Sunday 23 September 2012

Advertising & Trade Shows


Our first visit into this area, this ad was placed in the Planning Convention 2012 Catalogue for all delegates along with our standard flyer.  We now have our fingers crossed as to whether this will prove to be a worthwhile exercise.

Regardless of the outcome this will not be our last visit into this area, and we are currently in the process of placing an advert in a national Architectural publication, feel free to play spot the difference on the advert - no prizes I'm afraid.

Construction Expo 2012:  Perfect an event just up the road, and targeted at the right audience.  A quick e-mail later and we find out we are not allowed to sponsor the event or hold a stand because a competitor has got in first and made it a condition of their support that we (or a number of other Land Surveying firms) not sponsor or have a stand.  Odd for an Expo that is 'open to all'.  So the wheels get moving just to find out the details, and eventually the Expo organisers call our competitor for their permission to give us the option to attend with a stand.  Brilliant move by our competitors (hearty pat on the back), but a sad state of affairs that the organisers are willing to agree to such demands to get people on board.  Whatever the outcome we will be at the Expo at the very least as a visitor, so we look forward to seeing some of you there making it an enjoyable event for all, and I'll make sure I book early for next year.

As well as the Expo we'll be on the road a fair bit in the next wo months, so wherever you might find us either exhibiting, learning or just visiting - feel free to say hi.

Eco Driving Lesson - 26th September in Canterbury
Portakabin Open Day - 27th/28th September in Ashford
KCFG Breakfast - 2nd October - in Canterbury
STEM Silver workshop - 9th October in Maidstone
Construction Expo - 11th October 2012 at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham
myWorld Roadshow - 18th October 2012 at the Emirates Stadium

Not sure when I actually get time to work, but it's all about getting the brand out there in the public eye, and gradually people will remember us and, fingers crossed send us some tenders to bid for.  In this day and age, public image & branding is extremely important and social media enables a product/company to get into peoples lives & business more than ever.

For more details of the services we offer, and examples of our work, please visit www.rlsurveys.co.uk, or you can keep in touch with us on LinkedInFacebook & Twitter (@RLSurveys).




Sunday 9 September 2012

A Week in the Life

In this industry no two weeks are the same, but that is part of the enjoyment of the job.  This week has taken me from London to the middle of the River Medway via Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex!

Monday:  A small land survey for a client looking to extend an existing survey they had in Canterbury (one I priced and won for a previous employer by complete coincidence!).  The quote came in on the Friday, and we squeezed the work in on the Monday - so much for putting my feet up!

Tuesday: Up to Pfizers (Sandwich, Kent) for the day with Method Statement & Risk Assessment in hand, upon arrival the permits office gave me the news that no permit had been requested for the work.  However on discussion with the office I didn't need one, and the RAMS were not required as the work was on the public highway outside the site. Spent the rest of the day covering 10km of walking - you'd think taking in the scenery etc., but no it was over the same 200m of road walking up and down doing the survey!!

Wednesday:  Change of pace again down to Hurstpierpoint (West Sussex) to survey a 2.5acre garden for a potential extension to the existing property and garden landscaping.  This was combined with returning some hire kit to Opti-cal down near Gatwick airport.  The day started at 6, and finished at 6 for all those of you thinking I keep short hours!

Thursday: A more leisurely start setting out the ends of five gas pipes covered over by chalk fill at a local landfill which is in the process of being reclaimed.   Then from here I was off to an afternoon meeting with the CICES visiting the Hydrographic Office at Sheerness Docks, with a trip out on the Medway Surveyor to map a wreck just off the terminals for Grain LNG.  More pictures can be seen on our Facebook page, and eventually on the CICES website.  Fascinating to see Surveyors from other sectors at work for a change.

Friday: Hoping on a train up to London to carry out a measured internal survey for a property rental & future lease plan.  I was looking forward to nicely maintained property given the client, but found myself in the dark in a flat clearly not used for 20-30 years with ceilings falling part, a concrete floor covered in dust etc..  Of course on the plus side all the corners were easily accessible to carry out a quick survey, and give me time for a quick nephew cuddle (2 months old) on the way home.

So I've managed to clock up a ridiculous amount of miles in the car, on the train, and on foot.  It also means I now have a lot of data to process next week to issue the information out to the clients, although I did managed to process and issue work from Monday & Tuesday on the following day in an attempt to stay on top of my inbox.

Next week I'll be hitting Dover, Ashford & Upchurch at the moment, but that could easily be added to at any time.

For more information about the area we cover, and the work we do, please visit our website www.rlsurveys.co.uk.  To keep in touch we can be followed on FacebookLinkedIN, and through twitter (@RLSurveys), alternatively you can subscribe to our bi-annual newsletter through the link at the top right of this blog.

The next blog will (I hope) be entitled - Advertising & Trade Shows.