Affinis Surveyors Move Their Profession Forward

National Surveyor’s Week was created to inspire young people to consider surveying as a career. Our in-house team supports this mission not only this week, but all year long. In today’s post, I’m sharing just a few of the ways we help move the profession forward.

We support continued education.
Brandon Gann, Justin White, and Garrett Spease are studying for their Land Surveyor-In-Training exam. This is an important first step towards licensure. Once passed, they will be working alongside one of our licensed professional land surveyors and more actively involved in higher level land surveying and boundary tasks. This helps them prepare for their Professional Land Surveyor Licensing Exam by providing the training and skills needed to meet the eligibility requirements .

We preserve the profession’s history.
The Osage Treaty Line was the first boundary survey line in what is now western Missouri. While the exact location was unknown, the negotiated boundary line was described in the Treaty of Fort Clark, also known as the Osage Treaty of 1808. In this treaty, Indians ceded all lands east of a line extending from Fort Clark on the south bank of the Missouri River to the Arkansas River (near what is now Fort Smith, Arkansas). While the treaty was signed in 1808 by the United States and chiefs of the Greater and Little Osage Nation, the actual survey line was run by Deputy Surveyor Joseph C. Brown in 1816 between August and October.

The Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors (MSPS) led the charge in retracing the line. The project was conducted by volunteers over the course of six months. To help with the effort, members of the Affinis survey team researched notes and survey data from as far back as 1808. Discover the details of this project here.

We partner with technological companies to learn about the newest solutions.
Members of our survey crew, Garrett Spease and Justin White, beta tested Topcon’s new workflow solution, which includes GT-1200, MAGNET Field, and FC-6000. As a long-time partner, they wanted our feedback on its performance, so we evaluated it in the field. Learn more here.

We move communities forward.
Affinis is performing topographic survey services for the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) on US-56 Highway in Great Bend, Kansas. This project is unique, because a part of the adjoining properties is an old military reserve that has since been turned into fractional lots as part of the GLO plat.

Our work here supports the design and expansion of the existing 2-lane highway to a 4-lane expressway. The project is 2.9 miles long and extends from the east city limit of Great Bend to KS 156 Highway. Our services also include establishing all existing highway right-of-way, existing railroad right-of-way, and adjoining property lines.

To perform these services, we are using several types of survey equipment. Horizontal control was established with real time GPS equipment, and vertical control elevations were established with an electronic and automatic level. To keep staff out of the travel way of the highway, we used a scanner to create a point cloud and 3D model of existing highway pavement.