tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19409564551160021472024-02-07T12:42:30.188+00:00Setting the Benchmark in GeomaticsR L Surveys - off and running, the highs & lows of starting & running your own businessR L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-84465196815684017892020-04-14T12:43:00.002+01:002020-04-14T12:43:30.399+01:00Coming Out The Other Side?In these uncertain times we are all looking at how we work differently, and perhaps/hopefully a lot of these changes will remain in place for longer regardless of how much normality returns.
Working from home has in all honesty been so much nicer than working at an office, and there is so much at the office that we really don't need. We are lucky in the sense that there is space at home toR L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford TN23 6LW, UK51.1326347 0.866390651.131389199999994 0.86386910000000006 51.1338802 0.8689121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-29852683827039820172020-04-09T00:00:00.000+01:002020-04-09T00:00:07.333+01:00Finding a Different Perspective
First Day back after the 2019 Christmas break......always important to remove the out of office assistant (set for a few days time just in case you fancied a few extra days!) and check your calendar for the coming weeks before starting your first survey of the year...…..
...and of course got drenched, even at my size! The water droplets are massive, and the kit takes just as R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford TN23 6LW, UK51.1326347 0.866390651.131389199999994 0.86386910000000006 51.1338802 0.8689121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-70135015191450217322020-04-08T11:57:00.001+01:002020-04-09T09:24:42.922+01:00A World Gone Mad?
There is no wrong answer to this question - which comes first Business or Britain? (Sorry to Northern Ireland you are included but Britain sounded better in this instance!).
Over the past few weeks I have seen numerous posts showing companies doing all they can to maintain their business activities but with a difference. Adjusting their SOP's (Site Operating Procedures) to include R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford TN23 6LW, UK51.1326347 0.866390651.131389199999994 0.86386910000000006 51.1338802 0.8689121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-51239423613115247352020-01-28T10:38:00.000+00:002020-01-28T11:35:44.239+00:00We've All Done It - haven't we??I'm pretty sure it is safe to say we have all hard our fair share of 'problems on site', and since the last millennium I've had a few but I'm big enough (and old enough) to share a few with you without fear of (too much) embarrassment and retribution. **This is not a how to do guide, or best practise guide. In fact quite the opposite is true!**
Surveying Problems (mostly mine but there areR L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford TN23 6LW, UK51.1326347 0.8663905999999315151.131389199999994 0.86386909999993156 51.1338802 0.86891209999993146tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-24440639380242640792020-01-07T13:54:00.000+00:002020-01-07T13:54:00.711+00:00Authors of Our Own Downfall
You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it? - Armaggedon 1998
OK not quite the same scenario, but the meaning can equally be applied to Land Surveyors, it is a race to the bottom in terms of price to win the work regardless of what we are told or advised.
R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford TN23 6LW, UK51.1326347 0.8663905999999315151.131389199999994 0.86386909999993156 51.1338802 0.86891209999993146tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-86731230476339911792019-01-21T14:51:00.001+00:002019-01-21T14:51:33.612+00:00Surveying at Speed
With the progression of time the powers that be are seemingly obsessed with collecting as much data as possible in the shortest amount of time.
We'll brush over the transfer from Chain Surveys and Plane Tables onto Theodolites and Tacheometry, through handbooking of data onto on board data logging as these are gradually progressions of technology to achieve the same end goal....and R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-75017427971282524572019-01-21T14:09:00.002+00:002019-01-21T14:09:27.573+00:00Blogged Down!Eight years in and the idea of a monthly blog has somewhat fallen by the wayside.....but after commissioning a new website and discussing the requirments with the developer it seems getting our blog back on track could be worth the effort, but I suspect we won't be anywhere as near prolific as when we first started....a severe case of writers block, and a grwoing client base to keep happy, but R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford TN23 6LW, UK51.1340382 0.8680196000000250925.6120037 -40.440574399999974 76.6560727 42.176613600000024tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-66060462699763935772018-01-31T10:22:00.001+00:002018-01-31T10:22:12.672+00:00Know Your BoundariesThis is a very grey area in the world of the Chartered Surveyor, what are your boundaries? - I am talking about the fences, ditches, walls or posts around your property, or in some cases the imaginary line which has become a distant memory over the years of change.
First Steps.......
There are a number of sources of information, and often a Solicitor is the first call. UnfortunatelyR L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-70830536216297401172015-09-15T14:26:00.001+01:002015-09-15T14:27:37.785+01:00Vague ramblings of a distracted Surveyor!Odds & Sods - the ideas which haven't (or haven't yet) evolved into blogs!
The Law of Diminshing Returns - Many months ago I started a list of possible blog subjects, and this was one of them. Unfortunately I have no idea what this might have meant. Clearly a moment of clarity, or inspiration, whilst waiting from my daughter to come out of ballet listening to the inane chatting R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Ashford, Kent TN23 6LW, UK51.1340382 0.8680196000000250951.132792699999996 0.86549810000002514 51.1352837 0.870541100000025tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-53089357007767073772015-08-12T15:45:00.001+01:002015-08-12T15:45:47.825+01:00Thames Path Challenge 2014
A bright crisp Saturday morning, and thousands of nutters are descending onto a small park just north of Putney Bridge, the reason..........they have all given up their weekend to walk, run or jog for charity. Walking on behalf of the Alzheimers Society, in a moment of weakness I had signed up for the 100km (approximately 80km further than I had walked previously in any one go!). R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-89208475656668890562014-05-21T11:02:00.002+01:002014-05-21T11:02:37.349+01:0015 Not Out
T1300 - Robust & reliable
Well Almost 15 Years not out!
28th June 1999 - my first day as a qualified Land Surveyor. I was sent up to the Three Rivers Project in Staines with a Principle Surveyor and Assistant to learn the ropes, with all the kit crammed into an old Toyota Corolla plus the three of us we were off travelling round the M25 in the hammering rain, with the traffic R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-41442023872122882902014-03-10T14:32:00.000+00:002014-03-10T14:32:05.771+00:00Customer Service or Customer Interference?
How is your Customer Service?
Over the years people have many causes for complaint, and thanks, for customer service. Generally I find myself feeling sorry for the front line staff on the telephone taking the brunt of peoples frustrations with little thanks. Of course a lot of that might be down to the 100's of questions (I may be exaggerating) you have to answer on your R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-62556737819040488162014-01-06T10:00:00.000+00:002014-01-06T10:00:54.195+00:00Land Surveyor Toys - a Must HaveHere we are.
2014.
Its the first Monday back at work after the Christmas and New Year festivities. Not that we really had a break. That's one of the disadvantages of running your own business - you never really stop.
There are still phone calls to take, although admittedly far less, emails to reply to and bills to pay.
Our children are now back at school, Mike is working in LondonR L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com3Ashford, Kent, UK51.1464659 0.8750190000000657251.0667884 0.71365750000006578 51.226143400000005 1.0363805000000657tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-68093709381361777142013-12-31T13:40:00.004+00:002013-12-31T13:42:58.910+00:002014 - Looking towards new pastures?Looks like we're here to stay after two full calendar years on the Surveying map we are still going strong and looking to the future, but what will the future hold?
2013 - Green shoots of growth in the economy
Surveyors see it coming first in the construction industry, but we also see the end of the tunnel before anyone else does. This year has seen the industry starting to recover from R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-86315329225360842992013-12-05T09:30:00.000+00:002013-12-06T10:05:18.806+00:00To Employ or not to Employ: Part II
Should it really have been this complicated?
Unemployment in the UK is hovering around the 2 million mark yet we found it almost impossible to find a suitable person to fill the role of Senior Surveyor in our Ashford office.
In January 2013 we had advertised the position twice with varying levels of success but finally we found the right person for the job.
Why did it take so long?
In R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-18078765376593881802013-11-07T16:20:00.000+00:002013-11-07T16:20:06.300+00:00Competitive Quotes - sublime to the ridiculous'How can anyone do the work for that!' A favourite line from a respected local Surveyor who has taught me a lot over the years, but now finds himself in direct competition. Until starting up a business it was always an amusing moment, now it becomes a frustrating reality.
It is true every now and again you will lose a job to a competitor who has completely lost the plot and submittedR L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-61678793576618745942013-10-14T14:40:00.000+01:002013-10-14T14:40:59.408+01:00Double Edged Sword
Damned if you do, damned if you don't!
Running your own business is a tricky business, and is certainly not for the faint-hearted. You need to be able to compartmentalise everything in your life to avoid the constant conflict and worry.
When you're busy you worry the work won't get completed.
When the work is completed you worry you've missed something critical.
When you R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com2Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-56626324026664178302013-10-07T10:02:00.001+01:002013-10-07T11:26:12.383+01:00Whilst you're there could you just......
Whilst you're there/here could you just......
This used to be a question commonly associated with setting out, with Engineers frequently being asked to do a little bit of extra work not previously accounted for. For them it was merely a time issue as most of the jobs were quoted on an hourly rate. Such luxuries don't exist in the world of fixed price tenders, but the questions are R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-30634547341231179542013-08-12T13:58:00.002+01:002013-08-12T13:58:27.928+01:00Policies & Paperwork Part II
ISO9001:2008, pardon?
With the assistance of specialist company IMSM we are now accredited to ISO9001:2008, which means?? From November 2012 all works carried out by us will be covered by the documentation to ensure we follow prescribed methods for carrying out surveys, and recording the results in a sensible and traceable manner. Systems have been put into place to ensure that all information R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-64428985595288872112013-06-04T15:44:00.000+01:002013-06-04T15:44:47.268+01:00BIM - now or never?
BIM - Post education!
Following on from my last blog we have attended BIM Show Live 2013 up at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel (certainly a step up from our standard Travelodge, sadly no room for the night!)
Attendance of the show was pushing 600 industry experts over the two days, including a Strom trooper & wookie, and this childhood dream car!
But down to business, BIM from a Land R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-84886735960757620562013-05-01T21:00:00.000+01:002014-06-06T13:31:21.706+01:00Surveying, Laser Scanning & BIMLove it, loathe it, or simply indifferent towards it - the industry and the Government have taken BIM on board so we all have to keep up with times and adopt some changes to our working practices.
So whats this BIM all about then?
Not exhaustive, but you can see where we're come from
Simply put it's a database for buildings accessed through a three dimensional model. BIM is akin to R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com1Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-40930169844168287442013-04-16T10:48:00.000+01:002013-04-16T10:48:00.128+01:00Twiddling Our ThumbsThe age old story of Surveying. Phone rings, a site needing 50 piles setting out - can you do it? Well yes but a few questions first:-
Where is the site - general answer, 'no where near you'
Is there existing control - might be I don't know
When do you need this done by - Well the piling rig is due Monday, and today is Wednesday
This is a very common phone call we take, and it is R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-65277630314327282882013-02-17T08:42:00.000+00:002013-12-06T10:16:10.640+00:00Visiting the Wierd & Wonderful
Surveying is a very unique career in terms of the places you end up visiting & Surveying, so below is a list of some of the more unusual/unique places I've been, can you suggest anymore;
Sorry to the assistant on this one!
1) Port Lympne Zoo inside the Lion enclosure (they'd moved the Lions into their smaller side pen). Still kept me on edge during the work just in case! As R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent TN23 4XZ, UK51.141051800000007 0.8471362000000226551.139806300000004 0.8446147000000227 51.14229730000001 0.84965770000002261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-86255841248080332682013-02-01T09:30:00.000+00:002013-02-01T22:13:54.446+00:00Surveyors don't forget.......
A good assistant (or even a bad one but for totally different reasons!)
Since using one man kit I have started to really appreciate the benefits of a good assistant (and been glad of the freedom from some bad ones)!!! So here is my personal tribute to the better assistants to have been honoured to be trained by me (I use the terms honoured & trained very loosely). These are my R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com2Ashford, Kent, UK51.1464659 0.8750190000000657251.066788900000006 0.71365750000006578 51.2261429 1.0363805000000657tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1940956455116002147.post-78929250851813409862013-01-09T12:48:00.000+00:002013-01-09T16:24:30.893+00:00The cheques in the post....or is it?Now this is something that bugs me greatly (and this is Beccy writing on this occasion and I have very differing views to Mike) but when is an invoice overdue?
This is the bane of my life.
We offer 14 day payment terms. We are not a bank. Nor a credit card company. We are a business who rely on cashflow to keep us going. We offer 14 days payment terms as a matter of R L Surveyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390561017526189583noreply@blogger.com0Ashford, Kent, UK51.1464659 0.8750190000000657251.066788900000006 0.71365750000006578 51.2261429 1.0363805000000657