Land Surveyors: Who They Are and What Exactly Do They Do?
Posted by Calvada on November 5th, 2016
Land surveying aims to measure and map an area of land and its surrounding environment using specialized equipment, technology, and mathematics. The professionals who conduct this job are known as ‘land surveyors’, and they are qualified to measure just about any parcel or area of land. Land surveyors work both in the field and in the office. In the field, they rely on the latest technologies and equipment like GPS and high definition 3D scanning, and in the office, they use high-end software to map the measurements and draft plans. Professional land surveyors may spend a lot of time working outdoors, sometimes, in bad weather, typically walking long distances or standing for long periods to complete a survey, but using modern equipment has helped them reduce the time it takes to do any land survey. Builders, architects, businesses, and residents rely on them for services like boundary surveys, construction staking, and topographic surveys.
Land surveyors measure property and parcels of land to determine its boundaries and its physical properties. All findings about a land are valid and considered as legally binding data, which you can present to the court in case you find yourself in a land dispute or the information revealed that your neighbor or a neighboring property has built into your land. However, you need to make sure that the land surveyor is licensed, certified, and qualified to work in your state before he or she can serve as your witness to present the findings about your land.
Careful research and consideration must be conducted before hiring just about any land surveyor. Learn about the land surveyor’s background and qualifications, as well as their surveying experience. The best surveyors have completed a bachelor’s degree and licensed via the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. They are qualified to use GPS equipment and conduct advanced surveying methods using high-definition 3D scanning to determine the contour and shape of the earth’s surface, the characteristics of the land, and determine property boundaries.
Land surveyors have certain skills that make them qualified for the any land surveying job, like environmental, geotracker, and ALTA/ACSM surveys, and monitoring wells. They understand mathematical concepts for measuring and plotting, they have computer skills for using technological equipment to easily complete the job, and they are detail-oriented to ensure comprehensive and accurate data for construction projects, map making, and engineering.
About the Author:
Armando Dupont, a professional land surveyor, started his career in surveying in 1977 and has extensive experience in managing personnel and projects. His experience includes: topographic mapping, boundary surveys and analysis, construction and control surveying, preparation of tract and parcel maps, earth work calculation and quantities, targeting and control for photogrammetric, and land title surveys in accordance with the American Land Title Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. Mr. DuPont founded Calvada Surveying, Inc. in 1989 and is a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in the State of California.
