it, most likely have even said it. I have. And we probably meant it as a negative, implying sloppy work. However, researching the origin of the saying revealed that it was born during World War II and meant excellence, as in: if...
The Power of Light
xyHt visits Nikon’s optical surveying instrument production facility. [Photo above: Mika Takeda, inspector at the Nikon-Trimble Zao Operation Center, demonstrates the light weight of the compact instruments Nikon is renowned for manufacturing. In the background: environmental chambers to temper and test components and instruments.] A massive stone table sits in an environmentally controlled room in...
Continuing Ed Outside Your Comfort Zone
Learn new skills by taking continuing education seriously. Since its inception in the geomatics arena in the 1990s, the requirement for continuing education (also called continuing competency) has had the aura of a penalty rather than an opportunity. Obtaining legislative approval in many states for the continuing education requirement was difficult. Getting courses approved for...
Being a Reference for Survey Exam Candidates
Why you should take the opportunity seriously. If you spend time reading almost anything regarding the state of our profession and the growing concerns regarding the viability thereof, you will often see several factors mentioned: the inability to attract young people despite our high-tech, three-dimensional suite of deliverables, the erosion/loss of traditional surveyor tasks, in...