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Keeping Your Surveyor Business Competitive

Technology and diversification are essential for success

By Jeff Copeland, Content Product Manager, Business.com
The surveying business is a great way to get outdoors and exercise your brain, but there’s one big drawback:  It’s closely tied to the real estate and construction markets.  When those cyclical industries turn down, surveyors need to power up the capabilities of their employees, diversify their client bases and strengthen defenses.  Surveyors can take these steps as private construction-related work slacks off:  
  • Hire or train staff for new technological skills, in particular to take advantage of new geospatial technology.
  • Follow the money. Today, that means start prospecting in the world of public sector contracting.
  • Get better educated on the legal side of the surveying business. When money gets tight, business disputes get more contentious.
Stay up to date on surveying equipment and techniques
Stay competitive by bringing your team up to speed with major technology leaps taking place in land surveying, from GIS to LiDAR to better field gear.   
  • A geographic information system (GIS) outputs maps, models and databases that reveal patterns of land use far beyond the old boundary survey. As construction and engineering companies develop their GIS capabilities, they expect your systems to integrate.
  • GPS technology has greatly increased the capabilities of survey tools in the field. 
  • Major construction projects are beginning to require surveying through LiDAR, a form of 3D laser scanning; done from the air, it can cover ground much more quickly than survey crews.
Get your staff trained by ESRI, the GIS software company, at one of its authorized centers. Stay in touch with Trimble, a cutting-edge maker of GPS surveying systems, to see what’s new. The annual International LiDAR Mapping Forum is the place to network with equipment and software makers and operators.  

Get your share of surveying for infrastructure work
Economic stimulus legislation is greatly boosting spending on infrastructure projects and that’s a major opportunity for any construction-related service business.  Brush up your contacts with the major heavy-construction prime contractors and engineering firms, keep a close eye on federal contracting in your territory, and perhaps bring some new skill sets into your shop, suitable for large-scale survey projects – like LiDAR. Other things you can do:  
  • Look for federal contracting contacts via your industry associations in Washington.  The American Society of Civil Engineers has been a leader on the infrastructure issue, with its annual report card on failing roads and bridges. 
  • Subscribe to Onvia.com, an alert service for federal construction contracting.
  • Add hazardous waste site surveying to your capabilities, offering stream or soil sample collection and analysis. The EPA’s Trainex.org site lists training courses nationwide for environmental specialties.  You’ll want your staff certified to meet the requirements of standards such as MARSSIM (for radiation), CERCLA (Superfund) and RI/FS (Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study).
Stay abreast of surveying law
The law is never far out of sight for surveyors who render ground-level decisions on boundaries, rights of way, flood plains and other legal issues.  The potential for ending up in court as a witness or, worse, a defendant in a civil action is always there.  So arm yourself by knowing the legal basics and watching land-use decisions in local courts.  Or take it a step further – market yourself as an expert witness for land-use cases or even as a surveyor of crime scenes.  And don’t forget to check with your insurance agent to make sure your errors and omissions liability insurance is up to date.  Get a copy of John Briscoe’s book “Surveying the Courtroom: A Land Expert's Guide to Evidence and Civil Procedure” (John Wiley & Sons).  County courts typically offer online records research, though of varying quality – you can find them through your local court system’s Web site.  American Surveyor magazine’s blog is a faithful follower of court cases around the country.   

Jeff B. Copeland is a content specialist at Business.com, the Web’s largest business-to-business searchable directory and home to  more than 35,000 business how-to guides.

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