Ambassador Spotlight ‘Frédéric Baril’

Welcoming Frédéric Baril our latest Brand Ambassador from Quebec, Canada! Let’s learn some more about him:

How did you get into surveying? I love technology, science, and math, which is why I became a land surveyor! 📏

What are your plans as a Brand Ambassador? I’m passionate about education and committed to promoting my profession. In addition to my work as a land surveyor, I dedicate myself to raising awareness of this profession among young people at various events. 🎓

I’m also part of the Innovators of the Technoscience Network, a network I absolutely love! 💡 I’m also a mentor for Academos. 🧑‍🏫

Currently, I offer a conference on the profession of land surveying and the field of geomatics, specifically designed for high school students. It’s called La Géomatique. La Géomaquoi? 🎥

As an ambassador for Get Kids Into Survey, even though I mainly speak and present in French, I want to introduce young people to the world of Get Kids Into Survey by incorporating various digital resources and tons of information on the geospatial field into my conference. 🌍 I want to show them that, yes, there is a lot of information in English, but it’s incredibly relevant and exciting for them! 🌟

Tell us a bit about what you do? My life at work…

Fieldwork

The first step in my job is to give instructions to a team of technicians about the special details of a project. If I don’t go to the field myself, I need to do something called immediate monitoring. This means I check what’s been done while I was away, either by looking at photos or notes taken by the technicians.

In the field, we use very advanced and precise instruments to collect all the information we need for my later analysis. 📋👨‍💼🔍

Research

The second step is research. This involves a lot of things. I need to look for information about the history of the land, read old maps and legal documents from the 1800s, newer plans, and documents about rules for buildings, landslide zones, and flood zones. In short, I check a bunch of sources to find very specific information that will help me in the next steps. 📚🔍📜

Analysis and Opinion

The third step is analysis. This is when I put everything together: what was measured in the field in step one and what I found during research in step two. This is when the math, science, and problem-solving come into play. The first task in this step is to give my opinion about property boundaries. What does that mean? It means I have to figure out exactly where a piece of land is, using math and science based on all the documents I have.

Once I give my opinion about the boundaries, I need to apply all the rules and laws I found during my research. Is there a flood zone? Yes, I’ll show it on the map! Is the house too close to the road? Yes, unfortunately. I’ll mention it in my report! 🏡📐📝

Documents and Advice

This step is the heart of my work, and that’s why I’m part of a professional order. The documents I create, like the property certificate I mentioned earlier, are special documents only professionals like me can make.

This is also when the advice part of my job comes in. I advise my clients on what steps to take to solve their problems, complete their projects, or explain my findings in the documents and why I made certain decisions. 💼📄🔍

Anything else you’d like to add? What exactly is a land surveyor in Quebec?

You’re kind of like a detective for land. When someone wants to buy a piece of land, you do research to check if there are any problems with it.

You use special tools to take measurements, check if the land’s dimensions are correct, and make sure people aren’t taking up more land than they should.

This is super important because, for many people, buying land or a house is the biggest purchase of their life. They need to know if everything is good to go. You also check if, for example, the house is placed correctly on the land, if it’s not too close to the road, or if the pool isn’t too close to the neighbor. All these things are governed by rules and laws. 📜🔍🏡

Now, what’s the name of the key document that covers all of this? It’s called the “certificat de localisation” (certificate of location)! What’s it for? It’s a very important document used when selling land or a house. It’s kind of like when you go to the doctor for an annual check-up. 📝

The certificat de localisation is the health report of a piece of land. In this document, you show the land, the buildings, natural features, and more. The certificat de localisation also includes a report where you talk about different points you need to check.

It’s a document that protects people, especially during a land or house sale. 🛡️

So, that’s one of the things you can do in your job. 🌟