BTR Rule 7, Part 2

Alright.

First thanks to everyone that voted on my latest post question.

With an overwhelming 13 yes to 1 no vote, the surveyor in question has been found guilty by this blog and those who read it.

Now the big question is what am I going to do??? Will I turn this person in or let it go???

I have decided to let it go.

Just seeing what my fellow surveyors think is good enough for me and hopefully the person in question (you know who you are) is reading this and has reflected on things and will most certainly act in a more professional manner in the future.

Something a little funny about this is, I actually found a bust on an ROS this person did, (someone blew a GLO Lot calc) and informed them of my findings right away and told them why I think it.
 Huh? What a concept.

In a comment to my BTR post someone mentioned getting turned in recently along with 9 others and never received a phone call, email, nothing.

What I want to know is how do 9 guys get turned in at the same time?

Is there some sort of underground surveyor gang wreaking havoc on the valleys monuments? Pulling out lathe for kicks? Painting random flight crosses??

How does this happen?? Do you people not have each others back? That is (hopefully) 18 eyeballs looking around.

Bottom line is we all need to work together. Even if you hate the other surveyor they are still a colleague and deserve professional courtesy. Pick up the phone. Stop trying to be the only surveyor in the universe. There are a lot great minds in this business. Use your own brain and use theirs to, you'll surprised at the progress you can make.

BTR Rule 7

Ok. A touchy topic.

As many of you read in my previous post about my experience with the BTR I mentioned another surveyor that found our mistake. (If you did not see archive.)

This surveyor called me and told me he was going the opposite direction of us which was fine.

After the call and review of our info I repeatedly requested a meeting with this particular person and was continually blown off.

After my fourth request for a meeting to compare notes, this person informed me that they were too busy to meet because of spending all or their time opening a satellite office.

Needless to say, I was simply baffled by this person’s unprofessional attitude and lack of willingness to share information.

If the roles were reversed I would have had a meeting scheduled the same day to help the other surveyor out.

That’s how I behave. I always want to help if I can, especially when a colleague is on the chopping block. With a little cooperation a whole bunch of time consuming problems can be avoided.

Land Surveying Minimum Standards

Rule number 7 reads as follows:

 “In the event of a disagreement with the measurements and/or monumented corner positions of another registrant, the land surveyor must make and document all reasonable  efforts to contact the other registrant in an attempt to resolve the disagreement.  The other registrant(s) shall make all information relevant to the disagreement available, to explain  objections, and afford an opportunity for discussions, explanation and corrections  necessary.”

Now in my opinion this particular person is in direct violation of this line item and I have struggled on whether or not to turn them in to the board.

I want to know what all of you think about this. In violation yes or no??

Please see polling bar on right side.

Common!! Vote on this. I know you all have an opinion. Please share with a simple yes or no click.

FYI, poll will close at 2pm on Wednesday the 10^th.

I am going to post again on Wednesday evening and tell you what I have decided to do.

Thanks!!!!

The Weekend!!!

Oh yeah it's Friday.

What a week it's been.

I got my quarterly BTR rag yesterday and there I am bigger than life.

I have to tell you that it didn't sting near as much as I thought it would.

So for all of you reading this if you ever get turned into the BTR, a slap on the hand, a fine and being published is not the end of the world. You'll be fine.

Like my first business mentor always used to say "if you don't mess things up ever so often then you aren't doing anything".

I stand by this philosophy. What the hell, none of us are perfect and we are all stubborn at times.

Oh well, forget that, it's over. Let's talk about something good.

As I mentioned it is the weekend boys and girls. It's time to shut em off and crack open a cold one (if that's your thing).

Whatever your thing is enjoy it as much as you can. It will all be there on Monday when you get back to do it again.

I predict that we are all going to start seeing a lot more work start rolling in over the next few months, so get ready!! (I'm starting to see a big upward trend in several areas).

Big thanks to everyone that made comments this week. You people are awesome.

I really like hearing what you have to say. Opinions and being open minded enough to listen make for a well rounded person.

Tune in next week for more awesome posts.

I have one that is kind of sketchy that will get some opinions out of you.

Later

Bobcat

A comment by Waage reminded me of a hair raising crew chief thing that happened to me a few years ago.

I was doing a topo on a lot that had a rise from the curb and then dropped off the other side.

I was dropping over the rise when I noticed a head wall. Kind of an unusual place for one in the middle of a lot so I figured I better get it.

As I approached the head wall something gray started walking away from me and then all of a sudden stopped and turned to look at me and there I was no more than 10 feet from a Bobcat staring into his or her eyes.

Needless to say it scared the ^%&^%& out me.

I instantly froze and realized that if I had to fight this awesome creature that could climb me in .002 seconds I was totally screwed. All I had was the gps, a pocket tape and a lock blade knife somewhere in my pocket.

So I did what I thought was most sensible at the moment and said "Hello there big kitty cat" and started to back away slowly while continuing to watch this cat watch me. (I'm real good at memorizing my steps so I can walk backward in the weeds pretty well).

After a few seconds the cat figured that I of little threat and turned walked away stopping every 20 feet or so to check me out.

I only backed up about 25 feet and stopped and watched that cat slowly leave.

Notice I said watched? The thing that got me the most was the fact that I could not hear it walking through the brush as it left.

Truly the most quiet scare the crap out me experience I have ever had in the desert.

I wonder if the cat stopped somewhere and watched the silly human walk around with the stick for an hour or so???

Best Job in Surveying

So there I am this morning out in the Agua Fria River looking for a monument. I of course walked right to it thanks to our GDAC boys.
The wind was blowing a little, it was quiet and I have to say that I was really enjoying myself although I eventually was staking grade for the bottom of a pit with dump trucks and loaders all around, it was still awesome.
I have always told my employees that the best job in surveying is being a crew chief. Now I am sure some of you may disagree but here is my point.
Being a crew chief signifies freedom. Yes you have to get work done and answer to someone but this job is unlike any other.
Given certain circumstances a crew chief can hit golf balls, pee where he wants, spit anytime, hurl profanities, see all kinds of wild life, actually recon a site, enjoy the fact that every site is different (unless you are a perpetual hub pounder), the list goes on.
I was on 3 different sites today, 1 in the river bottom, 1 along

El Mirage Road

and 1 in North Scottsdale. Every job was different and had a different purpose.
Now if I was sitting here in office and had never been to those jobs they would all look similar except for shape and size and doc's.
So here it is. Because I actually went to the jobs they now have a life of their own, Although, I will be doing a lot of mapping now.

The Results of Survey-Feedback-Other stuff

I want to thank all of you that actually commented on the ROS topic.

DD, whoever you are. You are the man. Thank you very much for actually saying something with substance. I can tell it was well thought out. It had common sense and depth.

Let's hear it for DD!!!!

If any of you did not read the ROS comments, please do so.

That said, I know that a lot of you have opinions just itching to come out. So come on!! Step up to the plate and blurt it out.

We have been given a unique opportunity as surveyors to literally rebuild our profession. All the bad apples are gone and it's only the good guys that are left. This is one good side effect of a down turn.

It all starts with people that are unafraid to get out of the box and actually communicate.

Professionalism Part 1 – Dress Code

Professional as defined by Blacks Law Dictionary

“A person who belongs to a learned profession or whose occupation requires a high level of training and proficiency.”

As most of you know I was brought before a board review committee earlier this year as I spoke about in a previous post. During that post I mentioned and over zealous government guy.

What I failed to mention is that this particular gentlemen was the best dressed surveyor I have ever seen.

If memory serves correct he had on either a brown or olive green suit. Nice, the latter of which I personally own.

Now what I want to point out is because of the way he was dressed, I took him to be the most professional man in the room (which may or may not be the case) but that is how I perceived it. The utmost of professional appearance.

Here comes the polar opposite.

By far the most talented surveyor I have ever had in my employ was a total dump of a human being. He was so good at surveying that I actually related him to a savant.

Problem: His wardrobe consisted of sweat shorts and wife beaters and contrary to his up bringing (his mom was an English teacher) his grammar was so bad it was inconceivable.

His skill was great, but as a business owner there was no way I could let him deal with clients, send him to a job site at someone’s home or represent in anyway except from behind the scenes.

It became a sore spot that he was being held back even though his skill was so awesome. (I did pay him very well but he wanted more.) Many times I tried to tell him that if he straightened himself up as far as looks and dress I could promote him easier. He refused to listen.

I had another kid working for me that was tattooed from collar bone to tip of toe. Now this kid was smart. He always wore pants and long sleeves. He figured that while he was walking art, how he would be perceived was important.

He also had great grammar, was personable and knew a lot less about surveying than the first guy I mentioned, but I would send him anywhere.

Discrimination??? Oh hell yes!!!!!

I am a discriminating employer. My employees are an extension of me and my business and will only put those who look and speak well in front of people.

I personally belong to a couple of organizations where I represent as a Land Surveyor. When I attend I usually go business casual, but there are certain times when the suit is required (I am going to take a moment to say that when I am wearing a suit and if I was in the same room as said suited government guy, I would be the best dressedJ).

Going back to the first guy I mentioned I am going to point something out. While wearing great clothes in the field is not possible it is possible to look good.

If a crew chief with a bunch of face piercings wearing cut offs and a t shirt with a pot leaf on it rolls onto a job site what is the client going to think?? He is going to say to himself I am paying $XXX and hour for this, why?

If surveyors want to make more money we have to enforce a code of looks. Perception is a real thing. If we look better, people will have an easier time paying a higher hourly rate.

Screw being politically correct.

An attorney is usually in suit and tie. They charge and average of $350 an hour (mine do anyway) and they always get paid without question.

Now the big question. How come we can’t bill $350 an hour? We should be able to. Our profession is one of the most important on earth.

Thoughts??