Point of Beginning articles from August 2007

Point of Beginning archives from August 2007

The acquisition age: are we experiencing the incredible shrinking industry? many mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and partnerships have occurred in the surveying arena in recent years. In my eight-year tenure, I can think of a couple dozen offhand.(editor'spoints)
August 1, 2007... Are these strategic business moves good for the profession? Usually, yes, but it depends on many factors, including the business intent and follow-through, and customer focus. Numerous groups demonstrate success from mergers and acquisitions...

Traversing the Law: June 2007.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... Mr. Lucas' article was most appropriate. The subject and information related to "The Manual" supports what I have been teaching my surveying students at [the] college level for a long time. It is good to know that others understand the purpose...

Technology benchmark: June 2007.(letters)
August 1, 2007... I just read the article "Requiring licensure for digital stakeout" by Harry Ward, and wanted to send you my thoughts. Just about every engineer or surveyor I know would not know how to build a 3D model if they tried. Most only know AutoCAD from...

Erratum.(letters)(Correction notice)
August 1, 2007... On page 72 of Turning Points in the June issue, Point to Point Inc.'s headquarters location was inaccurately listed as Kansas City, Mo. The correct location of Point to Point Inc. is Marshall, Va. The ideas and opinions expressed by our...

Colorado updates land surveying statutes: on May 30, Colorado governor bill ritter signed house bill 07-1225, which amends the Colorado revised statutes concerning land surveying.(newsline)
August 1, 2007... The governors signing of the bill culminated the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado's (PLSC) ongoing efforts to address technological changes and clarify ambiguities in the land surveying statutes. "The PLSC Legislative Committee...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)(Calendar)
August 1, 2007... calendarofevents AUGUST 14-17 28th Annual Surveyors Review Course University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) and Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors (MSPS) Rolla.Mo. ...

A new ESRI chapter: a re-branded GIS summit welcomes engineers into the mix with sureyors.
August 1, 2007... The former Survey and GIS Summit hosted by GIS giant ESRI of Redlands, Calif, gave way to the new Survey & Engineering GIS Summit this year. The surveying-focused conference, which was held July 16-19 in San Diego, nixed the old tagline of...

More feet on the street: Tapcon, Hayes instrument company and Earl Dudley Inc. plan growth using new technology and traditional values.(Company overview)
August 1, 2007... In June and July, Topcon continued the market trend of consolidation by first acquiring national dealer Hayes Instrument Company of Shelbyville, Tenn., and then initiating the partnership of Hayes with dealer and repair company Earl Dudley Inc....

The surveyors of our future: the annual NSPS surveying student competition propels college and university students forward and sharpens the outlook for the profession.
August 1, 2007... With each annual spring American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) conference, an increasing number of students from surveying programs across the country gather to demonstrate the skills they've acquired from their schooling. Once a...

Scannind the leaves: laser scanning technology plays critical role in mapping damage from Hurricane Katrina.
August 1, 2007... On the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, the third-strongest hurricane ever recorded to hit the United States rolled across Louisiana and Mississippi, creating a massive clean-up and reconstruction challenge. The force quickly became widely known as...

The corner connection: how an organized GIS helps to manage and analyze the survey corners within Fulton County, Ohio.
August 1, 2007... When I started as chief surveyor with the Office of the Fulton County Engineer in Ohio in late 2005, I discovered a large spreadsheet with hundreds of section corner and property controlling corner data. This data was shot with GPS over a span...

Versatile: a look at the Topcorn GR-3 GNSS receiver reveals multiple communications options, durability and ergonomic design.
August 1, 2007... When Topcon (Livermore, Calif.) introduced the GR-3 GNSS receiver in 2006, the company touted innovative design features and the use of cutting-edge technology as the reasons to take the GR-3 out for a test drive. Among these features are G3...

The DC50 by Precision Solutions LLC.(inREVIEW)
August 1, 2007... For surveyors seeking speed, reliability and a focus on surveyors' fieldwork fundamentals, the DC50 is here. If you're like me, your first reaction to a new calculator-based data collector might be skeptical due to the painfully slow...

Developing a new GIS.(surveyinggis)
August 1, 2007... "There's one thing I always wanted to do before I quit" "What's that?" "Retire" --Groucho Marx, Animal Crackers For several years now I have been advising (if not agitating) surveyors to get more involved in the burgeoning field of...

Can you be a surveyor and a GIS professional?(professionaltopography)
August 1, 2007... At the 2007 ESRI Survey & Engineering GIS Summit, I moderated a panel focused on "Licensing Issues--Surveying, Mapping and GIS." The panel members consisted of Curt Sumner, executive director of ACSM; Chuck Pearson, a surveyor with a wide...

Jousting at windmills--again.(traversingthelaw)
August 1, 2007... As has been the case many times in the past, I started out researching one subject for an article and ended up in a completely different direction. I wanted to continue with our discussion on contracts but our case-in-chief, Knerr v....

Stepping out safely.(safetysense)(Column)
August 1, 2007... Recently, there was a discussion on www.rpls.com about safety shoes. The conversation covered all aspects of footwear and several other areas of safety. Since I wasn't able to participate in the online discussion at the time, in this column I...

Physical Geodesy 101.(thegpsobserver)
August 1, 2007... Geodesy is not a dead science as some people think. GPS satellites are geodetic satellites. Their orbits have origins at the center of mass of the earth, and are tracked from stations located on a geodetic datum or reference frame. ...

Reflections after a flight season.(fromthegroundup)(Column)
August 1, 2007... As I am writing this, the traditional flying season for mapping projects has just ended. Most photo acquisition takes place from late autumn, when the leaves fall off deciduous trees, to early spring, when the leaves reappear. ...

Dan E. Jones.(turningpoints)(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Dan E. Jones passed away on April 19. He worked for more than 34 years as the supervisor of surveying at HENRY,MEISENHEIMER AND GENDE ENGINEERS INC., Carlyle, I11., and was most recently employed as the survey project manager II at KUHLMANN...

John C. Metzger, PS.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... John C. Metzger, PS, passed away on May 17. Metzger worked for the FULTON COUNTY ENGINEER'S OFFICE in Ohio as chief surveyor and senior road designer for more than 38 years.

Pickett & associates Inc.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... PICKETT & ASSOCIATES INC., Bartow, Fla., acquired SPECTRUM EAST LLC, Easton, Md. The new Easton-based company is named Pickett Mid-Atlantic LLC.

Geoeye.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... GEOEYE, Dulles, Va., partnered with SPADAC, McLean, Va., a provider of geointelligence and predictive analysis solutions for government and industry. The partnership provides GeoEye and SPADAC customers access to advanced analysis solutions,...

Mindsites group LLC.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... MINDSITES GROUP LLC, Niceville, Fla., acquired the GeoCommunity and the Wireless Developer Network from QLINKS AMERICA INC. (QLINKS), Golden, Colo. MindSites continues operations of these online communities out of Niceville.

Rettew.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... RETTEW, Lancaster, Pa., hired Brent L. Birth, PLS, to serve as group manager of survey operations for RETTEW's northeastern Pennsylvania region. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Woolpert.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... WOOLPERT, Orlando, Fla., hired David M. Bruno as a survey project manager. Bruno is responsible for project planning, scheduling, monitoring and reporting for specific projects and clients. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Woolpert.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... Also, WOOLPERT appointed Dennis Blankenship as regional group manager for the survey department. He is responsible for providing leadership, business development and staff resource support within Woolpert's Atlanta, Orlando and Miami offices....

Wilsonmiller.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... James H. Ledbetter, PSM, joined WILSONMILLER, Tampa, Fla., as a project surveyor. Ledbetter has 20 years of experience with boundary, topographic, construction and roadway surveys using conventional and Global Positioning System (GPS)...

Lochrane engineering.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... LOCHRANE ENGINEERING, Gainesville, Fla., hired Joseph C. Stukey, PSM, as project surveyor for the Survey Division. Stukey is a licensed professional surveyor and mapper in Florida and a professional land surveyor in Alabama. [ILLUSTRATION...

BL Companies.(turningpoints)(appointments)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... BL COMPANIES, Harrisburg, Pa., hired Benjamin Basinger as a crew chief in the land survey department. Basinger has 11 years of experience in land surveying. He is responsible for the preparation of jobs, research and field work. Also, BL...

John M. Palatiello & Associates Inc. (JMP&A).(turningpoints)(appointments)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... JOHN M. PALATIELLO & ASSOCIATES INC. (JMP&A), Reston, Va., appointed Nick Palatiello as marketing communications manager. His primary responsibilities include media relations, marketing, communications as well as membership development for...

Intergraph corporation.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... INTERGRAPH CORPORATION, Huntsville, Ala., presented the Carl Pulfrich Award to Markus Gerke, Sonke Miiller and Andreas Busch. Intergraph Z/I Imaging sponsors the award to promote outstanding scientific, application-oriented design and/or...

Spalding Dedecker Associates.(turningpoints)
August 1, 2007... SPALDING DEDECKER ASSOCIATES (SDA), Detroit, presented Beth Kilbourne with the "Young Engineer of the Year" Award from the southeastern Michigan branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Kilbourne is an engineer in SDA's...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Laser Technology Inc. (LTI).(new&notable)
August 1, 2007... LASER TECHNOLOGY INC. (LTI) introduced the TruPulse 360. Based on LTI s TruPulse 200 laser measuring device, the TruPulse 360 combines an integrated compass, inclinometer and distance laser that delivers mapping-grade accuracy and the...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Sokkia.(new&notable)(Conference news)
August 1, 2007... SOKKIA released the new GIR1600 Differential GPS Receiver. The lightweight detachable antenna allows users to comfortably take measurements and enjoy the benefit of unrestricted hand movement with the first "wearable" GPS. The GIR1600 can...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Leica Geosystems.(new&notable)(Conference news)
August 1, 2007... LEICA GEOSYSTEMS introduced Leica SurvCE. A complete data collection system for RTK GPS and total stations, Leica SurvCE is fully equipped with survey routines and wireless communication links, all powered by the Windows CE platform. Leica...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging.(new&notable)(Conference news)
August 1, 2007... Also LEICA GEOSYSTEMS GEOSPATIAL IMAGING announced IMAGINE InSAR, enhancing the ERDAS IMAGINE Radar Mapping Suite 9.1. Previously known as IMAGINE IFSAR DEM, the new IMAGINE InSAR provides a more robust extraction process, increasing the...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Trimble.(new&notable)(Conference news)
August 1, 2007... TRIMBLE introduced field revision management and GIS redlining capabilities for Trimble Fieldport software. Trimble Fieldport software integrates GIS and GPS positioning data with customer and asset information for mobile workers in the...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Topcon Positioning Systems.(new&notable)(Conference news)
August 1, 2007... TOPCON POSITIONING SYSTEMS released TopNET+ for RTK reference station users. The new software package supports GNSS signals and an unlimited number of rovers at no additional charge. It features advanced error modeling, delivering greater...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Thacker Manufacturing Inc.(new&notable)
August 1, 2007... THACKER MANUFACTURING INC. introduced the new Contractor Series HercuLoc Secure Bed Cover. The internal rotary slam latches lock the cover at each corner. The secure cover is counter-balanced on torsion springs and is easy to open. Both sides...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Azteca systems Inc.(new&notable)
August 1, 2007... AZTECA SYSTEMS INC. released Cityworks Server, a GIS-centric asset maintenance management system. Designed and created from the ground up for ESRI's ArcGIS Server technology, Cityworks Server is a modern, browser-based system designed to manage...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: CST/Berger.(new&notable)
August 1, 2007... CST/BERGER launched the AL-Series Rotary Lasers. The ALH Pro-Grade Horizontal Single-Slope Rotary Laser is one of three models. It is ideal for exterior jobs such as leveling and alignment, grading, concrete forms, machine control, site prep...

As Seen at the 27th Annual ESRI User Conference: Radians.(new&notable)
August 1, 2007... RADIANS launched ANSI Class 2 rated safety vests under its Radwear brand. The vests are specifically designed to increase worker visibility in high-risk environments. The Class 2 ANSI-rated Radwear vest line is available in polyester mesh or...

Surveying solutions.(funandgames)(Reprint)
August 1, 2007... Each month we present a surveying problem from the second edition of 1001 Solved Surveying Fundamentals Problems by Jan Van Sickle, PLS. As in the following example, the answer will appear below the problem, in a shaded box. We hope you enjoy...

The slip-stick.(Remember When)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... "The slip-stick immediately comes to mind, a device used by the highway engineering surveyor to calculate end areas at 50-ft increments from the cross sections that comprised many pages in the so-called 'funnies' (the project plan sheets). Some...