"... average hourly billable rate of $78 per hour."
For a 2-person crew?! You can't be serious! Even with no benefits at all that is absurd!
"...but rather why can't you do that."
We could, but we don't because we think more of our profession than that!
Well said Dan!
> "... average hourly billable rate of $78 per hour."
>
> For a 2-person crew?! You can't be serious! Even with no benefits at all that is absurd!
Pay 'em both minimum wage and you're getting close to a 5.0 multiplier 😉
Both of you are ignoring the additional costs for the overtime pay for all hours above 8 per day. That 1.5x will eat up the budget.
Two sides have numerous subdivision lots and one other side has a small road known as Interstate 40/75.
> Two sides have numerous subdivision lots and one other side has a small road known as Interstate 40/75.
Quite a few guys wouldn't concern themselves with those pesky adjoiners, which is not only dereliction of professionalism and protecting the public, but one way they cut costs.
Industry standard multiplier of 3... work it backwards...
78/2=39
39/3=$13hr
It would be difficult to find a qualified crew to work for that in this region.
What's on the Table A?
Around here, someone on a survey crew working for minimum wage, is the owners 16 year old son that has his head in a smart phone all day. You will be lucky to get him to cut 200' of line without breaking something or cutting himself.
Bow Tie
Isn't about half of the cost of a project allotted for the office work? A field crew would only be able to work for 50 hours at a rate of $78.00 per hour for this project.
sorry but duh
who drafts the survey how much do you pay them when you spent the entire budget in the field?
how much do you pay the person signing and stamping the map? If there are 10 days of field work how many hours are you going to spend checking and processing 10 days worth of data and producing reports to insure key data meets positional tolerance 0.07' plus 50 ppm?
How many copies are going to be printed? Of how many sheets? Mailing cost?
and it is not $78 per hour divide that by 3 So that means you have $52 to split between the chief /chain person. Out of that $52 are you gonna pay healthcare and benes and employer taxes?
out if the left over $26 dollars are you gonna pay everything else you have to pay for and still have any money left for profit?
If you could do 2 of these jobs a month, then $187,200 a might seem great but consider there are only ten days left in the month for other business. Consider we are talking solo shop or a one crew shop...
Now consider the liability of these 24 surveys could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars each, does $7800 per survey seem like such a great deal?
Another view ...
A motivated solo guy with a robot, RTK, could survey a 14 acre apartment building in 3-4 days. 1 day for drafting/office. About $1500-2000/day for one guy. You're not going to make that kind of money working for someone else, that's for sure.
Another view ...
> A motivated solo guy with a robot, RTK, could survey a 14 acre apartment building in 3-4 days. 1 day for drafting/office. About $1500-2000/day for one guy. You're not going to make that kind of money working for someone else, that's for sure.
If you are a solo operator doing 2 of these jobs a month, you would yield $62,400 per year (before taxes) assuming a 3 multiplier. And realistically, if you are solo, you can probably operate at less than a 3 multiplier to make the same profit.
Pseudo, maybe we should just move out of Florida so we can reel in the big bucks like everybody else.
Eleven acres of apartment buildings
I surveyed this site in 1991 when I was at the big company, so I had the drawing to help me, but no files. It is eleven acres, some of it a section breakdown, and you can see the fourteen buildings. It is in Casa Grande, about two hours from my house.
How many days would it take you for the field surveying, assuming long days and driving home each night.
Note: I'll say it again, some of you put yourself into a self-defeating box when you say it can't be done in less than (whatever time). Don't assume everyone else must be cutting corners. Figure out how it can be done. Find a way to make it work.
Eleven acres of apartment buildings
> How many days would it take you for the field surveying, assuming long days and driving home each night.
>
I'll bite since no one else has yet.
Field Time
1.5 day to set control and tie boundary
6.5 days to map the site
1 day to set corners and measure or locate additional items.
Total of 9 field days. I based it on 12 hour days - 2 hours to get there, 8 hours onsite, 2 hours back. With only 72 hours onsite.
I think the biggest time differences you'll see are in how much detail some people put into there mapping. Some get the bare minimum and some map the heck out of it.
Eleven acres of apartment buildings
I helped on a job several years ago that was a lot like that. It was probably about the same acreage but many more buildings it seems like. I was told the city of Marietta [GA, Cobb county] (pronounced May-retta in local speak) was going to buy it, bulldoze it and make a park out of it. Pretty much a trashed out place with a couple units burned out and chain-link fenced off. People were still living there in many of the other units however. I think it was in January or early February when we did the work. Unusually cold and mighty dam windy for here.
I think me and the boss spent about 5 or so days on site. He already had ran control before he came and got me. I'd say we had less than hours drive time a day.
He'd already done all the research so I don't know about that. He just needed me for field help. Sketching all those buildings was a serious pain in the [name your orifice].
Eleven acres of apartment buildings
I will estimate about 6 days solo field and 3 days solo office.
As far as the field goes, I would estimate about a dozen setups. I would do my traverse and location simultaneously. For the improvements in the interior areas, I would resection myself in to hopefully save on setups. Use F2F on the improvements so that I won't have to sketch. GPS a couple of points to get it on datum so I can use aerial overlay to help draw non-critcal items that I cant see from my setups. I would also use the aerial as a sketch to write down the number of parking spaces I count (i wouldn't shoot every stripe).
In the office, F2F should take care of all of the improvements (just need to annotate). Then draft the usual boundary and B2 review items (the previous survey should help with that).
Eleven acres of apartment buildings
Tell me my pants are on fire if you want, but two days in the field and two plus days drafting. And I collected everything in sight. I always do. Here are my notes to myself at the time:
July 19, 2003. Travel for Casa Grande 3 hours, 14 hours surveying, and the high was 109ºF. 1200 points coded for linework, the boundary done, half the buildings measured, and all of them tied down.
July 20, 2003. Computed the buildings and drafted most of the day.
July 22, 2003. I had to get creative on the sidewalks because of the trees. The building heights were easy with the Disto because of the overhang. I picked up the utility maps and the zoning information, and home late afternoon.
July 23, 2003. Drafted all day, mostly the buildings and walks.
July 24, 2003. Did the easements, and done by noon.
ps The point: It can be done if you are creative and motivated, with the best equipment. It isn't magic. It doesn't involve cutting corners.
