GoGeomatics

Tag: training

  • 43 Degrees North – Surveying and Mapping Solutions

    GoGeomatics is continuing the exploration of careers in surveying by interviewing Thomas Hoppe the founder of 43 Degrees North – Surveying and Mapping Solutions, a professional Land Surveying and Geomatics company in Ontario Canada.

    GoGeomatics: Thank you for taking the time to answer some question for our members Thomas. Can you tell us a little about 43 Degrees North? We would like to know where you are based out of and what area you service. Who are your clients for the most part? What is your team like?

    Thomas Hoppe: 43 Degrees North is situated in Cobourg Ontario in picturesque Northumberland County along the north shore of Lake Ontario. Approximately 60% of our clients are local, however, we also service key clients anywhere in the Ontario. We have provided services from the Atlantic coast in the east, James Bay in the north, Pennsylvania in the south, and Sault Saint Marie to the west. We provide a variety of geo-referenced solutions from boundary surveys, aerial photography ground support, pre-engineering surveys, construction layout, and survey training with an emphasis on GPS applications and technology. For the most part, our clients are municipal/ provincial governments, engineering firms, land developers, and land owners requiring services of a professional surveyor to support their operations.

    GoGeomatics: What makes 43 Degrees North different from the other surveyors out there? What sets you apart?

    Thomas Hoppe: I wouldn’t say 43 Degrees North is significantly different than other surveyors out there, but what does set us apart is the personal service as well as our desire and ability to utilize new technology to deliver our products and develop solutions that provide cost and time savings to our clients.

    GoGeomatics: What made you decide to become a surveyor in the first place?

    Thomas Hoppe: Well, I had dropped out of high school and after a brief stint working the factory life, I decided to improve my life by returning to school and then attending college. After the first year, I wanted to do something in the engineering field. I happened by the placement office and there was a brochure asking the question “Do you like to work outside and travel?” That drew my attention, I applied to Ryerson Polytechnic Institute and here I am. To be honest, I have lived in the USA and worked in a good portion of the USA, as well as travelled and worked in Guam, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand.

    GoGeomatics: What educational background do you have? What was training to be a surveyor like?

    Thomas Hoppe: My education as a surveyor began at Ryerson Polytechnic where I obtained a 4 year bachelor of Technology in Surveying Engineering. I then began my articles to a land surveying company and after 3.5 years and 3 professional exams later, I obtained my commission. During my training, I had to obtain training and practice in a variety of applications whilst reporting to the surveyor I worked for as well as my monitor assigned by the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors. Every 3 months, I was required to write a report on the type of jobs worked on, what specific knowledge base I was developing, and elaborate on the principles learned.

    GoGeomatics: As a professional surveyor what is an average day like?

    Thomas Hoppe: Being in private practice, I am my own boss, so my average day consists of field work which I really enjoy, research for my projects, and would include face-to-face communications with my customers as well as sitting by the computer and processing the field data to come up with my solutions to the problems of the day. This gives me a good variety of tasks during my day and week and makes the job interesting.

    GoGeomatics: What is the best part of your work as a surveyor?

    Thomas Hoppe: The best part of my work as a surveyor is the travel to different parts of the country and working on those relationships with clients where your contribution is both appreciated and valued.

    GoGeomatics: Is there a project project or contract that you have taken that was more challenging than you first expected? Can you tell us about it?

    Thomas Hoppe: One project that was very challenging the first time I attempted it was a simple Hydrographic survey on Lake Ontario. I was working with some coastal engineers on a parcel to be developed along the shore of Lake Ontario where the erosion along the shoreline needed to be considered in the development of the land. The task at first glance was simple, take soundings along the shoreline to where the average depth of water is 3 metres. What I had not anticipated was the bed of Lake Ontario – especially in this location – was primarily limestone and the way the bed had developed, the limestone was essentially a series of mesas under water. I had obtained simple digital sounding equipment linked to my GPS system, but what I didn’t anticipate was finding myself 500 metres off shore in a 13 foot flat bottom boat with a 10 hp motor. For those of you not familiar with the great lakes, the water conditions can change in 20 minutes, and the temperature of the Lake at this time of year gives you 10 – 15 minutes of survival if you decide to go for a swim. It took 3 tries, but eventually I got both the lake, weather, and boat to cooperate together and let me obtain the results.

    GoGeomatics: We would like to know what type of geomatics software and instrumentation 43 Degrees North using?

    Thomas Hoppe: 43 Degrees North utilizes the new Trimble R6 series of GNSS equipment and both a stand-alone RTK radio telemetry system and a nation-wide Real-Time Network solution where coverage is available. In addition to this, we operate the Trimble 5600 full robotic total station. The data is QA/QC’d by Trimble Business Center software and all drafting/calculations utilize Microsurvey Cad software. In the near future, we intend to start utilizing a terrestrial LIDAR.

    GoGeomatics: Many of our members are looking for their first jobs in geomatics. How did you land your first job? What was that like? Any advice for any new graduate from survey programs for today’s job market?

    Thomas Hoppe: My first job in surveying was as a third member in a field crew holding the dumb end of the chain. I tried not to let the pay and job description get me down, but I did change jobs 5 times in 2 years to steal experience until I started to article as a professional surveyor. My advice to new graduates is to get on with a company that will have you working in remote projects away from home. You will get to see the world and obtain some great experience. Don’t get yourself into a 9-5 routine, but embrace the occupation and immerse yourself into it.

    Thanks for talking to our 5,000 GoGeomatics members. To learn more about 43 Degrees North you can click http://www.43north.ca/ to visit the web site.

  • Topcon Experienced Canadian Surveyor

    Here at GoGeomatics Canada we had the opportunity to talk with Mike Strutt about surveying and his career. Mike is one of the most experienced surveyors in Canada . If you’re thinking about getting into surveying or just more about what a surveyor does this is a must read.

    GoGeomatics:  To get us started can you tell us about your current position, who you work for, and what you do?

    Mike Strutt: I work for Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. I wear a couple of hats at Topcon, managing the training and support of our GNSS Reference Network Products as well as administering several Real Time GPS Reference Networks across North America

    GoGeomatics: Mike, how did you get started as a surveyor? Where did you go to school?

    Mike Strutt: Well, like many surveyors, I got into surveying by accident – in my case, the welding class was full. After high school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in life, but figured a night school course wouldn’t hurt. After learning that my first few choices were full, I signed up for the “Plane Surveying” class. I liked the challenge, learned of a job opening and was soon making my living as a survey crewman. The following school year I registered at Algonquin College in their 3 year, Survey Technologist program.

    GoGeomatics: What do you enjoy the most about being a surveyor? What do you enjoy the least?

    Mike Strutt: I’ve been out of the field for many years now, but as a Field Officer for the Geodetic Survey of Canada (Natural Resources, Canada), I thought I had the best job in the world. I got paid to travel around the country conducting ‘geodetic control’ surveys. Of course by the late 70’s the places where such surveys were required were usually in the far north. Seems my personality fit very well the description of land measurers described by Andro Linklater in his book “Measuring America” when he wrote ”a contradiction exhibited by so many land measurers that it is almost a defining characteristic – a passion for both exact definition and for untamed wilderness.” So I suppose that what I enjoyed most, was both the challenge of the survey and the remoteness of the projects.

    And what did I like least? I think anybody that has spent any time on a field crew using conventional, optical instruments would agree that cutting line, or in Canada, digging line in the winter, sucks.

    GoGeomatics: Can you describe what an average day for you might be like?

    Mike Strutt: My majority of my days are now spent at a desk, logged onto a computer (or 2) and monitoring Real Time GPS Network operations across North America, supporting other network administrators and assisting in the expansion of new RTN’s (Real Time Networks).

    GoGeomatics: Typically what instrumentation are you using for your work?

    Mike Strutt: I still get the occasional chance to conduct field work, and I still love it. I use a couple of different GNSS (GPS and GLONASS) ‘rovers’. Both the GR3 and GRS-1 (Topcon) use internal modems and I have a wireless data plan that allows me to connect to the real time GPS network we are in the process of bringing online in Ontario. Right now we are going through the final stages of the release process for our latest version of Real Time GNSS Reference Network Management software “TopNET” and I am tasked with conducting field tests to evaluate performance.

    GoGeomatics: GoGeomatics knows that you do a lot of training for surveying. Is there a particular area of what you teach that is poorly understood?

    Mike Strutt: Good question. Before coming to Topcon almost 6 years ago, I spent 11 years teaching people to use GPS for surveying and mapping. I would have thought that by now, given the maturity and acceptance of the technology, that field technicians would understand the challenges and be proficient in the use of space based positioning. But while the technology has advanced and software enhancements have made GPS easier to use than ever, it’s still very easy to misuse. I think the 2 main areas I see today that still challenge users are datums/coordinate systems and RTK fundamentals. Both the concept of ‘what am I measuring’ and how do I represent it need to be better understood by the practitioners of real time kinematic GPS(GNSS) surveying.

    GoGeomatics: Is there a particular project that you are proud of that you worked on? Something that tested and challenged your skills?

    Mike Strutt: During my field days, all the projects I worked on for the Geodetic Survey of Canada required skill, persistence and common sense but the one that required the most diverse set of skills was, as far as I am aware, the last true ‘traversing party’ fielded by The Geodetic Survey of Canada. In the summer of 1983 we were tasked with establishing vertical control in support of mapping operations in Northern British Columbia. Pre GPS by a few years, we carried elevations over the Coast mountains from BC across the Alaskan panhandle to sea level by measuring vertical angles and distances and computing the changes in elevation from station to station using trigonometry. We flew from station to station in a Hughes 500D helicopter and over the course of 5 months we employed both traditional surveys (traversing and leveling) as well as the current ‘space based’ positioning technology of the day, Doppler (predecessor to GPS). The work was challenging and the scenery breath-taking. Our results were outstanding and it stands a project/field season I will never forget.

    GoGeomatics: What skills are you using the most as a surveyor?

    Mike Strutt: Mathematics. When I first started surveying, they said there’d be ‘no math. ’ They lied.  The other two skills, or perhaps they aren’t so much skills as traits or characteristics, are common sense and persistence. Technology is great, it’s not perfect. Too often I have run into users that run into a problem, the GPS receiver doesn’t work, or perform as expected, and they pick up the phone looking for “support”. Maybe that’s just a reflection of our ‘wired’ world and reliance on instant communications. Or maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy.

    GoGeomatics: For those thinking about becoming surveyors or transitioning into surveying from another career what basic skills do they need to bring to the discipline?

    Mike Strutt:While I think that this holds true for any discipline, an unending thirst for knowledge and an open mind will serve them well. Positioning technology is constantly evolving. It’s tough to stay current. After more than 35 years in the industry, the one thing I know for certain is, I still have a lot to learn.

    GoGeomatics: If you had any advice for someone thinking about getting into surveying what would it be?

    Mike Strutt:Start now.

    Mike Strutt

    Manager, Training & Support – Network/Infrastructure Products
    Administrator, TopNEXT GNSS Reference Networks
    Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.

    Mike began his survey career in 1974 and managed his first GPS project in 1987 while a field officer with the Geodetic Survey of Canada. Prior to joining Topcon where he now manages RTN Services, Support & Training, Mike spent in excess of 11 years and 10,000 hours delivering instruction on the use of GPS for surveying and mapping.

  • GIS Team Leader

    Today’s interview is with Pat Worsell, GIS Team Leader at Stantec in Guelph, Ontario.  Pat has worked in both the public and private GIS sectors and we were fortunate to have him share his experiences with us.

    Hi Pat.  Why did you get into Geomatics?

    I have always been interested in the fields of geography and computer technology.  I started my Geomatics training in high school where I was introduced to the field of Geomatics.  I was very interested in what Geomatics involved, so I continued to pursue this field in my post-secondary education and I took advantage of the co-operative education opportunities to explore my interests.

    I read your profile on “LinkedIn.”  I see you’ve had a lot of Geomatics experience working for municipalities.  What did you enjoy most about working in this type of environment?

    My work experience in Geomatics first began working for municipalities.  The job opportunities came from the co-operative education program offered through the University of Waterloo.  These opportunities allowed me to explore my interests in using Geomatics in the workplace.  I really enjoyed working with engineers creating solutions using GIS and using the skill sets that I developed in my university studies.  I also developed an interest in municipal transportation services, particularly with transportation infrastructure at the City of Toronto and transportation strategic planning at the City of Ottawa.

    You mentioned that you “integrated existing city applications with GIS data to enhance applications with spatial capabilities.”  Could you give us some examples of the types of applications you enhanced?

    At the City of Toronto, most of my duties involved integrating the transportation infrastructure GIS datasets with the City’s Municipal Pavement Management Application (MPMA).  The MPMA is a database application which stores every piece of information regarding the pavement conditions and construction contracts that are involved with every section of road in the city.  I had to link the GIS with the MPMA using a unique identifier so that the MPMA could illustrate the section of road the MPMA user is viewing – and vice versa if a GIS user wants to link the MPMA dataset with the GIS dataset to create and distribute maps for engineers for meetings and work reports.

    Could you tell us what a typical day for you is like at Stantec?

    I am currently the GIS Team Leader for all of the projects that require GIS services in the office.  The office that I work at is involved in Environmental Management, and there are approximately 50 on-going projects that the office is working on, and about half involve GIS services.  It is my responsibility to make sure that all of the GIS requirements and deliverables are met on time and on budget with my two co-workers.  The work environment and turnaround times are usually at a very fast pace and it is my duty to make sure that our GIS services are delivered with the best quality possible with the time we are given.

    You are currently involved in leading the GIS services for many on-going renewable energy projects.  Could you tell us more about one that you find particularly interesting?

    My answer has to be limited and cannot involve anything specific regarding projects that I have been working, or have worked on.  The project that I have found most interesting is the Port Dover and Nanticoke Wind Farm project.  This was one of my first renewable energy projects that I have worked on that involved several hours of GIS analysis.  It also allowed me to get involved with client needs and what their expectations were for the GIS deliverables.  This developed a solid foundation to learn what the GIS requirements entail for the environmental assessment for future renewable energy projects for our office.

    Which software packages have you used most often?

    I have used the entire ArcGIS suite throughout my Geomatics career – I am currently using ArcGIS 10.  I have also used Intergraph Geomedia Professional and AutoCAD for some of my work.

    Do you have any advice for recent graduates looking for their first GIS job?

    It is very important to keep in touch with the latest Geomatics technology and to keep your skill-set sharp for the job market – the more you can bring to a job, the better.  Do not limit to yourself to a particular job interest – your interests are very important, but recent graduates must start with a foundation and then you will have the opportunity to explore in taking your career in several directions as you gain more experience in the workplace.

    What type of non GIS related skills are most valuable for an employee in your industry?

    It is extremely important to keep a positive attitude and be able to communicate and network with people in the workplace and with clients, if your job entails you.  It is very important to keep a positive relationship with your co-workers and your clients, because it will make your job experience worthwhile.

    Thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts with GoGeomatics Pat!

    To learn more about Stantec, please visit their website: Stantec.com

  • Survey Crew Chief / Geomatics Technician

    Survey Crew Chief / Geomatics Technician

    This section of our website is where we focus on the various different career disciplines that make up the Geomatics industry. This is good for young people who may be thinking about getting involved in the Geomatics business, for someone thinking of a career change or for those that just want to learn more about Geomatics.

    We would like to introduce Wendy Innes, a graduate of Marine Geomatics program at COGS to help better explain and define what a Survey Crew Chief role could be.

    So welcome Mrs. Innes to GoGeomatics …

    What is your title and how long have you been in that position?

    I am currently a Survey Crew Chief/ Geomatics Tech. I normally run a crew in the field, however, I am also one of the only crew chief that is trained to work in the office as a Geomatics Tech so when it slows down in the field they usually pull me from the field and get me working in the office. Better to do that then to sit at home doing nothing waiting for work.

    What was your previous position?

    I was a rodman (field assistant)

    Where did you acquire your geomatics skills?

    I have Advanced Diplomas in Marine Geomatics and Applied Geomatics Research from COGS. Also some additional courses from SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and U of C.Can you tell us what a typical day for you is like?

    Can you tell us what a typical day for you is like?

    When I’m in the office I am usually processing field data then calcing plans mostly well sites and pipeline righ of ways. When I’m in the field everyday is different. You usually wake up in a hotel or a camp, very rarely do we work from home. Spend the day surveying could be many different types of work pipelines, well sites, pipeline construction etc… At the end of the day you return back to your hotel download your data finish your notes, time sheets and other paperwork and send it all into the office. Then you do it all over again the next day.

    Where would you like to be in your career 5 years from now and how will you make that happen?

    In 5 years I hope to be an Alberta Land Surveyor. I have been writing my Canadian board exams and have completed 12 of the 13, I got credit for 5 from previous schooling, I took classes at SAIT and U of C to get credit for 3 and the others I studied for on my own and challenged the exams. Once I get my last exam out of the way I will begin the articling process. This requires 3 professional exams, a certain amount of field time, a certain amount of office time and several reports.

    What skill set do you use the most in your job?

    Working in the field math skills are important for surveying and caculations, communication skills and organizational skills are also very important as we are always dealing with different landowners, clients, environmentalists etc…

    You also need to be physically fit. We can work long shifts, up to 24 days in remote areas where you may require lots of walking carrying gear, snowmobiling, snowshoeing or quading etc… Also, need to be able to work in many different kind of conditions (-40 to +40 and everything in between?)

    What equipment/software do you use most day to day?

    While working in the field I use mostly RTK with some conventional total station work. Our office uses Trimble RTK systems and Leica total stations. You also have to be pretty computer literate because all of our data is digital and everything gets sent to the office nightly because we are usually away from town. When working in the office you need to be proficient in Microsoft Excel, Mircrosurvey and autocad. There are many other little programs we run to process data etc. but many of these have been programmed by our employees to just do what we need them to do for us.

    Is there a skill set you looking at expanding or learning in the future?

    I feel I am constantly learning because of software changes and newer and better technologies etc… I just learn them as I go.

    How do you feel about the future of our industry today?

    We are currently experiencing a slow down with the current recession, most of our work is in the oil field so our company is starting to branch off into other areas such as construction and powerline surveys. However, it is starting to pick up and we are anticipating more work this year starting around the 3rd quarter.Do you have any advice for someone interested in becoming a “Manager Software Engineering”

    Be a self-starter and be prepared to learn. GNSS is at the cross roads of Electronics, Physics, Mathematics, Manufacturing, and customer usability. It is a true cross functional discipline and requires that individuals within it are able to learn new technology quickly and adapt to rapidly changing trends.

    Do you have any advice for someone interested in becoming a “Survey Crew Chief / Geomatics Technician”?

    I would suggest going to a college over a University for your geomatics training if you are planning on working in the field. You get so much more hands on experience with the different pieces of equipment you’ll encounter in the field such as different RTK systems and total stations.

    [image source: tmackinnon.com]

    We would also remind you that GoGeomatics is your best place to help you build and network your own professional Geomatics career and encourage you to get involved in the discussions on the GoGeomatics Forum.

    If you or someone you know is involved in Geomatics and would like to share your experiences with us then we would love for you to contact us.