Youtube: https://youtu.be/pfVo33YFFkM

Drones Fly High While Offering Accuracy

Surveying work has come a long way from “heel-to-toe,” and the McGeorge Contracting Company surveying team is at the forefront of the ever-emerging technology.

“Compared to today’s instruments, there’s a huge difference,” McGeorge Contracting Surveyor Supervisor Gary Thomas said. “Our vertical accuracy is a half-inch or less.”

To achieve that kind of accuracy, the McGeorge surveying team counts robotic total stations, digital levels, GPS, and surveying software among its tools. Additionally, the team uses three different types of drones for mapping: the EB Plus Plane, the Phantom 4 Pro, and the Phantom 4 RTK. Thomas prefers the RTK for its precision in collecting data. And Thomas should know – he’s been surveying for 30 years; the last six have been with McGeorge. “Flying drones is a great responsibility,” he added.

McGeorge’s surveying team is at the job site both well before the job actually begins, and remains there after other crews have left, Thomas noted. “We are out there days, and sometimes weeks, before ground is broken,” he said. Most of the time, the team is at different construction sites, surveying independently. “We are continuously updating the measurements on all jobs,” Thomas said. “We continuously calculate the earthwork volumes to check for excess material, or [to see] if there is a shortage of material.”

Others on the team include Ted Sneed, who’s been surveying for 32 years – 12 of those with McGeorge; Josh Tollett, who’s been surveying for McGeorge for 5 years; and Taylor Hefley, who began with the survey crew in February 2017.

“These guys are the best to work with,” Thomas said, with the construction firm’s survey team reflecting the McGeorge ethos as a whole: “They work hard, travel all over, and get the job done.”