Surveying from a remote location

We regularly send crews outside of our local area to perform surveys for longtime clients.?ÿ The government per diem rates for meals & lodging are added to our estimated fee. Basically, if the money is right, a crew is available, and we are licensed to work in the area of concern, WE ARE THERE.

Posted by: @t-ford

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"Seal and signature of a professional surveyor in responsible charge of and directly responsible for the work issued."?ÿ

First order of business: determine the definition of "responsible charge" in that State.

That theory is based on the coherency theory. That the field crew is YOUR eyeballs, your hands, your brain in the field. I have had field crews that good. BUT they tend to be the exception, not the rule. ALSO, for your guidence, HOW MANY times have you missed something, YOURSELF, but found out either through another surveyor, or while doing more work in the area, LEARNED what you missed, on round one?

Just food for thought.

Nate

At least one site visit in case you find yourself defending your survey in court.?ÿ

After all it is your survey.

I have been working from a home office for just about 3 years now because COVID almost killed me.?ÿ I get a daily field crew schedule emailed to me so I know what each of my crews are doing as well as a listing in advance to prepare the crews with any set up or other information they may need.

If the crews have any problems or questions, they call me directly for answers.?ÿ I check work done by others and am able to sign and seal plans digitally after I check them.

Technology has progressed to the point where I don't need to be in my office to directly supervise my crews or staff.?ÿ There are now a ton of teleconferencing platforms out there, Facetime on iPhones and other means.?ÿ I connect to the office server directly to do my work remotely and there really have been no issues.

There is nothing that I can't do from home that I can do in the office.?ÿ Any mylars or documents that require a hard signature are shipped back and forth between me and the office via Fed EX.

I am actually far more productive working remotely as I don't have to deal with people coming into my office to chat or listen to the background chatter from the floor.?ÿ An added bonus is that I spend no time commuting whereas, in the past, my commute to the office was an hour and 15 minutes each way.?ÿ?ÿ

@kevin-hines Thank you for reponding.?ÿ And I very much like "WE ARE THERE."?ÿ You are sending your crew out and communicating with your crew.?ÿ?ÿ

What I am asking about is when a company hires a surveyor who may reside in another state but is licensed in the state in?ÿ which the surveying is being done and has no direct contact with the field crew.?ÿ The surveyor is working "remotely."?ÿ Not from the company office.

@chris-bouffard Thank you!?ÿ?ÿ

I've worked in a lot of offices where the field crew did field crew things, and office guys did office guy things, and never the 'twain met. It's pretty common. Under such conditions it really doesn't matter if the field crew spent their day 1 mile or 1000 miles away. And with COVID it has become common for people to not come to the office at all, and to communicate via Zoom, et al.?ÿ ?ÿ

@fairbanksls?ÿ

I agree with you on this, but know of more than a few fat-asses who I doubt have visited the field in many years

Whether you are working at home, or in the office, and how far away where you are working is from the site is immaterial. What matters is how you are practicing responsible charge, direct supervision, or whatever the appropriate term is in the jurisdiction that the workis being done in.?ÿ

Many tasks may not require a professional's boots on the ground, but it is difficult to exercise professional judgment through a non professionals eyes. Caution is especially warranted when evaluating boundary evidence.?ÿ

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Not to hijack your thread but my position is nearly 180?ø from yours. I have worked solo from a home office for over 20 years. It the past few years I have had out of state clients contract with me for work in my state. These are projects such as cell towers, solar farms, GIS work for entire county zoning, and Verizon easements.?ÿ

@nate-the-surveyor no matter how good or bad a crew, they are not going to get any better or worse by your presence in the office.?ÿ 40, 30 or even 25 years ago, we did not have the means of instant communication through mobile phones, emails or texting, let alone the video conferencing capabilities we have not.

The tools that we use to do our jobs, research information and process/analyze data have radically changed in recent years.?ÿ Why shouldn't our approach to how and where we, as licensed Surveyors, evolve our approach and embrace the technology that is now available?

I'm one who is more productive in my home environment and live with my long-time girlfriend.?ÿ We both have been working from home in a shared home office space, both of us are senior management for different companies and both work more than 8 hours a day.?ÿ Despite the fact that we are both together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we really enjoy it.

Some people do not thrive in a remote working environment and need the structure of an office environment because of distractions from their remote locations but we have no children or pets to take care of in our remote locations and less distractions than we had in the office environment.

I do travel to the office occasionally to maintain relationships and encourage my department employees, but, aside from that, we take and can see each other on a daily basis.?ÿ?ÿ

@peter-ehlert Spot on. Every jurisdiction has a definition of responsible charge in statute, rule, or case law (probably at least two out of three). It is becoming very common to see e-mail and video conferencing cited as acceptable examples of supervision.

I visit the sites I have reason to believe it's required. As an investigator and expert witness I'm well aware of my responsibilities and exceed them on every job. Remote work can be done.

@jph why would PLS or RLS, after having more than many years of experience have to visit the field??ÿ The resources available at the tip of the layman's fingers negate the need to do that.?ÿ Time is money and office time for a professional is more valuable than field time.

Unless I am missing something in interpreting your comment, the comment was uncalled for.?ÿ Us licensed Surveyors did our time in the field in extreme conditions without having the technology available to field crews today that make their lives much easier than ours were in the field.?ÿ We worked our rear ends off to educate ourselves, we passed a grueling 16-hour exam, became licensed and proved ourselves capable of calling the shots and assuming full liability for our decisions.

Maybe it's just me, but, speaking for myself, I did not appreciate your comment at all.