How to use Forums
Our forums on Land Surveyors United are here to be used as much for finding help with problems in the field as the are for you to express your opinions on anything that has to do with land surveying in general. Feel free to share anything that is on your mind, as long as it isn't meant to damage another member's reputation. Please keep it clean and help insure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of being part of a community that grows together.
We are committed to allowing freedom of expression for all of our members, and that includes maintaining a safe space for people with opposing views to express themselves. We get posts from all over the country and even the globe, so needless to say, people come with different viewpoints on lad surveying practices and processes. We see this diversity and variety as a real strength-- dialogue and debate are an integral part of the educational process, as well as an important tool in exploring different sides of complex issues.
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Community Hubs inside the community have their own forum for asking specific questions to other surveyors, by location, equipment type, etc.
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previous day:
load maps and cogo points on the gps ,total station & smartphone + print some maps off the area.
+check battery load
current day(field survey):
early awakening, coffee & bathroom visit!
+ visit to the nearest bakery shop for suplies, gear loading and voila!
Pray for safety, here in California surveyors are the second most dangerous job after firefighters. I have lost 1 friend who was hit by a truck, and another who now has steel plates in his head, he was also hit while in the street. Not to mention falling off buildings, getting killed in tunnels etc.
Well said.
I check my total station batteries conditions, loading data,check communication radios, check the vehicle condition like tire pressures, engine oil, hydralli etc.
Taking enough bottles of water, refreshments like chewing gums, lastly confirm my driving licence
coffee - lots of coffee
+1 Coffee.
Sometimes I also like to sob quietly in the car before starting the engine :-p
We prepare at the office for whatever the project is. We load the GPS, the gun and the level, the boss brings in a bag of ice for the cooler. All of this is done on our time and not on the clock, while the rodman/instrument man is loading the truck, the party chief is loading the data collector or going over the project with the PSM. If the PC is busy when the truck is loaded, the rodman/instrument man makes sure there is plenty of laths, rods, caps, etc in the truck and sharpens the machetes and maybe cleans the truck if there's enough time. There is a sign on the back door that everyone sees when they leave explaining the duties of a rodman, instrument man, and party chief so that nothing gets forgotten and everyone has a sense of being held accountable.
Then off to the job. I (as the PC) usually ride and have someone else drive so I can go over the paperwork and prepare the field book or do any calcs I might have. When we get to a new project, I always do a tour of the project with the crew either on foot or driven if possible so we know what we're up against. Then it depends on the project, if boundary work is involved, I send the crew out to set up GPS and find nearby property corners while I go around on foot and draw everything I need in the field book. Depending on the job, I might be drawing all day and the crew will be locating boundary, running bench loops, etc until I'm done.