News and Events

Debra Oakes Debra Oakes

Damage prevention saves lives and money

April is recognized by Congress and most Governors across the U.S. as National Safe Digging Month as shovels (and backhoes) hit the ground for a busy season. It’s well known that excavation is a dangerous business. Excavation strikes on public utility lines lead to more than 2,000 injuries and 400 deaths each year[1]. The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) states that accidental utility strikes cost the U.S. at least $30 billion annually, based on self-reported data by stakeholders and state 811 call centers. And it looks like things are getting worse, not better.

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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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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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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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News Debra Oakes News Debra Oakes

A Dam-aging Stormwater Report Card from ASCE

Urban flooding results in more than $9 billion in damages annually, while federal funding to support stormwater maintenance/upgrades averages about $250 million annually. It’s not surprising that stormwater infrastructure is in bad shape and has earned a grade of “D” from the ASCE.

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News Debra Oakes News Debra Oakes

It's World Creativity and Innovation Day

The United Nations passed a resolution creating this day to celebrate the creative economy, which actually makes a lot of sense, considering the entire world is just beginning to come out of a pandemic that really forced us all to get creative just to do our jobs.

Fortunately, surveyors have made creativity a way of life. It seems like we have a pretty straightforward job – use our tools to verify property lines, monitor structures for movement over time, lay out the lines for construction, etc.

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News Debra Oakes News Debra Oakes

GIS Day is November 18

Little did I know that dusty old geography would become the one of the most interesting (and explosively-growing) fields in science. Today Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is shaking up the world of geography – and statistics, data analysis, spatial data, modeling, geostatistics, cartography, data integration, GPS – and on and on.­

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News Debra Oakes News Debra Oakes

811 - Essential to Call Before You Dig

Earlier this week we commemorated National 811 Day. On August 11 we were reminded to call 811 (or visit call811.com) before digging – in our yards or at a construction site. This simple reminder has saved lives and repair costs by preventing accidental damage to power lines, gas lines and other buried utilities during excavation.

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News Debra Oakes News Debra Oakes

Mapping the Grand Canyon - the challenge that took a century

The history of Grand Canyon mapping and surveying is almost as convoluted as the canyon itself. The task requires vision, a special set of skills, determination, money, endurance and luck - nevertheless, many explorers and surveyors have accepted the challenge and produced some of the most beautiful maps ever created.

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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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