Authors 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.

You buy that fancy new piece of kit which the salesman has told you will save a day and a half on a two day job.  So based on standard surveys and 1000 points a day a survey that would have taken 4-5 days, instead takes 1-2 days.  Big difference in price, and the quandry.  Price at 1-2 days win the work but don't get the real benefit of the kit, price at 4-5 days to get the cost benefit of the new kit but risk losing the work.  Either way the office time remains constant.  It is a problem faced by all survey firms at one time or another, and whilst we'd all like to say we held firm on price and pocketed the time saving it never  happens because there is alwaus someone willing to slash their prices to win the work...the race to the bottom.  If all survey firms toe the same party line and reap the benefits of a fast survey time then everything is fine but in an increasingly competive industry you'll never get everyone on the same page.  So to coin a phrase - 'the choice is yours'.

This keep it cheap or lose the work mentality is now leading to great industry wide problems.  The demand for Surveyors is increasing, but firms cannot pay their Surveyors more because the price squeeze from a competitive market means the cuts have to be made somewhere.  The resulting cost saving often comes at the expense of staff training or pay rises.   Eventually we will be doing jobs at cost, with no room for error just in an effort to win the work and stay afloat.....

Now fast forward ten years, you have a little more grey hair and a lot more wrinkles after battling to stay in the industry, whilst maintaining a solid work/life balance, and ensuring the standards you've set yourself haven't dropped.  How has the industry changed?  There are a few more 'independent' survey firms out there along with a usual number of high profile names, and a wide selection in the medium size companies each within their own little bubble.  The big difference is the age of the Surveyors, the industry is evolving, technology is changing, but the people in that industry are just ten years older, the pool of new talent coming in is slowly evaporating as people look to more lucrative careers in other areas within the sector, or in a totally different sector, or a completely different country .  Our talent pool has been supplemented with skilled overseas (mainly European) workers who are more than able to take on the work and succeed.

Wham (no not the group) Brexit happens, does this mean the European talent pool will soon be harder to access, and that slowly evaporating home grown talent pool has got even smaller?  What will it all mean - answers on a postcard to 10 Downing Street!?

For those of us in the industry on the wrong side of 40 it probably won't be an issue, but you might see your fees go up as the demand for Surveyors far out strips the available supply...happy days.  The knock on effect of this supply/demand issue is higher fees, therefore higher salaries, thus that evaporating talent pool will start to fill up again as Land Surveying looks to be better financial proposition.....and the cycle starts all over again!!!

Ride out the strom, good times are coming faster than you might think.

Blogged 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 here goes.....

Over the coming year look out for the following:-

1) Surveying at Speed - A look at the advantage and disadvantages of drones and laser scanning.

2) Another Box Ticked...but is it worth it - Looking into the relevance of some specifications

3) After the Surveyor has gone - more of a retrospective look at a few sites we have worked on to see what has happened since.

4) Authors of Our Own Downfall - with a growing shortage of Land Surveyors available do we only have ourselves to blame?

It's out there now I'm commiting to a quarterly blog, I would ask for submission of other papers but I feel it will fall of deak ears.

For more information on the services R L Surveys can offer please visit our website at www.rlsurveys.co.uk, or for a more relaxed view we can be found on Facebook, or Twitter.  We are also on LinkedIn, so pop along and say hi. #rls

Supporting the Local Community

An area I'm sure we all agree with, but putting ideals into practise is a far more difficult affair!  For a smaller company defining local community is a simple affair, but as you grow the communities you could be involved with also grows.

What are the true options available?  There are the very business orientated routes such as employing local suppliers & employing staff from the local community, but in both these instances there is always the underlying consideration of economics.  Why buy local when a supplier from out of area can provide at a lower cost, and what if the staff with the skills you need are not based locally?

From a much more out going stand point you have to look at considerations such as doing work for local charities either at no cost or at a considerable discount.  This is an option we have gone down in the past when working for certain charities.  Then next option might be supporting local schools in their career programmes, offering work experience to teenagers in  half terms breaks or offering talks on the industry in schools (this should possibly be a demise of the RICS or CICES).  Finally you could sponsor local events such as fireworks displays,summers fairs, sponsor local leagues, or even a roundabout!  The problem with the sponsorship options is the lack of return on an investment - it would generally be done out of sheer good will, with the slim possibility it might lead to more.

For many years I have played table tennis in Medway, Maidstone & Ashford.  Currently I am only playing in the Maidstone league for Hillreed Homes.  The firm sponsor the local league, cover all the costs of entering their teams, and provide a venue for the home matches.  The firm have a very long and successful affiliation with the league, but recent developments mean a nationwide house builder have brought the firm and it will lead to their withdrawal from the league in any capacity.  What this means for the league only time will tell, and I'm sure alternative sponsors will be sought to assist the league financially (and in many other ways).  What is certainly true is that the league/local community has benefited from the company support, and may suffer as a result.  But the support was purely to support the league, there was no true financial benefit to the company beyond a small amount of publicity, and the odd blog!

Perhaps it is any area every business should be required to help in, part of the big community - I seem to be turning conservative!!!!

Food for thought, and make sure you watch out for our first sponsored event!!  But for now you can find out more about R L Surveys through our website, or follow us through Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.  Failing that we can always be reached on 01233 800109.

2012 - Still on Target?

2012 is our first full calender year of trading and, like most companies, we had SMART targets.  Oh yes I have been on those courses as well where you get deluged with acronyms.  Clearly some is getting through as our targets had been established, although there will be some overlap with calender and financial years lets see how we are doing....

1. Facebook Likes Target: 100, by July 2013. Currently 68
2. Linkedin Connections Target 300, by July 2013.  Currently 328
3. Twitter (@RLSurveys) Followers Target 200, by July 2013.  Currently 208
4. Blogger Views Target 1000, by end of 2012. Currently 1342
5. Topo Survey Enquiries Target 100, for 2012.  Currently 96
6. All survey enquiries Target 200, for 2012.  Currently 150
7. Set Up ISO9001, by end of 2nd years trading - Done
8. Achieve STEMS Silver, by end of 2nd years trading - Done
9. Maintain job tender to success ratio above 50% - TBC

So looking back at those figures we are looking pretty good for Year 2, although it does mean our goals and targets for 2013 need to be higher because achieving most of your goals with ease might be a good confidence boost but it is a little bit of hollow victory (see England v San Marino!!).

Out of the nine targets, five are already completed, one verging on completion, one will not be known until the end of the year, and two looking like coming up short - so if you're reading this and haven't liked us on Facebook pop over to www.facebook.com/rlsurveys and help us on the way, or better still if you have a survey that needs doing find our contact details on www.rlsurveys.co.uk, fifty tenders in two months it's a long shot but anything is possible!

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 LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter (@RLSurveys).

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 Facebook, LinkedIN, 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.

Discovering East Kent

The sun wasn't out and the sky wasn't blue, but at least it wasn't raining!!  Off on a day trip with the photographer to try and gather some images of our website - the general remit to highlight the Kent countryside with a business tilt towards Surveying - and here are some of the results.

The day started badly, in attempts to reach the Wye crown we wandered off the wrong way (not a good advertisement for a Surveyor!!), and with the weather looking ominous we decided to accept the views for a few photos and move on inland towards Canterbury to try and get a few images showing the cathedral and surrounding streets - much more successful this time we found the cathedral!!  Although we did manage to get a statue operating the instrument!!?

From Canterbury we meandered across to Deal for the pier & boats along the shingle beach, and with patches of blue sky things were looking up.  A few arty shots later along the beach we moved on down to coast towards Dover and the delights of the seafront/castle via a quiet beach for the 'pensive' shots.

Dover led us on to Samphire Hoe, and then down to Rye (OK East Sussex not Kent but close enough), before coming back to Ashford.  Does anyone know of somewhere other than International House where you can get a good shot of Ashford, we tried the beacon view point on Singleton Hill, and round the back of the Village Hall in Great Chart but the trees have grown up so much you can't really get a good view.

We achieved the Downs, the Beaches, the Cathedrals, the Castles, the Windmills, the coastline, the cities, and the business centre Ashford (not THE business centre, but our business centre).

Perhaps next time we'll take a different tour covering the joys of West & North Kent, so any landmarks or suggestions would be greatly received.

More images from our day out will gradually appear through our website, and Facebook.  Your feedback on them will be gratefully received and passed on.

As always more details of the services we offer can be found at www.rlsurveys.co.uk, or you can keep in touch with us on Twitter (@RLSurveys), Facebook & LinkedIN.

Our Product

All these blogs and we have been concentrating on the business element of the work, but the important factor is the final product, as reputation is everything, and repeat business is your best source of income.  So what do we produce:-

Topographical Surveys or Land Surveys: 1:200 Survey Plans

Measured Building Surveys: Floor Plans & Elevations

It is impossible to get the true feeling for a survey from a tiny image on screen but is does give a good idea of what we produce, and we like to think that this is a product that will constantly be evolving.  Albeit some of the improvements will be in the stages leading up to this point, but any suggestions you might have on the presentation please let us know so we might incorporate them into the third presentation revision.  Till now the ideas have been solely ours, and great pains have been taken to avoid deliberately copying the format of any styles used by any of our former employers but the natural development of the product may take us that way anyway.

Please keep checking back as new products and services will gradually be added, but with less than a year on the books our pool of examples is limited (yet fairly diverse within themselves).


More details of the services we offer, and examples of our work can be found at www.rlsurveys.co.uk, or you can keep in touch with us on LinkedIn, Facebook (www.facebook.com/rlsurveys) & Twitter (@RLSurveys).

Late Payments?

Is there an easy solution to this problem - should you stick to your guns and chase payment religiously the minute payment is overdue? Is temperance a better approach to take with a few reminder e-mails before cranking up the heat a little? Should additional fees be raised immediately?

From a business perspective we try to pay all of our bills on the payment date (granted never early). We do this to keep control over our cash flow, and maintain a professional stance. From experience there is no pattern to who are the late payments companies people - it could be anyone.

Touch wood so far we have very few instances to chase payment, and of the four occasions we have had to chase only one has proved to be an on going problem. At what point should we defer to a debt collection agency - and is this the only recourse?

Update: Threat of debt collection seems to work, but we have found a number of solicitors offering a fee chase service. For a small fee they will send out a professional chasing letter on their headed paper. Worth remembering!

Any thoughts on that one - suggestions and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

For further information about my company please visit www.rlsurveys.co.uk, or visit our facebook page. Alternative you could follow us on twitter (RLSurveys).