Archive for month: June, 2017

Like just about every other aspect of the development project experience, the technology and techniques behind land surveying services tend to change very quickly these days. If you don’t make a concerted effort to keep up with the latest happenings, then you may find yourself left behind and overpaying for work that doesn’t actually support your project.

In this post, we’ll go over some of the latest trends to hit land surveying services during the early part of 2017. By reading this post, you’ll gain a better understanding of the capabilities and technologies you should be looking for when it comes to sourcing land surveying services for your project.

Survey-Grade Drone Data Is Now the Law of The Land

There’s simply no getting around the fact that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent the fastest and most cost-efficient technique there is for gathering the survey data your project needs. Companies that fully take advantage of this trend now will be in the best position possible to ensure that their project progresses quickly, and becomes profitable sooner.

The driving force behind this new trend is the growing availability of drone technology. Today we are seeing drones in all sorts of industry settings where they might not have been practical just a few short years ago, simply because the technology involved is now available at price points where it wouldn’t have been previously.

While this development is a good thing overall for those in need of land surveying services, it can also cause problems: the increasing availability of drones has given rise to many amateur UAV operators who feel qualified to offer landing survey services solely based on their experiences as hobbyists. In reality, working with an experienced professional UAV firm is still the best way to ensure you get survey-grade results.

See Also: Demo of a drone project

3D Laser Scanning & Modeling Will Become More Prevalent

3D scanning and modeling is another example of a technology that has played an important role in land surveying services for years now, but is starting to receive more attention in 2017 based solely on how affordable and available it has started to become. In the past, project managers might have shied away from the obvious benefits of 3D modeling technology because they assumed the technology was not within their price range. Now, with the tools involved getting cheaper at a rapid rate, it’s no surprise to see interest in 3D modeling popping up where it might not have before.

The main result of this trend will be that creating detailed 3D point clouds and models before executing a project will cease to be considered an optional extra, and begin to be seen as the cost of doing business. The ubiquity of efficient, inexpensive 3D models across project settings will in turn lead to projects that proceed quickly, without the delays caused by mistakes or inaccurate data. Simply put, 3D modeling will help more project managers run profitable projects, while also ensuring the safety of their workers.

See Also: Demo of web based point cloud

End-to-End Data Systems Will Become More Important

As surveys become more detailed and advanced techniques such as 3D modeling become commonplace, the amount of data project managers must be able to account for will skyrocket. Project managers must ensure that the land surveying provider they choose to work with offers them a solution that is simple, flexible, and robust.

By working with a provider that offers an end-to-end data solution, project managers can feel completely confident that all their data is being safely stored, and will be available when and where it’s needed. Since the solution is cloud-based, all project employees will have access to the same data, whether they’re on their mobile device at the work site, or on a desktop in the main office.

To learn more about these and other trends going on in the world of land surveying services, contact the experts at Landpoint today.

When it comes to oil and gas surveying, a project manager’s main goals should be clear: gather the most accurate data possible while also moving quickly and keeping costs down. On that last point, project managers are now able to benefit from of a variety of new and developing technologies that can support the goal of a more cost-effective land surveying process. In this post, we’ll take a close look at a few of those technologies and what they do to cut costs so that you can be informed when the time comes to shop around for oil and gas surveying services.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are popping up in more and more places these days. There’s a very good reason for this: UAVs have always been very useful in a variety of settings, but until the last few years they have been too expensive for many to consider investing in.

Times have certainly changed: drone technology has become more sophisticated and available, which in turn translates into lower prices, making UAVs cost-effective in many places they might not have been before.

In addition to rapidly falling startup costs, today’s UAVs are also able to keep operating costs lower than traditional surveying teams could for large scale project. This is in large part due to the fact that UAVs are able to cover large areas quickly, which dramatically cuts the amount of man hours required to complete the oil and gas surveying. In addition, UAVs are able to pass over difficult terrain as the crow flies, with none of the delays that would occur for land-based surveyors.

Centralized Data Storage

Today’s oil and gas surveying services are significantly more detailed and accurate than the surveys of the past. Of course, this is a good thing for project managers, but it also creates an unintended challenge: safely storing massive amounts of data.

Storing all that data can be a very expensive proposition, especially if an organization doesn’t have the IT infrastructure needed to do so. Turning to cloud-based data storage, where a service provider manages the actual storage infrastructure, is a great way to defray startup expenses and keep costs manageable.

In addition, maintaining a centralized repository for data can make an organization more efficient, which will generate cost savings as well. All users can be sure they are pulling from the most recent data, with no potential for time-consuming and productivity-destroying version control issues. In addition, the data can be accessed on any device, including mobile devices, which means users don’t need to use special equipment or leave the work site to get access.

Well Documented and Revisited Locations

Some of today’s more established land surveyors are extremely familiar with the regions that they service, which can be extremely helpful if you need a land survey. The more knowledgeable a surveyor is with the region, the more efficient they will be when surveying it. Advanced knowledge of an area translates to reduced travel and setup time. It also makes data collection faster as well.

Knowledge of an area can come in two different ways: it may be a region that the surveyor has already visited, or it could be an area in which the surveyor has documentation. Even if they haven’t surveyed the specific area that you are targeting, if they have existing records (or know how to acquire records) of an area, those can be used to streamline the process.

To learn more about the advanced technology solutions Landpoint can offer for oil and gas surveying services, contact our team today.