Character Spotlight ‘JLH Land Surveying’

Surveying Monopoly has been created with one big vision: to bring the world of geospatial surveying into a household game that families around the world can play, enjoy and learn from together. Across the board, real surveying and geospatial organisations are represented by their own unique characters, places and technology, showcasing just how varied and exciting the profession can be.

But who are the characters taking their places on the board, and what do they tell us about the real world of surveying? It’s time to meet them! Through a quick-fire Q&A, we’ll discover the inspiration behind each character, their favourite surveying tools, what their organisation does, and even where in the world they’d most like to survey.

Let’s learn some more about JLH Land Surveying and their character Jim:

Company name and location? JLH Land Surveying, Inc. in Shorewood, IL, USA

What is your name and what inspired your design? Jim Harpole, during the summers we have an unofficial tradition called Hawaiian shirt Friday and so our design was based on that. We also added a backwards hat which since our character uses a line-of-sight instrument and you just have to turn that hat around to use the eyepeice.   

What tool would you never leave the office or field without? While we always love to have a drone with us because they can be so helpful throughout the projects, it’s always back to the basics with the “must haves” Field book/notepad, 6 footer, metal detector and a shovel.

Which square on the surveying Monopoly board would your character most like to visit and why? Free Parking, we do a lot of work in Chicago and parking’s always a challenge.

What is the coolest thing about surveying that kids might not know?  That boundaries are forever; we can create new lines and move property lines, but once established, even if no longer used, the boundary lines we set never truly go away. 

How does your company help surveyors measure, map, or build the world around us? The best way we can help other surveyor’s is leaving good evidence of the work we have done. We follow in the surveyor’s footsteps that came before us.

If you could travel anywhere in the world to survey, where would you go? Anywhere without heavy snow and ice