Engineering Inc. - January/February 2008 - 40

One On One COPS Chairman Surveys the Field For Innovation, Opportunity Edward Garrigan is chairman of the Council of Professional Surveyors (COPS) and vice president of land information services for C.T. Male Associates, P.C., in Latham, N.Y. Q. A. What are the benefits of being a COPS member? Q. What are the critical issues facing the surveying profession today? A. Like engineering, the surveying profession is facing a shortage of new professionals. Today, the average age of a licensed professional surveyor is 54 years old, and the number of new licensees continues to decline. The profession needs to take a more active role in increasing the interest of students at an early age. I have had discussions with college presidents who say that most high school guidance counselors don’t know that land surveying is a profession and think of it in stodgy terms. What students need to know is that today’s surveying is an exciting profession that uses GPS, digital orthometric imagery, robotic total stations, laser scanners and remote sensing. Hydrographic surveying uses sophisticated boats, side-scan sonar and other new-age technologies— and surveyors get to enjoy the great outdoors, to boot! 40 enGIneeRInG InC. As a coalition of ACEC, COPS benefits from ACEC’s advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., and nationwide. ACEC has developed critical contacts with influential leaders, and this influence gives the surveying profession an effective advocacy presence representing our interests. We represent firms that offer surveying services from across the country in an organization dedicated purely to our members’ bottom-line business and management interests, as opposed to technical training. We provide members with a complete business tool kit, which includes job-estimate spreadsheets, suggested contract templates, job descriptions and sample safety policies and procedures. Various state boards of licensure have designated data preparation for a digital terrain model an engineering and/or surveying function, which requires professional licensure. COPS believes it is imperative to inform our industry of the realities of the technology and the potential liabilities facing the surveying and engineering communities through proper guidance to project owners and land surveyors. In response, COPS has prepared suggested language for contracts and plans aimed at reducing professional liability exposure. This information is posted at www. acec.org/coalitions/COPS for ACEC’s members to review, comment on and use. Q. What are some of the “hot” new markets that surveyors are getting into? A. Q. What types of programs does COPS offer its membership? A. COPS offers seminars at ACEC’s Annual and Fall Conferences. COPS made a presentation last April in Washington on suggested language for machine control. At the 2007 Fall Conference in Maui, we hosted a session on the business aspects of laser scanning. At the upcoming ACEC 2008 Annual Convention, we will hold a session on successful business models for surveying firms. This past May, COPS sponsored a Western Summit with ACEC and CELSOC in San Jose, Calif. The summit, entitled “The Lay of the Land—A Look Ahead for Professional Land Surveyors,” included topics such as emerging technologies, electronic field books, the integration of Geographic Information Systems and surveying, as well as a look at the housing industry. COPS is looking to hold similar summits on an annual basis in other parts of the country. Technology is a hot market right now for surveyors. Laser scanners are the latest high-tech instruments firms are purchasing. This equipment collects a tremendous amount of data—information down to the smallest detail so that mapping of pipe racks, substations and buildings can be done costeffectively, and provide designers with critical information for their designs. Given the nation’s current dependency on fossil fuels, alternative energy solutions are being explored throughout the country. Wind farms, for example, are cropping up in areas where such projects traditionally have been deemed cost-prohibitive. Natural gas storage facilities also are being developed at several locations around the country. These projects require surveys for design, acquisition of properties, construction and financing. The surveying profession is seeing widespread changes in client needs and technology. In many cases, the “new” client turns out to be an “old” client who has evolved as the world around them has. With change comes uncertainty, but also excitement. As a professional land surveyor, I think it’s an exciting time. n jAnuARy/febRuARy 2008

http://www.acec.org/coalitions/COPS http://www.acec.org/coalitions/COPS

Engineering Inc. - January/February 2008

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