Location
Western Australia
Location
Western Australia
I am here because I am a...
Surveyor
Please tell other members why you are here:
Noble Consulting Surveyors
I have experience with the following
GPS, topographic, construction staking, topographic surveys, GIS, Survey Office, Aerial, Construction, Machine Control, UAS/UAV Drone Technology
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Thoughts
Greetings.
Your efforts might be helped by simple yet dynamic Trigonometry and Geometry Software for Land Surveying Calculations.
Down load a free version of DC_Survey from
www.dc-survey-software.com
Let me know if this software helps.
Marcus
[email protected]
Thanks for the hat / blade advice. The Acubra looks too stiff for me. I do like the Cricket hats, though. (yes I know about Cricket - it used to be one of my nicknames in High School - better than some of the alternatives - but I had to approve all of my nicknames, or else there would be fear of retribution - I was a jock, for sure, and a wild one at that).
If you go to my profile page you will see some pictures of me wearing my favorite Jacaru hat, which is now over 10 years old. Best hat I ever paid for. Any recommendations for a high quality Australian hat? Also, my favorite blade in the field is the Kukri (Gurkha) and it is the regimental issue and I purchased it in the 1980's - Great knife / machete / pigstabber! But the sheath is wearing out and it is a mere $16 USD knife. I am willing to pay hundreds of dollars for the best of large knives for all purpose use in a wooded surveying environment. Any suggestions for my next blade? Thanks a bunch.
How's everything down under? I have used AutoCAD Civil 3D for volumes. Unfortunately I don’t do volume calc’s often enough to remember how the reports work. If memory serves me, though, the report is very sparse – just cut and fill values with an overall net?
I’ll open a job I did volume calc’s on this past spring and see what I did. I’ll let you know what I find out.
Thanks.
Enoch Cox is the one who said he wanted me to give a presentation on basic practical real use of a GPS system at an upcoming Oklahoma Society of Land Surveyors (osls.org) up coming Convention where most of us go to get our Profressional Development Hours (pdh) of credit required by our State. Both of the retired surveyors enjoy shaddowing me on projects and want to learn how to run a GPS.
I use a Magellan ProMark 3 RTK (PM3R) and they think I am a good teacher or trainer of GPS equipment and methods.
So I came up with a name for the First Class, "GPS for Dummies", for the class and then I thought that I might build it by using videos of me and them working together with the GPS equipment and software from the beginning of a real project to the end.
So many times, the GPS classes are not much help to the beginner and not practically and hand-on enough. I want it to be so simple that a child can understand. To me, that is the test for a good presentation. The presentation might even have a presentation outside.
The equipment has been so expensive in the past that many could not afford to get into GPS and now, with the PM3R, the door is more open. I discovered the best kept secret of some surveyors in Oklahoma too in the process of getting personal experience with GPS that you do not get working for others. Static Systems have existed for a long time that are a lot more inexpensive now, used and new that can get the beginner into GPS easier.
I found that it takes a lot of study, networking, and time to find anyone who can help the beginner purchase and use the lower price systems for static and for the PM3R which can do both static and RTK at good high precision and, with the right techniques, be used for 90% of all projects that would otherwise be done with a Total Station TS. I can do most projects now about 4 times faster in the field that with a TS.
I, working alone can do 4 times the projects than a crew of two working for a local Engineering and Surveying corporation anyhow with a TS, now much more because of the GPS equipment and techniques. I charge much less too so I keep very busy and now most of my jobs are prioritized by retainers or deposits up front.
That way, I spend more time doing real surveys instead of estimates or chasing invoices. I get a better quality client due to my system. I do not get rich but I pay for my bills and am now debt free again and can save up for more and better tools and stuff to make my job more fun and satisfying to my clients.
Search for Land Surveyors at www.yellowpages.com for the Tulsa, OK area or Sand Springs, OK area and you will see me come up first with a 5 out of 5 star rating with no one below me with a rating at all. This is proof of my dream come true to get a high level of client satisfaction.
My internet interest and development has also been because of my new found extra time - thanks to the tanking economy. In many ways, I'm undertaking creating my blog and delving into LSU here to help increase my exposure and to expand my marketing. Trust me that most of this is way out of my comfit zone, but I'm really enjoying it. Who knew!
Because you've only been doing this for a short time, you haven't been able to build a very large network yet. It takes time and a concerted effort to gather data and records about all of your contacts. Then you have to maintain that relationship. All of the work I am getting, even though it's not very much, is directly resulting from my contact relationships and marketing efforts. I use Microsoft Outlook for all of my contacts, although in the past I've used a program called ACT, which I liked very much. Recently I've started using Constant Contact to do email marketing. We'll see how that goes.
I think marketing and client development would be a good subject for you to start a discussion forum in the Business Innovation Group (BIG). I'm sure we would find a lot of good ideas to implement. I'm already thinking of 5 or 6 good ideas to add for you.
Your tyranny of distance problem, possibly having to drive 2 days, is so funny to me because Rhode Island, being the smallest of the US states, can be driven through in under an hour at it's longest points running north to south. East west, although much closer, takes about 35-45 minutes, mostly due to traffic. The joke in my state is that there a people in certin towns that won't drive to the next town because it takes 20 minutes!
I don't think there is really that much of a difference. Officially there are licensed surveyors but often non-licensed people survey, often for construction project or companies. There probably isn't a mine within 1000 miles of me, but I do know that there are surveyors that specifically do mine work.
I'm a licensed surveyor, but I assure you that I don't look down on anyone. There is room for everyone, and quite frankly, if you asked some licensed surveyors to do what their "poor cousins" do, they either would run for the doors or not know what to do. Generally, if any work involves boundaries, then a licensed surveyor would do this work.
About 50% of my work involves boundary surveys, 25% involves topographic and aerial mapping surveys and the remaining 25% is subdivisions and site development. Lately with the housing market down and out, what little work ther is has been bounary work.
Enough about me - What is involved with being an engineering surveyor? Are you busy, do you like it? How do you like working for yourself? I'll have to do a little research into western Australia.
ps. Sorry for the spelling. I really wish this had spellcheck: I could use it.