Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › Strictly Surveying › Advice to younger surveyors
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@dougie
Don’t forget the personal maintenance equipment,,,,,,water, food, a big bag of extra clothes, and the most important thing in the truck, TP!!!!
First day on the job surveying: it was windy and 104d, sucked the moisture right out of me, next day I went out with extra water and it snows, never drank any of the water and came close to frost bite, it was a good learning experience.
Somethings I carry anymore; extra reading glasses, those I need all the time, extra sunglasses, frozen water bottles in the cooler, poison ivy wash, haven’t broken out with a rash since I put it in the truck, extra socks.
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One thing I learned a long time ago; the 10 things you should always have with you; ready to go:
There only thing for sure; you never know when you will need it…
I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will! -
Posted by: @dougie
..A while back, Mr. Cash posted his Safety Manual for all to use…
I don’t remember doing that, but more power to you. It reflects about 200 man hours of compilation. All I got out of it was being allowed to continue my contracts with utility companies.
But I do have to ask…does your copy have the “hazardous materials” chapter? If so, you might want to read (or edit) it before allowing a real live human to read it. I discovered the submitted manual was only being “read” by software and not a person. The insurance carrier kept kicking it back for edits and the hazardous materials chapter was one of the last ones.
I guess I was getting pretty close to the end of my rope when I wrote it….
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In the 70s safety was no concern, but in the eighties government contractors had to have a monthly safety stand down for an hour, chargeable. Then in the nineties it was a 5 minutes every morning concerning that day’s hazards. In the 21st century the safety standards are built in to contract, and no worker should face unsafe conditions. It’s progress.
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It’s good to try to do a better job than your predecessors, it’s not good to think that you are smarter than they were. You’re not.
Do not be afraid to change your mind or fix your mistakes. You will have ample opportunities.
Preparation is constant. No matter what be prepared to work outside.
Remember our first surveyors. They built a country with an orderly society we take for granted, and endured hardships we can’t fathom. Have THEIR dedication.
I got my first license in 1989, I knew more THEN than I know today.
Dad told me that surveying is something you get better at for as long as you do it. He was right.
Do not set silly pincushions.
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This is all great advice for us young survs. Thank you.
Here’s some of mine for the little experience I’ve gained so far:
Never lie to your superiors or yourself. You’ll lose all credibility.
Never go out to work by yourself in the woods. Always have someone watching your back at all times.
If you’re unsure about driving your truck through a muddy dirt road, get off and walk around to where you wanna park, and test if the road is firm enough so you don’t get stuck.
Always plan ahead.
Train your helping hands. Don’t boss around. Show them by going through hell and back that you can do it and they will follow.
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Never allow yourself to be seen losing your cool on a site. If you do not look to be fully in control and confident in what you are doing, how would you expect anyone else to have any such confidence? Some part of this job is theatre. You are there to bring order to a disordered world. Act and dress the part. Once you lose that aura of respectability you will find everything you do questioned. All work then grinds to a halt while you are called on to check and recheck everything. I say this with the understanding that sometimes things don’t go well, sometimes you do get frustrated and want to express emotion. In such times, be like a duck – maintain a calm exterior while paddling like ….
Trapping and fixing blunders is the first order of importance. Blunders, not a lack of precision, are what gets you in trouble.
Time spent setting good control is worthwhile. Time spent reviewing, adjusting, documenting control is never wasted.
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Posted by: @surv3251
If you’re unsure about driving your truck through a muddy dirt road, get off and walk around to where you wanna park, and test if the road is firm enough so you don’t get stuck.
I’ve done that, got stuck anyway. Learned a lot from the guy that dragged me out of the bog. You can drive over a dirt two-track road once. This mainly applies to low lying clay type soils which retain a lot of water in the winter but there is a 2-inch crust over the top. First time, no problem, but that pumps the water up to the surface, second time you sink like a stone.
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Have a handyman Jack in the truck for the first 5 times you try to drive through a questionable bog and spend all day getting unstuck when you could have walked there in 5 minutes
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Posted by: @paden-cash
Remember, you’re going to always feel like you pay them too much, but they’re always going to think they don’t get paid enough.
What if I tell the boss they don’t charge enough?
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One little nugget of advice I would pass on to younger surveyors is never be in such a great of a rush that you lose your situational awareness of the larger picture. In my younger years I was always running around full throttle trying to either set the pace or keep up. This is usually when those subtle clues of impending disaster reveal themselves to those paying attention. Blow by them at your own peril. That goes for taking a shortcut thinking it will save time and ends up costing ten times as much, rushing a green light at an intersection, ignoring the lowest guy on the totem pole when he tells you something is not right. Slow down, pay attention and listen to your intuition when it tells you to have your head up. Only fools rush in.
Carry on.
Willy -
Outstanding words of wisdom, should be mandatory reading for all new hires!!!
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If it hasn’t been said already, don’t drop into any manholes!!!!
Stuff you see on TV, of people in the sewers, that doesn’t work very well.
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Don’t have to worry about me, I already think it’s silly that manhole dips are a land survey thing in the first place. I’m sure the guys at the city water departments are perfectly capable of running a rod…
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Don’t forget your lunch and don’t pack something that will stink up the rig.
Wash your gear/clothes from time to time, no one wants your odor lingering. If you step in a dog pile don’t step into the rig.
Learn to get along with critters. Don’t fear them, respect them.
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Don’t smoke cigar, or cigarette butts, that you find on the job. It reflects poorly on your boss– like as though he does not pay you enough!
Har har har
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In the great PNW…
- when you get out of the truck at the end of they day, if your outerwear is wet, get it somewhere warm and dry. Leaving it in your duffle bag or in a pile in the truck is NOT a good idea. One day you will open the door and the smell will cause you to gag. Then you will have to put those items on, and it will make you gag again. Then you will get used to it as you work all day…then you will take it off and your wife will gag when she sees you after work. You do not want to smell like a duck’s behind.
- Hang them up. Dry them out completely after each use. Have multiples of each item.
- Once they get smelly, they will always stink again when they get wet…no matter how much bleach you use
- putting on a wet and smelly survey vest in the morning is a horrible way to start your day
- find somewhere dry to put your rain gear on, if you can, it makes your day better
- if you are new…buy rain pants, you need them
-All thoughts my own, except my typos and when I am wrong. - when you get out of the truck at the end of they day, if your outerwear is wet, get it somewhere warm and dry. Leaving it in your duffle bag or in a pile in the truck is NOT a good idea. One day you will open the door and the smell will cause you to gag. Then you will have to put those items on, and it will make you gag again. Then you will get used to it as you work all day…then you will take it off and your wife will gag when she sees you after work. You do not want to smell like a duck’s behind.
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Nobody wants to hear excuses; they want solutions.
Everyone makes mistakes; when you make one; don’t think about your excuse; think about how you’re going to fix it and how to implement that.
I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will!
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