Ambassador Spotlight ‘Beau Winfrey’

Introducing our Brand Ambassador Beau Winfrey from Oklahoma, USA

Where did you study?

I received a Bachelor of Science in Geography from the University of Oklahoma. I was previously enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program, but worked for a land surveying company during the summers and part-time through the school year.

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area?

Oklahoma currently requires a minimum “core” list of surveying courses to be completed prior to approval to sit for the exams, however a 2 or 4 year degree is preferred and requires less experience if obtained.

How did you get into surveying?

I lucked into a summer job as a “pack mule” for a survey crew after my freshman year of university. I quickly realized that I preferred the survey end of the building to the engineer end of the building when I couldn’t be working outside.

How long have you been in the industry?

I started in June of 2000, so nearing 21 years in the career, 10 as a PLS.

Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention?

I am a member of the Oklahoma Society of Land Surveyors (OSLS) and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS).

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador?

I wish someone had told me about surveying at a younger age. I enjoyed my trigonometry and geometry and geography and history classes. Surveying ties in with all of those interests. I also benefited from a few great mentors in my scholastic and professional career and would really enjoy passing on some of my knowledge and putting the satisfaction that a career in surveying has brought into my life on display.

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry?

I think there are a lot of people who would choose surveying as a career path if they knew it existed and knew that it was obtainable. I spent several years studying to be an engineer because I didn’t know that surveying was a real career path. Due to the boon of technological advances our profession has seen over just the last decade even if they become interested in the geospatial industry as a whole, I believe that benefits everyone.

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS?

As a Parkhill employee, we are encouraged to take part in all types of community outreach. Because of that we make time to participate in events that enrich our community. We do a “touch a truck” style event as part of Public Works Week and our storm water division does outreach with local schools and youth organizations as well. I plan to include a short talk about the role surveying plays in their operations when they do their presentations as well as set up other presentations separately to talk about how surveying and other geospatial play a role in their community and how it was built and functions. I was very active in Boy Scouts growing up and would like to get involved in that world again. My daughter is old enough and interested in some type of scouting, so I anticipate my involvement will begin sooner rather than later.

What are your hobbies?

I enjoy day hiking, car camping, puzzles, and DIY projects. I especially enjoy sharing these activities with my family. We have a pipe dream of visiting every national park in the United States.

If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be?

I enjoy tromping around outdoors and solving a good puzzle, so I would say a cross between Grizzly Adams and Sherlock Holmes looking through the records, observing evidence in the field with the multitude of tools at my disposal, then utilizing experience and knowledge with the aid of GIS or drafting software to find a solution to the many varying requests that I get from almost every single department and division within the city government. Often times the hardest part of my job is determining how to use the available tools and evidence to get everything to fit into place.

What poster or resource would you like to see next from GKiS?

I would say an agriculture, wind and/or solar farm, or neighbourhood development related poster or lesson would be a great addition to the already impressive collection.

Anything else you want to add that you think our audience (surveyors, teachers, parents) would be interested in?

I think most land surveyors need to see themselves as specialists in the geospatial realm. There are very few surveyors who would not benefit from collaborating with our neighbours in the geospatial industry.

Character Spotlight ‘Safety Apparel LLC’

Introducing Matthew Stansberry, creator of the famous Party Chief Survey Vests! Let’s find out some more about him and his company:

Company Name – Safety Apparel LLC 

Location – Seattle WA USA 

Why did you get involved in Get Kids into Survey? I believe the children are our future,  teach them well and let them lead the way

What do you do? Land Surveyor and business owner

How long have you been in the Survey Industry? Since 2004

How did you get into the Industry? Friends were surveyors and one was a LS

Funny Fact about you: I’m a prankster and love to goof on other Surveyors

Favourite piece of kit and why? The good ol Plumb Bob. It’s an ancient and a lost art that needs to be utilized more

Favourite Survey technique and why?  Using the total station with robotics so we can chat and joke while getting the job done

Your website: www.safetyapparel.us

How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name? The character is me wearing my vest. Elaine thought it was a great idea for me to use photos of myself to represent my company. The BluBlocker sunglasses are hilarious and it tips you off to my personality.

My First Day Surveying

Follow along as team member Erin Hull experiences her first time surveying!

I arrived on site at a Yorkshire Water treatment site (not as smelly as you’d predict- fyi!) to meet Joe Haines and another work experience guy Louis, who I’d be spending the day with. The task set was to install a control network. This is so the construction company can use these points for site setting out works. Basically making sure everything is in the correct places.

To begin with we went through a safety talk and site walk to ensure we were fully up to speed with the rules and regulations. This included wearing full PPE (hi-vis, glasses, steel toe capped boots, hard hat and gloves), we also carried round some gas monitors with us as the ammonia levels on site could fluctuate. 

Firstly, we hammered some markers in the ground and spray painted around them with their numbers. Around the boundary of the site there were 8 points, ensuring that we could see a clear path back and forth to the previous point (so that the equipment could connect, ‘see’ each other as I like to think).  

The two first points need to be a ‘known’ location so this requires the GNSS system. The GPS communicates with the satellites (see picture) to get the exact location of our point. With this it calculates the distance and angles between the two known, in order for us to apply this to all the other points on site.

There is a reason that the GPS isn’t used to calculate all the points, but instead the total station and laser scanner come out. This has 3-4mm error range whereas the GPS has plus or minus 30mm accuracy! So better results with total station, which is very useful for everyone on site.

For each point onwards the total station needed to be levelled, this was done firstly using the eye tool. What was cool about the SX10 was there was a camera on the bottom which allowed you to see when the scanner lined up exactly over the point in the ground. This was a little challenging as you then have to level the top part too using 3 twisty rounds (the sighting and the trunnion). Once nearly perfect we measure the height of the scanner from the ground and walk away to the next point.

At the following point we align the SX10 to clock onto the prism (picture) at a height of 0.100m. Here the SX10 takes two measurements, turning 180 degrees for the second to reduce error. This method is called traversing (going back and forth taking measurements).

For a couple of points where fences etc were in the way, we used a different prism with a total station. This has higher accuracy rather than extending the pole with the other prism.

So there you have it, my first surveying experience! I learnt so much, which will hopefully continue through the following months/years! Play it forward and teach someone you know or a local school about the joys of the geospatial industry… email erin@getkidsintosurvey.com to be added to our waitlist for the use of our presentation (aimed at 8-12 year olds).

Character Spotlight ‘SEAM Surveys’

Welcome to SEAM Surveys who are our latest sponsor for the soon to be released Australia Poster!

Company Name SEAM Surveys

LocationAustralia & New Zealand

Why did you get involved in Get Kids into Survey? We have worked with high schools to explain what surveying is for a while now BUT… GKiS can spread the word about how COOL surveying is to kids of all ages!! Our partners MOONYAH are partnering SEAM to work with Indigenous students which is why the First Australians’ Survey Poster was so exciting!  

What do you do? We like to explain it as “We Measure Everything” from up in the air, on the ground, underground and even underwater to help people build important things like roads, buildings and mining operations. We use 4×4 trucks, boats, drones (helicopters and planes), lasers plus supercomputers with the latest technology and programs.   

How long have you been in the Survey Industry? SEAM has been around for 11 years, but our team members are both young and old have been surveying for between 1 year and 30 years!

How did you get into the Industry? Most of our team wanted to work outside and also with computers, so they did a surveying course or started a traineeship with a survey company.

Funny Fact about the youOur team travel all over Australia and they can live wherever they want. Even on the other side of our country. So they get to see lots of things that most others will never see working just near home.

Favourite piece of kit and why? Laser Scanners – they create a “3-Dimensional World” exactly the same as the real world of everything you can see and they do it super-fast. Measuring over 1 million laser shots per second! We can send this model to people all over the world to help build big projects for tomorrow.

Favourite Survey technique and why? Underground Surveying – because it’s exciting and different doing our job in the dark and still managing to get it all done!  

Your website: www.seamsurveys.com.au

How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name? Our Characters are Saia & Anthony –important to us because they are Indigenous Role Models. These two brothers played for the “Wallabies” our National Rugby Team and help mentor other indigenous people including through surveying with Seam!

 

What is Surveying?

What is Surveying?

NOUN

  • the profession or work of examining and recording the area and features of a piece of land so as to construct a map, plan, or detailed description of it.
    “a chartered surveyor has acquired a practical knowledge of surveying” ·

Surveying has been around for hundreds of thousands of years.  Surveyors and Engineers would have been used to build the Egyptian Pyramids and even to find the Titanic.  A surveyor uses maths and geography as part of his or her tool kit.

Perfectly described by RICSSurveyors keep traffic flowing, water running and people moving. They shape our roads, bridges and tunnels, our skyscrapers, stations and stadiums. They work in mines and in fields, on cliffs and on beaches. They value the houses we live in and the places we work in. They create safer homes and happier communities. 

And they’re busy shaping our future too: helping to regenerate deprived areas and planning smart cities connected by the Internet of Things, while pioneering safer, more sustainable and more environmentally friendly building methods.

Surveyors work closely with a wide range of people: architects and engineers, bankers and ecologists, town planners and property developers. And they use the latest technologies: flying drones to map land and measure buildings, creating virtual reality models of buildings, and using Big Data to tackle global issues like climate change, migration and urbanisation.

There are more than 100 varied career roles across the surveying profession in three main sectors: construction and infrastructure; property; and land”.

 

Did You Know: In the 1860’s an English surveyor, William Matthew Flinders Petrie, surveyed the great pyramid in an evident attempt to show that its measurements were related to the English system of measurement and that the pyramids had been built in feet and inches.

 

How did surveying start?

There is some evidence of boundary surveying from as early as 1400 BC from along the valleys and plains of the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. There is also a representation of land measurement on the wall of a tomb at Thebes which show the measuring of a grainfield with a rope with knots or marks at regular intervals (head and rear chainmen).

In 325 BC the Greeks had to use a long line to record distances along the coast. Useful for when they were making their voyages from the Indus to the Persian Gulf. The Greeks also possibly originated the use of the groma, a device used to establish right angles, however, Roman surveyors made this a standard tool. 

Soon after the magnetic compass was brought in by the Arab traders. Followed by the astrolabe (measuring the altitudes and elevation of stars), the first odometer, the plane table, and the development of graphic triangulation and intersection. Read more on the history of surveying here.

 

If you’re looking for great education and fun content for your child to learn about the geospatial industry – find it here!  Get Kids into Survey is owned and run by Elaine Ball Ltd.  A team on a mission to #Getkidsintosurvey and to save the industry globally!

Ambassador Spotlight ‘Alice Gadney’

Please say hello to our fantastic Brand Ambassador Alice Gadney AKA Captain Alice!

 

What do you do? I am a Cartographer and studied as a geologist.

 

How long have you been in the industry? I have been making maps since 2000!

 

Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention? I am a Fellow member of the Royal Geographic Society.

 

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador? To help show how Survey data is essential in making maps- all part of the process!

 

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry? Everything is a process- you start with A and end at Z – I use Survey data daily and I then pass the maps on for people to make decisions.. all these processes involves jobs and skills!

 

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS? I have been distributing many maps out to children and walking them through the questions and discussions.

 

What are your hobbies? Walking, Photography, Geology, crafting.

 

If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be? I’m already there -Captain Alice!

 

What poster or resource would you like to see next from GKiS? Agricultural one – or different industries.. or some history and heritage..

The Tales of Exploring HMS Terror

The story of an Arctic Exploration turned ship wreck(s)

HMS Terror began its career as a ship of war, getting involved in the war of 1812 against the United States. HMS Erebus was built slightly later in 1826 by the Royal Navy.

The two ships ‘left England in 1845 in order to search for the North-West Passage – a vital sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The expedition was commanded by Captain Sir John Franklin, a seasoned polar explorer who had already led two previous searches for the North-West Passage’.

The ships had a total of 7,088 pounds of tobacco on board to be chewed or smoked in pipes. As well as 2,700 pounds of candles to provide much needed light over the winter months. Interestingly the ships also set off with multiple farm animals to be eaten in the early stages (I know what you’re thinking… biggg ships!).

However, unknown to him, Franklin’s final journey to the Arctic would end in tragedy.

‘Both ships were lost, and all 129 men on board perished. It is the worst disaster in the history of British polar exploration!’

 

What was their mission?

The main aim of the mission was a voyage of scientific and geographical exploration through the North-West Passage. An area which had not been explored before.

‘Making magnetic and meteorological observations would have been a key part of the expedition’s scientific remit, but the men had to do so carefully. Placing cold metal instruments up to the eye could cause the skin to be damaged or even removed, and the men had to hold their breath to stop condensation forming on the glass parts.

Pulling sledges could be difficult, too, if the men were exploring beyond the ship’. 

Temperatures outside could drop as low as -48°C overnight, -35°C by day. If they sweat; when they stopped the sweat turned to ice in their underwear. There were a list of other serious problems which could occur, starting with the obvious of frostbite if your extremities get too cold; gangrene may set in; hypothermia; to signs of scurvy.

 

What happened in this disaster?

The two vessels sailed south down Peel Sound after a winter near Beechy Island. They soon became ice-bound in the Victoria Strait in the Arctic territory of Nunavut. In the spring of 1847 a party travelled across the ice to deposit a written record of their progress at Point Victory. 

From this record it’s discovered that in April 1848 the ships were still trapped in the ice and drifting south. Captain Crozier (now leading the expedition after Franklin’s death) ordered the abandonment and the 105 surviving men headed south for the Great Fish River.

2 years passed without any communication from Franklin’s crew. 39 expeditions were launched to find HMS Terror and Erebus in the Arctic, it was not until the 1850’s that any evidence began to emerge. These relics are held in the National Maritime Museum.

The exact circumstances of the 129 deaths are a mystery. However, legend has it that sailors on board the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror resorted to cannibalism!

The BBC have even based a show on this disaster. Although fictionalised it holds many similarities. Watch the trailer here.

 

Exploration of the shipwrecks:

Watch now: ‘HMS Terror, the long-lost ship of British polar explorer Sir John Franklin, has been found in pristine condition at the bottom of an Arctic bay, researchers have said. The discovery challenges the accepted history behind one of polar exploration’s deepest mysteries. As researchers and crew from the research vessel Martin Bergmann explain their find, Inuit crew member Sammy Kogvik tells of seeing a mast in Terror Bay years ago. His story was the reason the Bergmann was searching that area’. 

 

Why are we posting this?

This story was used for inspiration for our next educational geospatial poster, named the ‘Arctic Exploration Poster’.

Hopefully this story makes readers realise how different areas of surveying can be applied to many locations, in the present and through history.

By getting involved with our Arctic Exploration Poster you will bring your company to life with its very own mascot, don’t be just a name, be a face, work with our design team and create your very own character! All whilst being the link to boosting the industries lack of surveyors by being seen as supporting its future. So many positives.

Please contact Leanne on hello@getkidsintosurvey.com or fill out a form on our website.

 

Information collected from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/12/hms-terror-wreck-found-arctic-nearly-170-years-northwest-passage-attempt 
And
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/hms-terror-erebus-history-franklin-lost-expedition

 

Ambassador Spotlight ‘Jamie Stephens’

Welcome our Brand Ambassador Jamie Stephens from Cornwall, UK!

 

Where did you study? ONC & HNC in Surveying at St Austell College

 

What are the requirements to be a surveyor in your area? Being able to walk and breathe simultaneously

 

How did you get into surveying? Job advert sent to my comprehensive school a few weeks before finishing school and heading off to college.

 

How long have you been in the industry? Forever, started in June 1987

 

Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention? I am a Technical Member of CICES

 

Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador? I feel lucky to have found this career (accidentally) & wish to share my good fortune with the unwitting youth of today.

 

Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry? Fantastic career with so many different paths to follow and a great mix (generally) of indoors/outdoors work.

 

What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS? Hopefully attend the local primary school (once Covid 19 settles down) to showcase our industry and continue to tag/like/share links to GKIS during my companies’ social media interactions.

 

What are your hobbies? I coach an u11 football team,

 

If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be? Oggyman (wherever there is a pasty shop he will survey) or something equally cheesy and most definitely Cornish! “Kernow bys vyken” (Cornwall Forever in the Cornish language)

 

What poster or resource would you like to see next from GKiS? Not sure, ideas are not my forte and you seem to be quite good at coming up with your own!

 

Anything else you want to add that you think our audience (surveyors, teachers, parents) would be interested in? I am a trustee with a local charity which gives bursaries to local comprehensive school pupils going on to further education

Also here’s an interview I did over 6 years ago for CICES – http://mag.digitalpc.co.uk/fvx/ces/1410/index.html?pn=17