Colleagues

This last week I had the privilege of meeting new colleagues and got reacquainted with some from the past.

These were exceptionally nice experiences in that I have lost touch with my fellow surveyors over the last couple of years due to the fact that I am now an army of one.

It reminded me that I have to be more cognizant of my professional relationships especially with my peers. A mirror image on a topic or a different outlook is always appreciated and always makes me better.

It is so easy to lose touch with my peers mostly because I am so business oriented that I concentrate all of my efforts on my clients and only talk to other surveyors when I need something or need an opinion.

I have decided that this will stop and at least once a week I am going to reach out to a fellow surveyor albeit through email or telephone just to hear how things are going and get a general outlook on things.

As a small business owner my clients are far more important than anything else, however it is my peers that keep me in line and remind me of the rules and remind me to keep my head out of my ass.

The Big Machines

I was visiting a large engineering firm today. It was my first time to this particular outfit. It was very professional and I really liked what I saw.

However instead of being the hustle bustle type place it was constructed to be it was a ghost town.

The Big Machines have slowed way down to.

The thing that I find the most interesting is that companies like this ones client base are the ones that spend most of the money but the smaller companies like mine are busier.

Is this the dawning of a new age of surveying?

Yes I believe it is.

I have been saying for years that big firms will eventually only staff in house RLS that only handle legal and the rest will be done by contract labor.

This is something that is an awesome and sustainable fact for the small survey business. The companies that only handle surveying will grow while the big machines develop into engineering and legal only. They will no longer be the mass production of yesterday but instead will spearhead technology and efficiency.

We are seeing a huge shift in surveying and where the dollars will go. The big guys will always be on top just in a different way and the small guys revenue will grow as they hire surveyors. (Notice how I said surveyor, not staker?)

Yes let's talk staker for the moment. The big contractors will all have their own stakers and will hire out to the big firms for their legal. Asbuilts etc.

I say let them have it all. I love legal stuff.

The new world of surveying is here and it arrived a lot quicker than I anticipated. Be ready boys and girls. This is huge and if you aren't ready you are going to get squashed.

This recession that we are now coming out of is really one of the best things that has happened to Surveying. It has added a corrective measure that will be hard for us to mess up and it has also shot us in a new direction.

Oh yeah!!!!!

Virtue of the 1 man crew

The other day this friend of mine called me to ask if I can refer a gun runner to him. I promptly sent him to a guy that used to work for me that aside from exceeding the gunner skill he is also a fantastic person who I believe will fit well at this particular company.

Before referring him I asked the guy if he needed the body or if a 1 man crew would do the trick therefore cutting the payroll and improving the bottom line. He said that a set of hands was really needed for tasks that could be easily done by one guy but in his mind could not be. He is obviously still an old school thinker.

Back when I had a bunch of employees I did an experiment. Utilizing technology I broke people into 1 man crews. Almost right away my crew production jumped 30%.

My idea proved itself true, people in pairs screw around but when left alone they do more work simply because there is nothing else to do. And yes, I know this is not a genius idea and that people have been doing it for a long time.

From then on I went with only 1 man crews unless two were absolutely needed and then I would pair a crew for the day. I was able to thin my staff, have less administration, less headache and still bill the same rate therefore improving the bottom line.

Here in Arizona technology has made possible to run single person crews 80-90% of the time condition dependant.

I believe it is the wave of the future and yes even on big construction sites. Anyone been watching the Kiewit stakers on the 101? Notice how I said staker and not surveyor?

To all of the worker bees that may disagree with my thought process I will say this. Wake up, the future and technology are going to eat your job up unless you take action now and improve your position and skill set.

Personally I use a few people when I need a hand. This week I have a tree covered house topo to do. I will bring in an LS that has his own company and insurance as contract labor for this project. This is the direction that I am going in the future. Payroll employees are a thing of the past. Even office staff will be contract.

1 man crew is the future of Land Surveying.

Big Changes Coming

I am starting to see more job posts on Topica and am hearing rumblings of people getting busy again.

It's about time!!!

Those of us that have survived this whole thing need to take a moment of gratitude and celebrate ourselves because we as individuals are the only reason we did.

I to am getting busier again. I am seeing a lot of new starts in custom homes, remodels and boundary surveys.

Anyone that tells you that commercial is coming back is extremely naive. Commercial is 5 years out. Tract housing is longer and I would be glad if it never comes back.

2012 is going to be a much better year, especially since most believe that we will have a new President elected in November. That right there is easing nervous feelings and causing people to spend.

Let's all try and keep a positive attitude. Ever notice when the world hands you a fistful of shit, if you keep a positive attitude things usually end up being better and when we let it kick our ass it gets worse?

Chin up fellow surveyors. This thing is almost over and those of you who are still in the game you will kick some ass and make some serious bank.

I am currently working on a project that will help change surveying for the greater good. If I can get this particular thing through the hoops it will be one of the biggest things that has ever happened to us.

I will disclose more information as time goes on, but right now I want to plant the seed that big stuff is coming.

We are responsible for so much. We have to know 10 different ways to 1 things. We are extraordinary in what we do.

Let's make this the worlds most respected profession once again.

We can start by speaking of the un-speakables. If  it makes you uncomfortable it is probably worth discussing.

I am inviting any and all that read this blog to post any topic about this profession and I will post it in front if you really have something worth while to say.

It all starts with communication and I know that most of you hold back. Stop! It only holds everything back.

Super Hero of the Week

I don't know who this person is but I want to thank them for an awesome comment. I truly appreciate what they said.

Thanks for calling how it is.

 

See below 

Anonymous said...

I don't know about the global ramifications of our new economy but I do know this. This recession is the best thing for the surveying profession. I can see positive changes already. The slackers amongst us whom have been dragging us down have or will flee the profession before it is all over. If a surveyor is not working right now it is because somebody better is in his/her place. Life is not fair and this is survival of the fittest. Last time I checked. I know this is coming off as harsh but consider this thought for a moment. When we were booming a few years ago; we put equipment in anybodies hands just to get the work done. Now, only the guys who truly want to be surveyors are struggling to make it. This is called paying your dues. When the economy swings upward again; the surveyors who stuck it out and survived will do the best. It is times like these that separate the chaff from the wheat.

The New Economy

How many of you know someone that has changed careers in the last 3 years? I’ll bet that most of you do.

The world is becoming the place of independent consultants. Let’s use Wells Fargo as an example. Big companies like that laid off thousands of workers and a lot of the middle to upper management people ventured out on their own and became independent consultants.

Some of you may agree or disagree with what I am about to say.

The last 3 years are one of the best things that has ever happened to this country. Yes that’s right the best. Some of you may be wondering how that can be, well please allow me to elaborate.

This recession that we are slowly clawing our way out of marks the absolute transformation from the Industrial Age to the Information Age.

The Industrial Age is the era of big companies taking care of people and spurring total reliance of people to the company. Pension plans and social security were assumed as retirement.

We are learning that the Information Age is going to be an entirely different story. With all of the stuff people have gone through over the last 3 years it is my personal belief that the overall condition of the American people has become stronger. We are no longer reliant on the big company for security, we have been forced to get off our asses and really work for a buck, in many cases the sense of entitlement has been blown out the window, personal accountability has been forced down our throats and the bottom line is that we have all had a giant wake up call.

Those of us who have learned from it will never suffer again even in the event this repeats itself.

Personally I learn the best from getting my ass handed to me and let me tell you I have had it handed to me several times in this business and every time I have gotten better for it.

Our profession is forever changed. We have to embrace it and adapt or get out. The big machines are now competing with the small guy which I think is a good thing. We will be chosen on a service basis instead of cost. The big machines have wheels to keep moving and will never lower the cost.

For those of you that are having a hard time seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, look a little harder, it is there if you focus and decide it is there.

Equipment and Software

Since this whole uproar about Light Squared I have been doing a lot of thinking about GPS and one thing I have never really given a lot of thought to is why we as surveyors use the particular brand of GPS and other equipment and software that we do.

In the field I personally use Topcon with Topsurv software. The reason why is simple. Topcon was the brand used by my predecessor and I walked into it. Topsurv came later. When I saw how simple and effective it is and discovered I could easily use networks and cor stations with it I immediately dumped TDS and picked it up.
Topsurv has come a long way since I started using it and I believe it is because Topcon listens to surveyors.
I also use a Topcon robot and total stations.

In the office it is AutoCad. I use Corpscon to compute Lat-Longs and Topsurv office for data processing.
I have tried Carlson and MicroSurvey and am less than satisfied with their functionality.

As I said I use all of this stuff because I have never really been exposed to anything else other than different total stations and the infamous TDS 48 way back when. Before that a T1 and a chain.

I want to ask everyone that reads this blog to please leave a comment and tell me what equipment and software you use and why.

I want to know everything from the field to office.

Please share. Your educational comments are greatly appreciated.

I will be posting a taste test comparison in a week or so.