We are working on setting up a more remote workplace.?ÿ Part of that is having our two crews to go straight to the job and not come into the office everyday. Our current way of giving them job info is to print out various plats, worksheets, etc and put them together into a field folder.?ÿ I am trying to come up with what would be the best set-up for them to accomplish this from their homes.?ÿ Laptop and printers at home? Laptops only that they take in the field and look up their reference docs on them? Ipads instead of laptops??ÿ In addition to reference docs for the job they will need to upload and download their data files (TSC3 and TSC7) and scan their field notes.
What are you more modern, streamlined surveyors doing for you crews (or yourselves)?
Thanks!
Laptops only that they take in the field and look up their reference docs on them?
I can??t supply the information you are seeking but the above statement is a recipe for slow productivity. I have found having the crews information compiled completely prior to any field work is the most efficient method for production in the field. ?????ÿ
I agree with @flga-2-2
Personally I am old school. Paper works best for me.
The survey firms I work with these days furnish the crew chief a computer and printer/scanner to use at home.
I believe they are all desktop computers, laptops are limited and more expensive.
daily workflow: Data is compiled in the office, the crew chief logs into the company server, prints it and goes into the field.
when they finish for the day the crew chief downloads the data, Scans the field notes, and uploads to the company server.
I am told the field crews hardly ever go to the office.
Hi, Liz. Been a long time...2005 I think it was when I did some training there.?ÿ
I think it is essential for each crew to have a laptop and a way to connect, that could be using their phone as a hotspot or a standalone cell modem like a mifi. Also maybe a decent portable printer and scanner.?ÿ
I don't do the same type of work that you do, but I make sure that all of our jobs have coordinate files and [REDACTED] files, and often also gpx files, and then I put those on an ftp server for download. The field files and pics, etc are then uploaded to the ftp.?ÿ
Also, note that office depot, kinko's, etc can print large format sheets sent to them.?ÿ
Like Peter, I favor having paper. But that is a real problem to supply to remote workers. I've never had an ipad for the field but most of the other departments of my city have them for the other field workers. They have a large enough screen to be a reasonable alternative to paper.
I'm gung-ho on laptops for surveyors, but that is for field staff that also does there own research, calcs, CAD, etc. So the next question is what software are you going to put on them? Are your field people CAD capable? Do they do their own stakeout calculations or do you feed them that from the office? If you are feeding them - it sounds like you are- there are plenty of data collectors available that are really field computers, and can send and receive emailed files. I'd look there.
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Ask your crews. ?ÿWhat do they say they want?
Are there procedures they would like to be done differently?
What procedures do they like, and not want to change?
EDIT
By the way, I am a solo guy. ?ÿI spend a couple days first wading through the research to build a LOOK file for initial recon. ?ÿIt has deeds and plats all plotted out on top of a geotiff image.
So, for me, the only things I take in the field with me are a PNEZD LOOK TXT file and an 8x11 or 11x17 overall point plot with and/or without the air photo. ?ÿI think I could eliminate the paper plot entirely if I wanted to buy one of those big screen data collectors, but it would have to have the physical keyboard for me.
?ÿ"I'm gung-ho on laptops for surveyors, but that is for field staff that also does there own research, calcs, CAD, etc."
Me too, however all of the above should be prepared prior to field activity. I look at it as who has the highest billing rate, usually a crew bills higher than a survey tech who can supply the information necessary to perform whatever is required in the field. ?????ÿ
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I'm also solo now, but for most of 50 years I was on one side or the other. I know lots has changed, but at least for the 1,2,or 3 day jobs I mostly worked on,?ÿ I think the field crew should see the office crew every day, maybe twice. Teamwork takes communication.?ÿ?ÿ
I'm solo also, and hate paper in the field. I spend time in the office making deed plots in cad. Try to best fit them the best I can. Note all monument calls in cad. Then bring in aerials to rough align the cad files. I have scans of all filed maps. I also georeference the scanned record maps so that I have those available in the controller on a separate layers. I'm not sure how many dc apps allow Image backgrounds.?ÿ I know Topcon Magnet and Trimble siteworks both work imagery.?ÿ
While in the field I'm fitting the project together as best I can. I re-align and rotate the backgrounds to fit found monuments, while working in State Plane Coordinates.?ÿ
Never set monuments during this first step on site, no matter how confident you are, licensed or not. Always take the data back to the office to analyze it. Prepare plst, then return to set pins.
For boundaries I structure folders in a very specific way. Mapping is ordered from oldest to newest with the site and primary controlling lines highlighted. Deeds are ordered the same way with a cover sheet having grantor/grantee and thumbnail sketch. Corner records are sorted by index number with multiple records oldest to newest.
If you dont know the order of events, you don't know what they mean. Hard to relay that in a pdf...
Provide them with a laptop and printer at home.?ÿ Send them a pdf package for each project, containing all of the plans and worksheets you think they should have going into the field.?ÿ Also send any control txt/csv files to upload to the DC.
That's no different than what you'd give them if you briefed them in the office in person.?ÿ Be available to go over instructions and questions if needed.
Drill it into them that they must download and email and put on the server each and every night.?ÿ I worked with too many guys who waited till monday morning to send friday's data, when on some occasions I'd planned to work on it on saturday.
You know your crew better than we do.?ÿ If they're experienced, or just competent, then you should be all set.?ÿ You can make this work
Yeah, be prepared for two-plus hour long telephone conversations from time to time...
Drill it into them that they must download and email and put on the server each and every night.?ÿ I worked with too many guys who waited till monday morning to send friday's data, when on some occasions I'd planned to work on it on saturday.
This.
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AND MAKE A NIGHTLY RECAP EMAIL MANDATORY.
Communication gets hard when you never see them.
make sure the crews and the office have the same flavor, either android or apple...you want to be able to easily switch to video calls?ÿ
BTW, my crews don't seem to care about paper anymore.
I mostly can't stand working on laptops.?ÿ I think it's OK if you have a docking station and real monitors but when it comes to screwing around on them in a truck I'm not a fan.?ÿ Plus, you can't pull a laptop out of your vest and look at it, so... needless to say I prefer paper.
Anyway, I know Trimble has the cloud stuff now so you can pull files out of it with the data collectors, so if I were you I might look into these kinds of options.
Too many guys who waited till monday morning to send friday's data, when on some occasions I'd planned to work on it on saturday.
Ha....
We had as many as 15 or so people collecting gravity with GPS and if the boss didn't get your files and scans before bedtime you'd get a call, a knock on the door, a pounding on the door and then a hotel manager to check out why you weren't answering the call etc.
At 1-2000 dollars a day charged to the clients, you didn't last long of you didn't get your data off the DC and to the PM prepped and ready.
Good field people are worth their weight in gold( we did gold exploration too) and marginal or poor field people wash out not fast enough usually.
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Laptops and a laser printer capable of printing standard and 11x17" sheets.?ÿ If the laptops will have any CAD programs, it will not be a savings to go cheap on the processor, graphics card, or RAM.?ÿ If you don't have your crew chief plot deeds, then include dxfs of all deeds on layers that match the names of the PDFs you send.?ÿ If you provide phones, simply have them use their phone as a hotspot.?ÿ If two man crews, instruct the passenger to download and send the day's data while driving home at the end of the day.
My favorite field setup was an IPad mini with cellular service with Bluebeam loaded.?ÿ The office could create projects on the cloud and upload all paperwork.?ÿ I could access the projects and make mark-ups in the field or even call in and ask for additional info.?ÿ They'd upload it, I'd do a refresh and there it was.?ÿ Just make sure you wrap that Ipad in a good case and screen protector!?ÿ
Another thing I loved having is cellular on my TSC's.?ÿ I hate carrying that extra hotspot.?ÿ It's just another battery to charge or go dead and another connection to deal with that sometimes gets to be a hassle.?ÿ?ÿ
As a solo guy that occasionally runs a crew or two.?ÿ I've gone away from paper and now carry a Surface and Android tablet.?ÿ The tablet fits in a vest pocket and was only a couple of hundred dollars so I'm not really worried about it.?ÿ The surface is for doing calculations if needed.?ÿ For boundary work I review and mark up my research then load it to my OneDrive.?ÿ If warranted, I will create a DXF with search coordinates.?ÿ This works for me as a solo guy and when I'm overseeing several crews in the field.
One thing you need to do is brief and debrief on a regular basis.?ÿ You still need to maintain reasonable charge over your crews.