As the reality of the global pandemic is becoming the new normal, the need for land surveying remains. As a result, we have had to adapt our processes, adopt new technologies, and reconfigure our workflows and behaviors to ensure we continue to provide high-quality, accurate, and timely information for our partners.
Regardless of the pandemic, we want to continue the same uninterrupted service we’ve always provided our clients. But at what cost? At McSteen we’ve prided ourselves on service for 50 years, but we’ve also prided ourselves on putting the well-being of our employees first. We’ve always felt those two things paired very nicely; prioritize your people, and they, in turn, will prioritize your clients. So we have set about to ensure that we can do both of these things safely and successfully.
Adapting Our Processes
The land surveying profession is not unlike many other service-oriented and public-serving occupations, even though fieldwork can be performed in solitude. As land surveyors, our team still works with our title and real estate industry partners, clients, county officials, other consultants, and property owners that require interaction and constant communication.
Communication
The biggest challenge facing most land surveyors in dealing with the pandemic and its restrictions has been communication. Whether it is with employees, clients, or government agencies, communication has been affected mostly because of the elimination of face-to-face opportunities.
When necessary, our in-office team pivoted to working remotely with the utmost importance placed on ensuring that the communication lines remained stronger than ever. We migrated the whole company to Google Business Apps, including Google Meet for communication and Google Drive for file sharing and secure storage. These tools allow us to stay in touch and share information, the keys to a successful remote work environment.
But what about communication with the field crews? Many surveyors require a substantial amount of direct communication between field and office. Luck would have it that even before the pandemic, our goal has been to digitize the whole process … and we are just about there.
The custom-built McSteen app for our mortgage location department was designed in-house, made specifically for our crews, and tailored to our unique process. Every crew is now equipped with an iPad so that they can virtually receive their workload, complete their field notes electronically, and automatically sync information back to the office team for same-day CAD drafting and ultimately, review, by one of our licensed surveyors.
Crews can upload real-time photos and PDFs. We are also able to communicate and send data back and forth on “trouble jobs” for live feedback – a crew can send information about a job site while they are standing on location to a draftsman in the office (or now working from home) who can take a look and send information right back. Everything is digital, and right at our fingertips.
New Technologies
A core focus at McSteen is to be on the cutting edge of innovation. Our employees are our greatest asset, and we seek to equip them with the latest technology to allow them to do their job with speed and accuracy while maintaining our quality standards and keeping them safe. We love being at the forefront and continually adding to our arsenal of technology.
The transfer of data between office and field has become faster, more efficient, and safer with technology. Our team is able to work seamlessly between the office team and the field by utilizing software designed to complement land surveying operations and provide a variety of survey features to process data.
Not many of the surveyor’s field activities are affected because of social distancing requirements, but the pandemic has forced our profession to be compliant with the new rules in case we are in proximity with others. Newer technology, using both terrestrial and aerial platforms, is now being utilized by more surveyors for their data collection needs.
To gather the necessary data for MLS projects, we have implemented the use of hand-held EDM, GPS, and data collectors on the iPad for our field crews. We also utilize the county GIS or OGRIP State imagery data, as necessary. And while we are currently working on and testing lidar and photogrammetry, we are probably a few years away from being able to use it in the field every day.
Reconfiguring Our Workflow + Behaviors
We were forced to adapt very quickly to a new norm of working remotely and independently of our co-workers and teammates. Our team has needed to learn new ways of doing their work and communicating by other means. Like businesses everywhere, we are doing the best we can, and the surveying profession is rapidly trying to adapt.
Not unlike many other professions and services, land surveying has likely been permanently altered as a result of the global pandemic. But we don’t think that is all bad. We have learned more about ourselves and our team and how capable we are with the tools and technology we have.
We like to think that we have handled the restrictions placed upon us by the current pandemic with professionalism and mutual respect for those with whom we are working. While we believe we can handle whatever gets thrown at us, we look forward to a brighter (and hopefully simpler!) 2021.