News and Events

Debra Oakes Debra Oakes

Public Works - key to civilization

What does the term “Public Works” mean? It’s one of those terms that are so broad that it almost defies definition.

The American Public Works Association (APWA) says “Because of the multi-faceted, ever-evolving nature of public works, we may never arrive at a final definition but, for now, the following definition seems appropriate: Public works is the combination of physical assets, management practices, policies, and personnel necessary for government to provide and sustain structures and services essential to the welfare and acceptable quality of life for its citizens.”

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Debra Oakes Debra Oakes

RFID + GIS = SUE Enhancement

Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) that leverages Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) deliver substantial benefits in the management and protection of underground assets.

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Kari Campbell Kari Campbell

RFID - technology that keeps on giving

We’ve all heard of RFID, a technology that’s been around since the 1930s. Did you know that it’s now one of the fastest-growing technologies in the world?

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Debra Oakes Debra Oakes

Breaking News at the CGA Expo

April is Safe Digging Month ‒ for good reason. As the construction season ramps up, the number of utility strikes increases. According to the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), damages to underground utilities cost the U.S. an estimated $30 billion ‒ most caused by unintended strikes to utilities during excavation for construction projects. Unfortunately, few people are aware of this on-going problem until they lose power or internet when a backhoe strikes a cable – or when a gas line is struck, and the area is evacuated.

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Kari Campbell Kari Campbell

Exciting trends point to a great 2023

Money, Money, Money

Infrastructure is no longer an ignored necessity in the United States. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed in 2021, our country is making a once-in-a-lifetime investment in its economic backbone to the tune of $1.2 trillion over five years. In 2022, 6,900 specific projects have been launched in 4,000 communities in all 50 states.

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Debra Oakes Debra Oakes

National 811 Day - little known but important!

It’s National 811 Day – a very important, but little-known commemoration. Anyone who is planning to disturb the ground should call this number before digging or excavating – or go to call811.com and connect online. Once you provide the area of excavation, locators will come out and mark the location of buried gas pipes, water lines, power cables and other underground utilities.

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Kari Campbell Kari Campbell

Marking and Mapping - Two-factor Verification for Underground Locating

It’s spring and construction is booming . . . hopefully with fewer actual “booms”, caused by utility strikes. Safe digging is something that’s near and dear to surveyors and any profession that involves excavation. As I mentioned in my last blog, preventable utility strikes cost at least $60 billion annually, not to mention the loss of life and life-altering injuries that can occur.

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Debra Oakes Debra Oakes

Blossoming Blooms

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) are occurring more and more frequently in lakes, rivers, streams and coastal areas across the United States. Further, HABs are occurring where they were never found in the past. View a map from the Natural Resources Defense Council that tracks HABs across the United States.

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News Kari Campbell News Kari Campbell

Today is GIS Day!

Most people don’t really think about how geographic information provides the framework for our entire existence. We exist as living organisms in time and space. Our minds may be occupied with far-way thoughts, but our memories are inextricably tied to the place where they were created. As long as we live and breathe, we always have a location. Shakespeare’s Hamlet said “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Surveyors say, “To be is to occupy a position relative to two axes.”

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Debra Oakes Debra Oakes

Emily Pierce Joins Berntsen as Business Development Manager

Berntsen International, Inc., is pleased to announce that Emily Pierce, former president of the Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors, is Berntsen’s new Business Development Manager. With decades of experience as a surveyor and leader, Emily brings in-depth knowledge of the art of surveying; her on-going contributions to the profession of surveying are welcomed and supported by Berntsen.

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News Debra Oakes News Debra Oakes

Surveying the future with RFID

Next, we deploy our drone outfitted with GNSS, a magnetic locator and RFID transceiver to hover over each monument coordinates to confirm the existing monuments and search for any missing monuments.

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InfraMarker Kari Campbell InfraMarker Kari Campbell

Disasters Underscore Critical Need for Connected Utility Infrastructure

On Sept. 14, 2018, Hurricane Florence slammed into the Carolinas, bringing with her powerful winds, torrential rains and the potential to wreak catastrophic destruction. Though Florence was downgraded to a Category 1 storm as it moved over land, its high winds and rain toppled trees, triggered massive flooding and caused power transformers to explode like fireworks, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. More than 40 people have died as a result of the storm and flooding. ­­

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