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Sponsored by: Feldman Land Surveyors
July 8, 2019

Feldman Land Surveyors: A Full Suite of Services Founded in Survey Intelligence

MEP Model
Project Life Cycle
Construction Survey
Mission Chapel Interior Scan
Full Campus Drone Mapping
Revit Model
Worcester Court House

In today’s digital world, surveying has developed into an all-encompassing discipline that includes processes for the entire real estate project lifecycle. There is a need in the surveying  profession for a full suite of geospatial services that supports a construction or restoration project throughout its entire lifespan, from due diligence and acquisition to as-built and long-term financing. The industry term for this full suite of services is called “survey intelligence” — top-quality research, data collection and technology, delivered by a top notch team of survey professionals. 

Property owners and design professionals frequently use a civil engineer on a team to perform the survey work on a project, as many believe it’s more convenient to get those two separate services from the same firm. However, a clear industry trend has been the recognition that surveying is a very specialized service, and that having a firm with the expertise to handle a project fore its full lifecycle delivers a higher value, while maintaining consistency and accuracy throughout. Today’s smart surveying services are designed to guide each client’s development vision until it becomes a built reality. 

Today’s smart surveying services are designed to guide each client’s development vision until it becomes a built reality.

A key resource for the full  Project Lifecycle 

Before acquisition, a client will need a title survey for due diligence or a feasibility study within a very exact timeframe — before a deposit goes hard. Then, once the land or structure has been acquired, they will require all necessary survey data to begin the permitting process. 

Next, in the design phase, the client may begin coordination and VDC — or virtual design and construction process. At that point, using services such as Building Information Modeling — or BIM — and 3D laser scanning to produce a 3D model from the 2D construction plans will be required. That 3D model can be used to “walk” contractors through the project to see where all the walls, utilities, elevators and other elements will be located. Subsequently, the work is verified with laser scanning — plus, in a process often called “clash detection,” existing models can be checked to ensure there are no points of conflict before construction begins. Alternatively, the client may simply need a full existing conditions survey to show all the site’s improvements and topographic features with subsurface utilities for the permitting phase. 

In the construction phase, it’s extremely important that the survey firm you partner with is able to reconcile the architectural and structural plans, as well as coordinate various construction documents to provide any RFIs to the design team to verify dimensions that may not be clear. Many surveying and engineering forms believe this is risky — however, a full-service survey firm needs to function as a partner to support the lean construction process. 

After working with the plans and existing models to identify any issues, it’s now time to go on site to lay column line control, and where needed, other structural and architectural elements. 

Then the project moves onto the as-built phase. Whether that involves as-builts of anchor bolts and foundation elements before the steel is placed or survey work to verify that the final structure is accurately recorded, this is a wise and necessary step. At the conclusion of the project, there may also be a need for an ALTA/NSPS land title survey that delivers all the data a client needs when acquiring long-term financing for the project. 

The right survey firm partner can create a database of everything that’s being built and what it should look like — and then lay the project out and verify it again once the construction phase is completed. 

Providing Accountability for the Entire Project Lifecycle 

All real estate and development projects are a significant investment of time and resources. Knowing how to utilize the right survey firm to provide all the necessary services from beginning to end in an accountable and professional manner throughout the entire project lifecycle is key. 

There are many moving parts to real estate acquisition, design and construction. By engaging a highly capable survey firm, clients will be able to rest easy knowing they not only have a firm that can take a project from inception to construction, but also a trusted partner to help guide the entire process from beginning to end. So if you’re a potential client who is planning a construction project, the next time you think about choosing a survey firm out of convenience, make sure you’re choosing one that can be with you throughout the entire project life cycle and help make the whole process as efficient as possible. This decision will enable you to Get it Right from the Ground Up!

Feldman Land Surveyors

27 Mechanic Street
Worcester, MA 01608

P. 617-357-9740   

F. 617-357-1829

www.feldmansurveyors.com