Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast

Episode 146 - Tim is joined by John Palatiello to discuss the origins of the Brooks Act and how quality-based selection (QBS) and services procurement relies heavily on this legislation.

On Thursday, October 27^th, 2022, the Brooks Act will celebrate its “golden” anniversary, recognizing 50 years of legislative oversight for professional services procurement. John Palatiello, Partner at Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, is the NSPS Legislative Consultant, longtime advocate for geospatial professions, and leads the overall efforts of our Government Affairs Committee (GAC). He recently talked with Tim Burch about the origins of the Brooks Act and how quality-based selection (QBS) and services procurement relies heavily on this legislation. John shared his opinions on surveyors being recognized as professionals and the importance of focusing on QBS instead of low-bid alternatives as part of the surveyor’s responsibility in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

We appreciate John, John “JB” Byrd, and GAC Chair Mark Sargent for their ongoing efforts to represent our great profession at the federal legislative level. Thank for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

Episode 145 - The NSPS Podcast finds your host, Executive Director Tim Burch “on the road” from Essen, Germany wrapping up a trip to Intergeo 2022

This episode of “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast finds your host, Executive Director Tim Burch “on the road” from Essen, Germany wrapping up a trip to Intergeo 2022. He shares news from the recent NSPS Fall Business Meeting, planning for the Spring Business Meeting, and the importance of the FIG Working Week 2023 in Orlando. Tim also talks about his engagement at Intergeo and why it is important that surveyors in North America get an opportunity to experience geospatial technology from vendors located in countries around the world.  

For more information about these events, visit nsps.us.com for details. Thank for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

Episode 144 - Tim Burch sat down with David Sherrill, one of the driving forces behind the surveying program at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIU-E).

This week’s episode of “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” finds us in the “Show Me State” and participating in the Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors (MSPS) Annual Conference in St. Louis. In between sessions, host Tim Burch sat down with David Sherrill, one of the driving forces behind the surveying program at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIU-E) and long-serving volunteer within the Illinois surveying profession. David shared his introduction in surveying and how technology has shaped the profession over the past decades. They also discussed the evolution of the surveying curriculum at SIU-E and how providing a pathway for students to licensure helps to attract more future geospatialists to the profession. David added that education does not stop at graduation and to continue to improve yourself throughout your career.

For more information about the SIU-E Land Surveying program, visit: https://www.siue.edu/academics/undergraduate/degrees-and-programs/construction-management/land-surveying/

For more information about these events, visit nsps.us.com for details. Thank for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

Episode 143 - Tim Burch, sat down with Kai Duebbert, a second-generation surveyor who founded Kompass BMS, a software company

Our latest episode of “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” dives into the business of surveying, and more specifically cutting-edge software that helps run a geospatial business more efficiently. Your host, Tim Burch, sat down with Kai Duebbert, a second-generation surveyor who founded Kompass BMS, a software company offering a business management package for geospatial organizations. Kai and Tim discuss the importance of tracking and managing business metrics, scheduling routines to help maximize efficiencies, and ease of use so all team members fall into good project management habits. They also discussed the importance of surveyors continuing their education as their roles change and become focused on more business tasks and staff management.

Check out the software at https://kompassbms.com today and let them know you heard about it here on “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast.”

Episode 142 - This week Tim Burch sat down with Vince Campanella, a student in the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).

The NSPS crew is back stateside and still on the road! This week’s episode of “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” finds us in the Garden State of New Jersey and participating in the NJSPLS General Membership Meeting. Here is where we were introduced to Vince Campanella, a student in the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in both the surveying and civil engineering programs. Your host, Tim Burch, sat down with this dynamic young man to discuss his educational experience so far, working as a surveying intern in the Trenton office of Langan, a nationwide multi-discipline firm, and as the president of the Student Chapter at NJIT. Vince shared his thoughts on balancing education with experience as well as how important mentoring is for all surveying members. He also shared his viewpoint on how surveying can reach future generations of technicians and professionals through social media and in-person seminars in high schools and community colleges. A great conversation you don’t want to miss!

For more information about these events, visit nsps.us.com for details. Thank for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

Episode 141 - Claire Buxton, an FIG Young Surveyor and past leader of the Volunteer Community Surveyor Program (VCSP), joined Tim Burch.

As the FIG Congress 2022 winds down and the conference goers head for the exits, we felt it was a good time to bring another excellent guest to “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” and we found ourselves a great one. Claire Buxton, an FIG Young Surveyor and past leader of the Volunteer Community Surveyor Program (VCSP), joined Tim Burch to talk about the Congress, expansion within the FIG YSN, and exciting days ahead in the surveying profession. Originally from New Zealand and now practicing in Canada, Claire shared her perspective on being a young surveyor working as a Project Manager above the Arctic Circle and how mentoring has become a big part of her daily job. She also talked about the importance of the surveyor’s role within the VCSP and training young practitioners to help establish cadastral areas within developing countries. Claire and Tim also touched upon how diversity in surveying is important to its growth, and how roles within the profession have changed drastically within the last generation.

For more information about these events, visit nsps.us.com for details. Thank for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

Episode 140 - Tim Burch, finally caught up with Narelle Underwood, Surveyor-General & Executive Director of Spatial Services in New South Wales, Australia and the conversation did not disappoint.

Coming from a quiet meeting room from a hotel in Warsaw, Poland, we bring you the latest episode of “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” recorded during the recent FIG Congress 2022 and it was a way overdue interview. Your host, Tim Burch, finally caught up with Narelle Underwood, Surveyor-General & Executive Director of Spatial Services in New South Wales, Australia and the conversation did not disappoint. Nel and Tim covered her journey to both the Surveyor-General/Executive Director AND dodging a bullet to become a surveyor instead of an engineer. She also talked about educational and experience requirements to be a registered land surveyor in NSW, the responsibilities of overseeing a CORS and control point network, and being the authoritative office of issuing, reviewing, and revoking surveying licenses. Nel also shared her love for LEGOS and how her children are not allowed to touch Mom’s building sets. Oh, yeah, they also talked about Nel’s tattoo…

For more information about these events, visit nsps.us.com for details. Thank for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

EP139 - From The Director’s Desk

As Labor Day passes, we say goodbye to summer breaks and hello to autumn, various conferences and meetings, and lots of things going on in the surveying and geospatial profession. This episode of “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast finds us catching up from the long holiday weekend and bringing you this installment of “From the Director’s Desk” and your host, NSPS Executive Director Tim Burch. He shares news from the recent NCEES Annual Meeting, visits from international dignitaries, upcoming conferences, and upcoming events and promotions.

For more information about these events, visit nsps.us.com for details. Thank for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

Episode 138 - This week’s guest is Adrian Aguirre, a survey analyst with Guida Surveying in Fresno, CA.

This week’s episode of “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast finds us back in “The Golden State” catching up with another surveyor who is making a significant “mark” on the profession. This week’s guest is Adrian Aguirre, a survey analyst with Guida Surveying in Fresno, CA who is also is the Secretary of the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of CLSA. Tim Burch was able to catch up with Adrian to discuss plans for a virtual webinar and YouTube recording bringing various professional associations together to share commonality and fellowship to surveyors of all ages. They discussed how many surveyors don’t realize all the opportunities for networking and furthering one’s education simply by attending association functions and how Adrian wants to close that gap by hosting these informative sessions for all surveyors.

If you have an interest in being part of Adrian’s upcoming sessions, connect with him on LinkedIn and/or send us a note at info@nsps.us.com and we will get you hooked up! Look for more information from Adrian and social media for dates and time coming soon.

Thanks for listening to “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and subscribe wherever you listen to your audio selections.

Episode 137 - This week we caught up with our Lobbyist, JB Byrd.

This week’s episode went from collecting a few sound bites about ongoing legislative efforts from our NSPS Lobbyist, JB Byrd, to a full-blown recording! We caught up with him on a late Friday afternoon to provide “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast and boy, are we glad we did! JB chatted with Executive Director Tim Burch about the ongoing Ligado saga, their presentation to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel that will be included in the upcoming published NAS report, and legislative outreach during the mid-term election campaigns.

Once again, it was a pleasure to hear JB provide great insight into the sometimes-aggravating world of US politics. Thank you for tuning into this great conversation with JB & Tim on this episode of “Surveyor Says!” The NSPS Podcast.