This message was sent to ##Email##
|
|
|
NSPS
NSPS Executive Director Curtis Sumner joined NSPS lobbyist John "JB" Byrd at the White House last week for policy discussion with key staff of the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB). NSPS is a member of the Business Coalition for Fair Competition (BCFC), and OMB hosted the coalition to hear from members on recommendations for reform and reorganization of the Federal Government pursuant to the March 13 Executive Order and related guidance OMB published in April. Among the issues Sumner covered was Davis-Bacon Act expansion into the surveying community. In addition, NSPS submitted written comments on the proposed CIBORG contract on the GSA supply schedule, a National Parcel
System, and OMB Circular A-76 for public-private cost comparisons.
 |
|
PropLogix, a property due diligence company, is helping to grow residential surveys by:
1) Educating Realtors, Buyers and Title Agents.
2) Making the Survey Process Easier.
Learn more or apply to their network HERE.
|
|
NSPS
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a watchdog agency for Congress, issued a report last week that found NOAA needs to improve efforts to track and report costs under its hydrographic survey program. GAO said NOAA needs to take actions to improve cost tracking and added that NOAA has yet to develop a strategy to increase private sector involvement in the hydrographic survey program as required by law. NOAA gathers hydrographic data on the depth and bottom configuration of water bodies to help create nautical charts, using both in-house staff and resources, and private sector contractors. GAO found that NOAA did not consistently provide complete or accurate cost data in its cost comparison reports from fiscal years 2006 through 2016. NOAA officials told GAO they intend to take actions to improve cost tracking but did not provide specific measures or time frames for such actions. NOAA officials said the agency has adopted a centralized procurement process in an effort to increase the number of contractors from five to eight, but GAO found that NOAA did not create a strategy to expand its use of the private sector to reduce duplication. NOAA plans to establish a strategy after optimizing its approach to compare the agency’s hydrographic data collection costs to those of the private sector, GAO noted. The report was requested by Congress and the findings may be used for legislative provisions as Congress works to reauthorize the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act (HSIA), H.R.221 and S.171.
NSPS
The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing next week on 14 draft bills related to "Self-Driving Vehicles." In 2015, there were 35,092 traffic fatalities and approximately 2.44 million people injured on U.S. roadways. There is more of a need than ever before to explore the safety potential of driverless technology as it can considerably decrease traffic-related fatalities, increase accessibility for those living in rural communities, and improve mobility. The market for geospatial data to serve what has frequently been called autonomous, driverless or self-driving vehicles is expected to be in the billions of dollars. NSPS members heard Paul Brubaker, President and CEO of the Alliance for Transportation Innovation (ATI21.org) outline the technology and market as the keynote speaker at the NSPS-MAPPS National Surveying, Mapping and Geospatial Conference in Silver Spring, MD in March of this year.
|
Screen Replacement
Starting from $299
TDS Ranger - Carlson - Allegro - Topcon
TDS Recon $199
Magnetic Locator Repair
Flat Rate $175
Schonstedt - CST Berger Magnatrak - Dunnom & Morrow - Subsurface
Battery Charger, Power Supply & GPS Unit Repair
6 Month Warranty 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
1 Day Turnaround - All Makes and Models Serviced
Ship To: Atlas Electronics, Inc
2737 Irving Blvd Dallas TX 75207
Questions? Call Now 214-631-2901
www.SurveyRepairs.com Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why Flood Flaps flood vents?
Building Code and FEMA compliant flood vents
(ICC-ES Certified)
10% more coverage area than
competitive products (220 sq. feet)
Affordability - Models are approximately 1/2 the price of competitive products
Air flow prevention - Great for conditioned spaced, elevated homes, garages
No maintenance required (competitive products
require annual maintenance)
Easy to install - Aluminum screen provides defense against pests and rodents.
Read more
|
|
|
|
|
Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado
PLSC volunteers have been working hard to establish a Survey Degree Program in Colorado. Our first step has been realized with the establishment of a program through Western Colorado Community College and Colorado Mesa University.
The next step is identifying an instructor for the program. If you are interested, or know someone who is, please go to http://www.coloradomesa.edu/human-resources/wccc-technical-instructor-land-surveying-and-geomatics-f00290-ann-1874.pdf. The PLSC Board of Directors is dedicated to making this program a success!
NSPS
There has been a lot of talk as of late regarding the future of surveying education, and the sustainability of current college programs. Ray Hintz (Univ. of Maine) and Rich Vannozzi (Wentworth Institute of Technology) will join host Curt Sumner to discuss the concept of "online/distance" learning.
To listen to archives of previous shows, visit americaswebradio.com/nsps-radio-hour.
 |
|
No matter what the future holds, prepare to meet challenges head on. Future-proof your resume by becoming a Certified Survey Technician (CST). This unique four-level certification program indicates official recognition by NSPS that a person can perform surveying tasks at a specific technical level.
Show what you can do! Decide between the field or office track. Visit www.nsps.us.com for details.
|
|
Did you know that colleges use the CST Program for assessment and accreditation?
NSPS FEMA Committee Co-Chairs
The concept of a bulletin board to gather input from land surveyors regarding floodplain surveying and management is being discussed. When launched the program would reach out to land surveyors by placing notice of the bulletin board in NSPS News & Views and other outlets in order to make direct connection with NSPS membership for sharing of information and experiences. The bulletin board will run from its own URL, with links through our website and newsletter. Evaluation of data collected can be sent in report form annually, or several times a year. The co-chairs say they "have always had a belief that much valuable flood program information exists within membership, but extracting it has always been a difficult process; this could be the solution."
NOAA
NGS and The COMET® Program collaborated on this new 90-minute online lesson, which covers theory, procedures, and accuracy issues. Aimed at geospatial science practitioners (e.g., engineers, surveyors, meteorologists, geographers, GIS professionals), it will also be useful for emergency managers and the public. It provides an understanding of underlying principles and concepts for correct interpretation of GPS results and to obtain accurate measurements under various circumstances, and bridges the gap between short introductions and full-length courses. COMET is a worldwide leader in education and training for the environmental sciences.
For more information, contact: Philippe.Hensel@noaa.gov.
Rick Pryce, PLS/PSM — VP Surveys & GIS — Craven Thompson & Associates, Inc., Florida
Rick Pryce has been a stalwart in the battle for protecting surveying equipment from theft, and survey crew members from harm. Below are some suggestions from Rick:
- Have your crews take special precautions now, when they leave your offices, looking for anyone following them.
- When you get to the job sites, (especially those you've been to on multiple days), take notice of every vehicle and look for people watching you and your staff.
- Lock away equipment not in use, in steel cases, barred cages, or cabled together and tied to truck beds.
- Do not be more than two steps away from your instruments at any time, and pay attention to your surroundings when set up, looking for suspicious people or vehicles.
- If you notice suspicious vehicles, start taking pictures of them and the license tags, maybe you can scare them off, so they look for an easier target. If they do take off, let us know so we can send out an alert to others.
- If you do get hit, please send Adam and me the location and any details so we can alert others quickly.
- Make out a theft report so we can get it into the crime database.
I know some of you have become apathetic to this whole situation, but I would like to emphasize that it affects all of us, and whatever we can do to alert other surveyors in the area, maybe we can prevent some crimes. Next time it may be you that gets an alert from others in the area and your crew doesn't get hit because of that advance warning.
Let's all be safe out there and help keep everyone informed.
Christopher L. Fieri, Marathon County Surveyor
In rural western Marathon County, Wisconsin, near Poniatowski, a small county park has stood since 1968 marking the intersection of the 45th Parallel of Latitude and the 90th Meridian of Longitude which is the center of the Northwest Hemisphere. Why is this important? Only four of these hemispheric points exist on the earth and the point in Marathon County is the most accessible as two points are located in oceans (Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean) and one point is located in a mountainous region in China.
READ MORE
Inside GNSS
The White House is asking Congress to boost overall funding for the GPS program back over $1 billion, with the largest infusion of new money earmarked to cover the cost growth of the Next Generation Operational Control System.
If approved, overall spending on the GPS program would reach $1.09 billion in fiscal year 2018 with funding for OCX surging to $510.94 million from the $393.27 million allocated by Congress for FY17.
READ MORE
xyHt
Ken Hudnut, science advisor for risk reduction at the U.S. Geological Survey, is responsible "for getting a very broad range of USGS science used for societally relevant applications," he says.
He used to conduct research and development with real-time GPS within USGS's earthquake program, one of several programs in the agency's Natural Hazards Mission Area.
READ MORE
Directions Magazine
Digitalization and the ubiquitous availability of images have resulted in a new golden age for photogrammetry. The driving force behind the processes is science, while the one behind the associated applications is business — because images are now being evaluated digitally in an automated process with the utmost precision at up-to-real-time speeds.
READ MORE
GPS World
The invisible signals that Europe's Galileo satellites are beaming down to the world are officially award-winning: the team behind their design has won the European Inventor Award, run by the European Patent Office, reports the European Space Agency.
The 12th European Inventor Award (Research) was given at a special ceremony at the Arsenale di Venezia in Venice, Italy.
READ MORE
| | SUSTAINING/CORPORATE MEMBERS |
|
Note: NSPS members may receive calls from MultiView sales associates regarding advertising opportunities in News & Views. MultiView, a partner of NSPS, produces the News & Views newsbrief each week.
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
.jpg){kind=logo}
