On many jobsites throughout the world, layout for a structure’s mechanicals is still done using a measuring tape, a string, and a lumber crayon. Not so for HPS Mechanical, which is well into its fourth year embracing layout technology based on a robotic total station.

What safety features are incorporated in a structure beyond the usual designated tornado shelter and evacuation signage? How well documented is the final build, and what is available to first responders who might have to assist in an emergency?

The complexity of training and licensing and the lack of public awareness of the surveying profession combine to make it difficult to adopt some of the strategies employed by other professions to attract new talent.

For AEC firms, laser scanning technology is becoming a way to improve client engagement and drive new business.

Increasingly, 3D laser scanning is making the day-to-day job of survey and scanning professionals faster, easier and more productive, but it requires a new way of thinking for the surveying community.

Recently, I had an opportunity to visit with Elly Ball, the CEO of GetKidsintoSurvey, whose mission is to educate kids and the general public on the essentials of surveying.

Earl F. Burkholder, PS, PE, F.ASCE, admits to developing an early interest in some of the core topics and concepts that have served him well every day of his professional land surveying career.

POB has supported a number of efforts to address the immediate and long-term challenges of recruiting and retaining talent in the professional land surveying profession. One effort that has been underway in the United Kingdom and is spreading to the U.S. and other countries is Get Kids Into Survey (GKiS).