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What are surveyors?
Surveyors are:
- Licensed professionals
- Mapmakers
- Experts at measuring
- First into prepare surveys for the design of a new construction project
- Last outwith mapping of a completed project for lending institutions
- Storytellers
- Educators
- Woodsmen
- Historians
- Pilots
- Tree whisperers
- Creators of point clouds
- Forensic data collectors
- Aerial photographers
- Users of highly technical equipment and software
- Under fire on the front lines preparing the way for our troops
- Protectors of the public’s health and welfare
And yes, they are also “the guy by the road looking through that tripod thing.”
What do surveyors do?
Surveyors work in all environments and touch every kind of project. They:
- Map the ocean floors
- Measure beach erosion
- Stake out houses, commercial buildings, bridges, and roadways
- Facilitate industrial design and construction
- Recover lost boundary lines and property corners
- Understand working among local wildlife while preparing maps for environmental studies
- Understand when to run like crazy from local wildlife
- Survey with unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)
- Design, build, and refine highly sensitive measuring instruments and data processing software
Why are surveyors important?
Surveyors provide the data that decision-makers need to make smart choices, such as:
- Safeguarding new homes from the potentially damaging effects of floods through careful site selection
- Assessing the damage caused by natural and manmade disasters and enabling public officials to direct aid and recovery efforts
- Protecting vulnerable plants and animals by identifying the locations of threatened and endangered species
- Conserving valuable natural resources like clean drinking water
- Locating buried utilities to prevent damage by new construction
- Creating accessible buildings, sidewalks, and trails by avoiding or mitigating steep grades
If you know a surveyor, thank them for the work they do to make our homes, neighborhoods, and wider communities possible. If you need a surveyor, reach out to me, WithersRavenel’s Geomatics Director Matthew Crawford, at (919) 535-5195 or mcrawford@withersravenel.com to discuss your project needs.