In today’s Character Spotlight, we discover a little more about one of GKiS’s sponsors “Skanska” in our latest interview with their Head of Engineering Surveying & GIS, Mr Mark Lawton
Company Name – Skanska
Location – UK
Why did you get involved in Get Kids into Survey? To share the exciting career I have had.
What do you do? I am a Engineering Surveyor, I build roads, bridges, railways, power stations etc. The things you use every day.
How long have you been in the Survey Industry? 24 years
How did you get into the Industry? I was arguing over measurements with an Engineer and thought this is an interesting problem to solve.
Funny Fact about you? Our cat is called Tripod….it has three legs.
Favourite piece of kit and why? 3D Machine Control, safer faster and better quality
Favourite Survey technique and why? RTK GPS/GNSS brings the power of coordinates on a national scale to all.
How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name? The wizard; making data appear or taking measurements remotely then viewing it in augmented reality for construction is not magic “its engineering surveying”. We are all wizards. But some do not have a pointy hat.
Character Spotlight “Measutronics Corporation”
In today’s Character Spotlight, we discover a little more about one of GKiS’s sponsors “Measutronics Corporation” in our latest interview with their President, Lou Nash.
Company Name – Measutronics Corporation
Location – We have offices in Lakeland, FL and Vancouver, WA
Why did you get involved in Get Kids into Survey? I got involved with GKiS because kids are our future and their education defines their future. I truly do love what I do for a living and credit the education I have received for creating the opportunities that lead to my eventual career.
What do you do? Our company provides marine positioning, guidance and underwater imaging solutions to the marine construction and hydrographic survey industries.
How long have you been in the Survey Industry? I began working in the survey industry in 1992 and founded Measutronics Corporation in 1997.
How did you get into the Industry? I went to college on a scholarship from the US Navy. After graduation, I served as a naval officer onboard a number of surface combatant ships. My last assignment in the Navy was as Navigation Officer onboard a destroyer. In that role, I was exposed to a number of navigation techniques: celestial, radar, LORAN, DECCA, OMEGA and eventually a brand new technology, the Global Positioning System (GPS). I developed a keen interest in positioning and charting and decided to build on that interest, as well as my experience at sea, when I left the Navy for another career.
Funny Fact about you? I grew up in Kentucky and joined the US Navy without ever having seen an ocean.
Favourite piece of kit and why? My favorite piece of equipment is a multimeter. I’d built an analog multimeter from a kit as a kid and became fairly proficient in trouble shooting electronics as my high school years were spent in vocational school studying radio and television repair. The basics stayed with me through college and into the Navy. While in graduate school, one of my professors liked to say that, “the most important tool in a survey truck is a shovel”. I was working with quite a bit of electronics at the time and liked to counter that a multimeter is the most important tool when working afloat. A mulitmeter, understanding of basic electrical and electronics theory, and a good system user’s manual will prove invaluable where electronics and saltwater have to coexist.
Favourite Survey technique and why? Side scan sonar has been a favorite technique of mine because my first use of the technology was at the end of the predominantly analog systems. As a new user, I quickly transitioned to the newer, fully digital systems. The differences between analog and digital systems really highlighted the benefits of ever evolving technology.
How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name? Our company’s first survey vessel is named as a tribute to my father-in-law who passed away while the vessel was being built. He had a saying, “…a nickel more and you go first class”. He was a first class kind of guy so I named the vessel, A Nickel More as a tribute to him. Our second vessel was named along the same theme, Put Another Nickel In. Our GKiS character had to follow the same theme – Nick for “nickel” and Beamer for the sonar beams aspect. Nick Beamer!
Ambassador Spotlight “Phil Fedor”
In today’s Ambassador Spotlight, we discover a little more about our Brand Ambassador Phil Fedor from Arizona, USA.
How long have you been in the industry and why do you want to be involved in GKiS?
I am a registered/ licensed surveyor in the State of Arizona, USA. I earned my license in 2014. I am currently employed as a Survey Project Manager with Bowman Consulting Group in Tempe, AZ.
I earned an Associates of Applied Science degree (2 year degree) from the SUNY ESF Ranger School (official name, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, New York State Ranger School) in Wanakena, NY.
In Arizona, all that is required to gain licensure, is to gain experience and pass three exams. One needs to gain 4 years of verified experience (verified by a licensed professional in good standing), then pass a national Fundamentals of Surveying exam. Then, gain two more years of verified experience, pass a national Principles of Surveying exam, then pass the state specific exam.
I got into surveying after college. I went in to learn how to be a forester, more specifically a lumberjack. In school, they taught us elementary survey techniques. After school, there weren’t many forestry jobs available, so I applied for surveying positions. I’ve been surveying since July, 1991, the rest is history. Years later, my surveying professor became the school director and implemented a survey degree program. Now, students get an AAS in Forest Technology, or Land Surveying Technology.
Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention?
What are you going to do as an Ambassador for GKiS?
I want to remain a GKIS ambassador because I am passionate about the profession. I love to share the history of surveying and how it relates to American history. I love to evangelize about all the opportunities that exist within the profession to recruit new surveyors, no matter how young they are.
Kids need to know about the profession because it is not going away. It’s still necessary. As long as people try to establish and re-establish boundaries, the land surveyor will always be necessary.
What are your hobbies?
My hobbies include hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, camping, woodworking, and home improvement projects.
What poster or resource would you like to see next from GKiS?
I’d like to see a YouTube channel or similar dedicated to the cartoon ambassadors interacting to solve various problems, something along the lines of a Scooby-Doo episode.
There is no denying that COVID-19 took us all by surprise, entering us into a world of the unknown. Suddenly stuck at home, unable to travel, unable to see people outside of your household, having to work from home, unable to network.
In came the internet to save the day! Isn’t it amazing what technology is capable of? Connecting us all for team meetings via ‘Zoom’ to being able to run global conferences with hundreds of people virtually attending. Not only that but social media has been brought to the forefront, surveyors and others in the industry being encouraged to step out of their comfort zone and pick up their mobile for a quick work selfie! Not only does this stop people being as isolated but it encourages more connections to be made with others in the industry, as well as being able to share ideas with them (yes sharing is caring!!).
Another way to portray information about what we are up to is the use of Instagram Live, better known as IGTV which also gets published onto our Instagram page so they can be seen for longer than 24 hours. Our first IGTV was an informal chat between Elly and Elaine. Mainly to introduce ourselves to those who are not familiar, including how GKiS was started, who we are, what we do, where we are at the moment and what our plans for the rest of 2020 involve.
Closely followed by a catch up with Mat Sullivan about how he teaches kids about Surveying- Making Surveying simple! During lockdown Mat (primary school teacher and writer) taught kids 7-11 years old. He is the talented writer of our GEO Squad comic book who also compiles lesson plans and other resources for GKiS. One very important man in our team, so it was lovely to get him out from behind the scenes.
Elaine (GKiS Founder) started a weekly show called ‘GeoJabber’ over on her channel @geospatialmarketer which has proved very popular. Each week a different geospatial professional is featured, with questions bounced back and forth, these informal chats are very beneficial and valuable.
“During May I decided to take full advantage of Instagram TV (IGTV), a tool within the Instagram platform. This tool is another way for me to continue to build a connected Global Geospatial Community. So as usual I dived in head first!
IGTV provides a friendly, easy to use way for Surveyors and Geospatial Professionals to share stories. From ‘a life as a surveyor’ to ‘what types of marketing work for you!’.
It has proved to be popular! We launched a competition to ‘name’ the show, now known as GEO Jabber. People don’t just want me to preach on how they should market their Survey or Geospatial Tech business, they want to hear what real life surveyor owners are doing… so GEO Jabber was born! Anyone can request a chat with me, so feel free to reach out!
REELS on the other hand is the rival tool/ platform (I’m still working it out which it is) to China’s TikTok. This nifty little tool is hidden within your home page. It’s literally a 15sec video for you to ‘fill ya boots’, go crazy! Excite! Inspire! Instagram has been strategic in planning this tool, not only to compete with TikTok but they have worked the ‘reach’ algorithm to take your account further! Meaning who sees it! It literally triples your ‘who has seen me’ status! Thus boosting your Instagram account. Sly Instagram!
I challenged my fellow surveyors with producing REELS and between several of them, they have seen a huge boost in followers as well as reach (visibility of their account). @slugsy_100 and @ipingsurveygroup both have reached thousands compared to their trusted IGTV tools.
With anything you use for social media, have a plan and map out a story in order to attract. Your ultimate goal is to turn followers into clients!”
Podcasts that GKiS have been involved in this summer:
2nd Aug Geoholics Episode 046– “If you know Elaine and Elly Ball, you know they are a couple of cheeky monkeys. We had a bloody good old chinwag with the ladies that you’re not going to want to miss. Elaine and Elly talked about coming from a family of over-achievers, how they juggle all their passions, the challenges land surveyors face in the UK (same as everywhere else!), how Get Kids in Survey got started and how the GKIS “community” has changed the landscape of the surveying world. We also find out that the Sunday Roast is the only meal one needs to survive in the UK and Bob’s your uncle”.
19th August The Curiosity Key Podcast– Listen to how an innovative campaign to get kids into surveying turned into a business and lit up the world of geospatial marketing! From taking an idea and marketing campaign to solve a key industry challenge, to inspiring technology companies to think a little bit more creatively about their own marketing. Have a listen to the fun chat which includes overcoming the challenges of marketing technical solutions and getting the non-marketing members of your team excited about marketing, lots of useful information for companies that’s for sure.
22nd Aug Vision 2020 Focus on the Future Conference– The APLS-CLSA-NALS Tri State Conference went virtual for the first time! The best bit? We went live on the saturday (diamondback sponsored session) which was also recorded if you attended and wanted to watch it back. For those who didn’t attend the presentation was by Elly & Elaine Ball about the Get Kids into Survey program. Following on from the presentation there was a discussion into outreach ideas and opportunities.
Tom Backhouse explains “this is a free and completely virtual networking event, brought to you in association with Digital Leaders, bringing together the geo-community into a common space where all involved can present, share and understand differing perspectives, ideas and goals, helping shape the Future of GeoScience”.
Over 200 exhibitors and around 150 lectures & keynotes from the fields of geoinformation, GIS, 3D, BIM, surveying, smart city, BIM and drones are ready for this year’s DIGITAL conference! This year, all essential elements of the live trade fair will be translated into digital form – conference, exhibitor stands with various interaction options, stages, personal exchange, areas for networking and getting to know each other.
The Continuing Adventures of the GEOSQUAD
AFTER AN ACTION-PACKED, TIME-TWISTING, REALITY-BENDING START, THE ADVENTURES OF THE GEOSQUAD CONTINUE IN CHAPTER 2! ALTHOUGH THE TEAM HAS MASTERED THEIR MECHS AND MANAGED TO SAVE THEIR (FUTURE) SCHOOL, THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE AROUND MIDDLETOWN. THE MECHS BEGIN A MASSIVE FIX UP EFFORT, SHOWCASING MANY OF THE AREAS WHERE GEOSURVEYORS HAVE SUCH AN IMPORTANT IMPACT. LET’S HEAD BACK TO THE FUTURE AND SEE HOW THE SQUAD IS GETTING ON…
The GeoSquad wastes no time putting their mechs’ super surveying equipment to good use. They straighten and stack skyscrapers, re-route roads and fix floors, sift sewer sludge, and even save stuck kittens from tall trees. ‘MIDDLETOWN GOES MAD FOR MARVELLOUS MECHS!’ the news announces. It’s a great start. However, trouble is brewing back in their own time. A large, imposing figure approaches the classroom door. He tries the handle, but the door won’t budge, so he starts to yank and shove at it, pummelling with his giant fists. Inside the classroom, Miles, Maddison, Kwame and Setsuko snatch off their VR visors. They recognise the voice… West Park High’s resident bully. The squad know they can’t let that lump of stupid find out what they are doing, so they make a break for it – out of the classroom window and onto their bikes and skateboards. They don’t get very far down the road before they realise they’re being followed…
Cut to a hair-raising chase through the local park. The bully is bearing down on the squad, until Maddy launches one of Kwame’s calculators into his path. It lands under his front wheel, sending the tyrant crashing to the ground as the squad race away. Miles, Kwame and Maddison follow Setsuko to the safety of her luxury treehouse. After their close call, they agree that they mustn’t let their important work in the future be interrupted again. The squad reconnect to the Timenet, only to be greeted by a panicking Last Surveyor, and an extremely alarming scene.
A devastating landslide has torn a hill in two, dragging trees and rocks from the farm above onto the road below. The tidal wave of dirt has cracked the concrete and engulfed the remains of a tractor – barely visible amongst the mud. And yet, from inside, the squad spots a hand. A robot hand. A robot hand belonging to a farmer, waving desperately for help. G.E.O. G.I.N.G.E.R warns the squad that it might not be safe to move the tractor; using GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar), she scans beneath the landslide. Their fears are confirmed: the area is highly unstable. The scan also reveals another potential landslide trigger: a herd of inquisitive robocows in the field above.
Kwame and Setsuko shoot off to deal with the bothersome bovines, while Miles and Maddison begin to delicately cut open the roof of the tractor. All is going to plan, until G.E.O. G.I.N.G.E.R points out the lone cybersheep that has wandered onto the edge of the hill. Its metal hooves send rocks tumbling. They build momentum, growing quickly into a giant wave of dirt. It all happens too fast to stop. The wave crashes down and hits with devastating power, suffocating the tractor completely…
Has the farmer’s fate been sealed? Did Miles and Maddison’s mech’s make it out? And what terrible truth lies beneath the farm on the hill? Click the link below to find all these answers in GeoSquad Chapter 2!
In today’s Ambassador Spotlight, we discover a little more about our Brand Ambassador Paul Burrows from the UK.
How long have you been in the industry? I started working for Leica Geosystems in early 2007. Prior to this I worked for Birmingham Archaeology at the University of Birmingham in their Visual and Spatial Technology Centre
Are you part of any associations or organisations you would like us to mention? Get Kids into Survey!
Why do you want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador? Because I see how important surveying is and I know first hand that some customers are struggling to get the right numbers of qualified staff, and this is an industry which is growing.
Why is it important for kids to know about surveying and the wider geospatial industry? It impacts everything you do/see, in almost every way – roads, buildings, infrastructure… it will also prove of even greater importance in the future as all this data is used for analytics, machine learning and AI to help power the autonomous infrastructure of the future
What are you going to do as an ambassador for GKiS? I will use my various platforms and industry connections to help drive adoption of the GKIS tools and thus get more kids interested in this varied discipline
What are your hobbies? Running, Walking, Reading (yawn, I know, but it relaxes me), Gaming (I have 3 kids who are PS4/XBOX obsessed!), and I love cars also.
If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be? I think Leica Geosystems already has one… (Indeed, it’s Draco Dragon).
What poster or resource would you like to see next from GKiS? How surveying is powering our autonomous future…
Augusts Interesting Articles
Augusts Interesting Articles compiled by Erin Hull
Here is a collection of articles that our team have read this month which we thought you would like to read too!
Educating Children on Water Management:
Community Water Management for a Liveable London (CAMELLIA) is working to create a more sustainable future for water, working with schools to empower the next generation with the understanding of the water cycle. With the prospect of a more unpredictable water supply due to the effects of climate change, a strategy needs to be in place for when the city comes into difficulties. This will be achieved by working together with environmental, engineering, urban planning, socio-economic and organisational experts, along with institutional and industry stakeholders and citizens. One point is clear, we will all have to work together to create a sustainably managed water system and environmentally friendly city.
“Having a society that understands how ensuring good water quality in their local rivers and streams begins in their house, backyard, and street, and are knowledgeable of the current problems across the water sector, could be the key for securing the UK’s water future.” Read more on why it is important to educate the next generation on water based issues.
Young Workforce Initiative for Geospatial Skills
“From satnavs to smartphones, location data underpins almost all our everyday activities making geospatial research a valuable industry that informs many billions of pounds of global investment. Whilst the sector offers endless career prospects, it is hampered by a low profile, particularly among secondary school pupils, and subsequently a shortage in skills and workforce.”
The Spatial Information Service (SIS) is working in partnership with West Lothian Council and geospatial software provider ESRI UK. Made especially for 15 to 16 year olds this young workforce initiative provides a hands on approach to fundamental geospatial skills at secondary school level. Targeting children whilst they are in school (like our Get Kids into Survey initiative for primary school pupils) could encourage a greater uptake of advanced study and future careers in the industry! Click here to read more about this interesting initiative.
Do people perceive surveying as just measuring points around buildings? Because that is definitely NOT the case! As the police describe, the Leica Geosystems BLK360 massively helps to speed up the investigation process as the scene can be captured in such detail before any of it is disturbed. This data can then be revisited months, even years down the line if the case were to bring another question to light. As Russ Gardner explains, recording a scene in this way instead of using traditional photographic and videography ways, the data can be used to explore a witnesses viewpoint or track the height of a bed. Leaving a much more accurate representation and many more possibilities to work out the truth of a crime.
In the article South Wales Police describe how the use of the 3D reality capture has been useful in two scenarios, a buried victim and an in-vehicle murder! An interesting read for those who are excited by forensics, find it here.
For more Get Kids into Survey CSI Resources, see here:
In today’s Character Spotlight, we discover a little more about one of GKiS’s amazing sponsors “Bowman Consulting” in our latest interview with good friend Phil Fedor.
Company Name – Bowman Consulting Group
Location –Headquarters are in Reston, Virginia. I work in Tempe, Arizona.
Why did you get involved in Get Kids into Survey?I got involved as a way to evangelize on behalf of my profession. However, Elaine and I hit it off on LinkedIn.com as she fell in love with my horse. That gave me the inside track to become a Brand Ambassador. Don’t let her tell you differently! LOL
What do you do?I’m currently a Survey Project Manager. I research, prepare calculations for the field crews, guide the drafting personnel, and write legal descriptions for subdividing new parcels, or for new utility easements.
How long have you been in the Survey Industry? I began my surveying career in 1991, so almost 30 years.
How did you get into the Industry? I went to college to become a forester. I enjoyed the woods and waters of my native New York State. While enrolled at the SUNY ESF Ranger School in Wanakena, NY, I learned some basic land surveying techniques as it seems forest technicians need to know how to survey to some degree. After school, forestry jobs were not plentiful at all, so I started applying for work at local land surveying firms until I was hired.
Funny Fact about you?I’m a Pony Express messenger! I also have been playing guitar since the late 70’s, mostly mid-80’s rock n roll. Just for my own creative outlet, not performing at all.
Favourite piece of kit and why?The metal detector and shovel because they reveal the history of who has gone before me.
Favourite Survey technique and why?RTK GPS. Arizona has me spoiled with the open vistas and minimal vegetation cover which allows the field surveyor to use RTK GPS very accurately and reliably.
How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name?My character is myself, Phil Fedor and my trusty horse, Booty Boonsmal.
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If you/your company had a GKiS character, what would it be? 
Community Water Management for a Liveable London (
