Jan 21, 2016
3 Simple but Powerful Questions to Ask Your Surveyor
If you work in the oil and gas industry of Alberta, you know that hiring good quality contractors can be a challenge. Get the best results for your land surveying job by asking companies these three easy questions before you get started.
1. Ask for a site presentation
Not only will a written presentation give you an insight into the professionalism and communication skills of the company, you can use it as a tool when reporting back to your team.
A good presentation will be customised and written in the most appropriate language for your needs, whether that means stripping away the jargon or covering every last detail. Site presentations are also a good investment because they can be recycled for other purposes, like drop-in sessions for local communities or meetings with your own clients.
2. Ask for references
Land surveying companies work with everyone from homeowners to huge industrial construction companies and they offer a number of services, not all of which will be relevant to your project.
You will need to ask what experience the surveyor has with clients who are similar to you.
The company should be able to demonstrate a positive track record by providing you with case studies from your sector. Here are some good examples.
Still feeling unsure? Call up one of the company’s clients and ask about their experience. If the surveyor is now one of their trusted contractors, that’s a great sign.
3. Ask who your Project Manager (PM) will be
A key component of quality assurance is clear, direct communication. The best way for companies to achieve this is by assigning clients a designated PM.
If you know your primary point of contact right from the beginning, the rest of the project will be much smoother.
Land surveys are often just one step in much larger-scale projects, meaning they are subject to strict timelines and budgets so they don’t hold up the rest of the work.
Good surveying companies understand this, and will have a step-by-step quality assurance system in place that allows you to see how your project is progressing against agreed targets. This will allow any problems to be dealt with well in advance of deadlines.
As discussed in a previous post on how to avoid hiring a bad surveying company, having clear quality assurance methods and a dedicated PM is absolutely vital to a successful project.
Need more advice?
Choosing the right land surveying company will make a huge difference to your project.
For more tips on how to start off on the right foot, check out this post on avoiding hidden costs from Lance Norman, President of LN.
If you would like some more information or just a friendly chat, get in touch by email (info@lnldt.ca), call us at 780.488.9064 or request a quote.