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Discuss this article (0 Comments)Surveying the new way
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Tuesday, 23 December 2008
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Ben Millington looks at new technology in the surveying market.
Once upon a time the term "surveyor"' referred to a man with the theodolite assessing the geometric points of a plot of land.
It was once a distinguished and skilful practice that used elements of geometry, engineering, trigonometry, mathematics and physics to map and build the modern world
But from the 1990s this traditional skill was starting to become obsolete due to huge improvements in technology.
"The technology is currently so advanced that it only takes a surveying technician to operate the data gathering devices in the field," said Martin Seaward-Case, director of cost, contracts and procurement with Reaction Project Management.
"The data is then downloaded and automatically plotted or incorporated into master planning or similar mapping or related exercises in the field".
"In the UAE surveying technicians tend to be recruited from the Asian sub-continent and perform a more manual role relative to other surveyors worldwide."
"Other surveyors" refers typically to valuation surveyors and quantity surveyors who manage projects to ensure that they are built on time and to budget.
"Surveying is an extremely diverse area and can include project management, facility management, construction management and consultancy.
"In this capacity, surveyors are an underpinning force of the UAE's construction and property markets while surveying technicians make up a part of the construction industry's labour force," Seaward-Case said.
If professional surveyors underpin the construction industry, what kind of salary are they earning?
Seaward-Case said it can be surprisingly modest to begin with.
"A new quantity surveyor could be starting on as little as US $3,400 (AED12,500) a month," he said.
"But this rapidly rises as the employee gains experience and it's not unknown that young chartered surveyors in their late twenties are earning $9,500 a month.
"The more seasoned professionals would now be earning upward of $11,000 - again dependant on experience."
Seaward-Case said salaries have dramatically increased recently in line with increasing demand.
"A guy who was earning $3,000 a month four years ago is now taking home $10,000, which is a sign of the times and suggests a chronic shortage of quantity surveyors in the Middle East region."
With construction booming across the Gulf, the shortage of labour is a constant concern for an industry which is highly dependent on expatriate workers. Supplying enough labour from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China is an ongoing issue that is constantly making headlines.
However, Lee-J Walker, sales director for online jobs board RecruitGulf.com, said the supply of professional expatriate surveyors is no exception.
New tech means more time
The world of surveying has certainly moved on since the days of measuring distance by laying a chain across the land. The total station is the surveyor's latest gadget, with the latest model - the imaging station, currently making the earth move in surveying circles.
The imaging station allows the surveyor to take thousands of measurements in a short space of time and take thousands of measurements from his office chair, should he so desire.
"This is the most effective means of measuring the volume of land that we have excavated at any given time in the project" says Peter Silvius, a chief surveyor at Van Oord.
"The client can walk in at any time and ask how the project is progressing and we can give them an accurate reponse" he said.
Modern surveying machines have a small motor, which rotates, and by using sophisticated technology based on satellite positioning as well as laser levels, mean that in theory a surveyor can leave the machine to do its job alone for half an hour at a time.
The world of surveying has certainly moved on since the days of measuring distance by laying a chain across the land. The total station is the surveyor's latest gadget, with the latest model - the imaging station, currently making the earth move in surveying circles.
The imaging station allows the surveyor to take thousands of measurements in a short space of time and take thousands of measurements from his office chair, should he so desire.
"This is the most effective means of measuring the volume of land that we have excavated at any given time in the project" says Peter Silvius, a chief surveyor at Van Oord.
"The client can walk in at any time and ask how the project is progressing and we can give them an accurate reponse" he said.
Modern surveying machines have a small motor, which rotates, and by using sophisticated technology based on satellite positioning as well as laser levels, mean that in theory a surveyor can leave the machine to do its job alone for half an hour at a time.
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