Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › Strictly Surveying › whats happening?
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Holy Cow, post: 389646, member: 50 wrote: Every time I go to my doctor’s office, an M.D. by the way, I see my doctor.
Most of the time for me, also. So lack of involvement sometimes happens in other professions.
But I recall the time I took a treadmill test; the doctor was behind schedule and supervising too many techs. He wasn’t in the room when the tech made the decision that I had to stop the exercise. He also gave me no consultation on the results, which were not clearcut, other than that I didn’t need treatment. I wasn’t pleased.
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The older I become, the less tolerant I am of incompetence. Maybe it can be attributed to the various prescribed medicines I take daily, as some insist that certain medicines, including statins, cause the user to become irritable. I have always been irritating to others, but generally quite tolerant of their shortcomings. Not so much anymore.
If I’m paying for a professional service, I want to be serviced by that professional.
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BrandonA, post: 387094, member: 11837 wrote: This was a small lot in a subdivision, we had done work nearby previously, and it was about 10 minutes from the office. 1 hour of field time searching and tying monumentation, 1 hour of someone checking it in the office and finding the plat, and maybe another hour to set anything additional. I don’t know what other research work you could possibly do to mark 4 corners on a Lot/Block, no drawing necessary.
As for you needing a good salary and the ability to do your own field work, well no, the field work part will not happen if you want a high salary at most firms.
Who digs up a copy of the plat after the field work is done? I find it hard to believe an hour in the field recovering evidence will produce that warm fuzzy feeling with out a plat in hand…….. dont get me wrong ill sniff around all day for corners but to do a lot pin on a platted subdivision from 1899 i wont step foot onsite with out a plat and adjoiners information…….
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Prodigal Son, post: 390125, member: 12074 wrote: Who digs up a copy of the plat after the field work is done? I find it hard to believe an hour in the field recovering evidence will produce that warm fuzzy feeling with out a plat in hand…….. dont get me wrong ill sniff around all day for corners but to do a lot pin on a platted subdivision from 1899 i wont step foot onsite with out a plat and adjoiners information…….
I don’t understand what you are getting at. We would send the crew out with a plat to search for monumentation, then we would review what they tied against record data, then send them to set new corners/flag up the old ones. We have every plat in the county in our database, it is not like we have to drive to go and get it. In this particular subdivision, I would expect we would find all 4 corners of our lot, and several adjoining to ensure consistency. If you cannot knock out marking 4 corners of a simple lot and block in that amount of time, you must be very new at it.
I get what you are saying about a survey from pre 1900, it will almost certainly require additional work… the one mentioned above was no where near that old.
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BrandonA, post: 387118, member: 11837 wrote: I completely agree, field work is something that has been lost. I was fortunate to spend some time in the field as an intern while in college and had an RPLS put me in situations to learn things. By the same token, RPLS that never went to college and refuse to learn the ever changing technology are just as big of a problem. We have an RPLS that refuses to use email or learn about GPS equipment, I think that is just as bad.
Maybe so but i know he knows how to wiggle in! Slow and steady
BrandonA, post: 390152, member: 11837 wrote: I don’t understand what you are getting at. We would send the crew out with a plat to search for monumentation, then we would review what they tied against record data, then send them to set new corners/flag up the old ones. We have every plat in the county in our database, it is not like we have to drive to go and get it. In this particular subdivision, I would expect we would find all 4 corners of our lot, and several adjoining to ensure consistency. If you cannot knock out marking 4 corners of a simple lot and block in that amount of time, you must be very new at it.
I get what you are saying about a survey from pre 1900, it will almost certainly require additional work… the one mentioned above was no where near that old.
“1 hour of someone checking it in the office and finding the plat”
I guess i just miss understood your meaning…. no offense. -
BrandonA, post: 390152, member: 11837 wrote: I don’t understand what you are getting at. We would send the crew out with a plat to search for monumentation, then we would review what they tied against record data, then send them to set new corners/flag up the old ones. We have every plat in the county in our database, it is not like we have to drive to go and get it. In this particular subdivision, I would expect we would find all 4 corners of our lot, and several adjoining to ensure consistency. If you cannot knock out marking 4 corners of a simple lot and block in that amount of time, you must be very new at it.
I get what you are saying about a survey from pre 1900, it will almost certainly require additional work… the one mentioned above was no where near that old.
Yes, if a professional surveyor needs to be in the field on every job, they’re not much of a professional. By the time one is licensed they should be able to determine when something has likely been missed by the field crew. Send em back with more instructions and go out yourself if all else fails. Heck, I’ve found more with a tax map than some have with a pile of deeds and plats. Then, you gotta know what to do with all that evidence. The professional service is mostly in the office. Teaching technicians how to perform proper search, measurement, and documentation is part of being a professional. But so many so called professional surveyors don’t have technicians, they have laborers with absolutely no idea of what’s going on because they have no education in surveying. You can teach an elephant to dance but it doesn’t mean it will dance on its own when you’re not there.
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Duane Frymire, post: 390229, member: 110 wrote: Yes, if a professional surveyor needs to be in the field on every job, they’re not much of a professional. By the time one is licensed they should be able to determine when something has likely been missed by the field crew. Send em back with more instructions and go out yourself if all else fails. Heck, I’ve found more with a tax map than some have with a pile of deeds and plats. Then, you gotta know what to do with all that evidence. The professional service is mostly in the office. Teaching technicians how to perform proper search, measurement, and documentation is part of being a professional. But so many so called professional surveyors don’t have technicians, they have laborers with absolutely no idea of what’s going on because they have no education in surveying. You can teach an elephant to dance but it doesn’t mean it will dance on its own when you’re not there.
Well put! That is a good synopsis of what “responsible charge” is.
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Duane Frymire, post: 390229, member: 110 wrote: By the time one is licensed they should be able to determine when something has likely been missed by the field crew.
I can tell if my field crew does not bring back recovered monuments, but in no way without visiting the jobsite can I see how hard they tried to recover the monument. How deep did they dig? How big an area did they search? That takes a crew I have taught well, and believe will make a diligent search.
Heck, I’ve found more with a tax map than some have with a pile of deeds and plats. …The professional service is mostly in the office. Teaching technicians how to perform proper search, measurement, and documentation is part of being a professional. But so many so called professional surveyors don’t have technicians, they have laborers with absolutely no idea of what’s going on because they have no education in surveying.
If you are able to use a tax map and find any information of value, I am impressed by the local tax offices efforts at accuracy. While I agree some folks who have managed to pass a surveyors test cannot do much with a poorly drawn plat or set of deeds, a tax map in my locality is nothing more than a generalization of who is where, drawn so there are no holes. A good surveyor, who really wants a crew that can bring in good data should not have technicians, he should have a crew of aspiring surveyors. They should be being taught the art of surveying, knowing what data to bring in, how that data is useful, and how to manage that data when it gets into the office. The professional part of surveying is not only in the office, crunching numbers, it should be in the field, making the decisions of old monumentation, old lines of occupation, and some parts of professional surveying are in the research, finding the old documents, the old letters, old sketches, and finding how they fit into the picture that has become todays version of events. Of course I write this as a surveyor in Texas, not a PLSS state, so maybe there is more work to be done here in piecing together surveys than in other locals. -
Y’all need to git yer buttz out of the office and in the field every week. Not necessarily every day but every week. It doesn’t take long driving a desk to forget most of what is really important in making sure a job is done correctly.
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Monte, post: 390240, member: 11913 wrote: I can tell if my field crew does not bring back recovered monuments, but in no way without visiting the jobsite can I see how hard they tried to recover the monument. How deep did they dig? How big an area did they search? That takes a crew I have taught well, and believe will make a diligent search.
Heck, I’ve found more with a tax map than some have with a pile of deeds and plats. …The professional service is mostly in the office. Teaching technicians how to perform proper search, measurement, and documentation is part of being a professional. But so many so called professional surveyors don’t have technicians, they have laborers with absolutely no idea of what’s going on because they have no education in surveying.
If you are able to use a tax map and find any information of value, I am impressed by the local tax offices efforts at accuracy. While I agree some folks who have managed to pass a surveyors test cannot do much with a poorly drawn plat or set of deeds, a tax map in my locality is nothing more than a generalization of who is where, drawn so there are no holes. A good surveyor, who really wants a crew that can bring in good data should not have technicians, he should have a crew of aspiring surveyors. They should be being taught the art of surveying, knowing what data to bring in, how that data is useful, and how to manage that data when it gets into the office. The professional part of surveying is not only in the office, crunching numbers, it should be in the field, making the decisions of old monumentation, old lines of occupation, and some parts of professional surveying are in the research, finding the old documents, the old letters, old sketches, and finding how they fit into the picture that has become todays version of events. Of course I write this as a surveyor in Texas, not a PLSS state, so maybe there is more work to be done here in piecing together surveys than in other locals.
We are in agreement except I don’t believe “technician” is a disparaging word. I think licensed surveyors need well educated, well trained, and well paid support personnel, who are highly respected and can make a good living as same. I don’t see any reason at all that “all” those engaged in surveying must be licensed in order to get respect and a living wage. Tax maps are the same all over, but neither those nor the maps and deeds can show one how to find a rock pile in the Texas scrub from 150 years ago, or the remains of a 100 year old spruce post in the Adirondack mountains of NY or a meander marker in Minnesota. To do that you need to get in the general area, know what to look for, and recognize when you’ve found it. Those last two skills are most effectively passed on in the field.
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