DRMP’s Surveying and Mapping/Geospatial Division established an in-house Surveying Training Center designed to teach foundational and resourceful knowledge to invest in the growth and development of its surveyors and staff.

The idea, originally inspired by Joe Di Benedetto, PLS, DRMP’s Surveying and Mapping/ Geospatial Director, came to fruition through the assistance of the firm’s Facilities and Information Systems staff. The firm redesigned a new space and constructed multiple workstations for employees to begin using the training center.

DRMP Survey-LiDAR Project Manager Brent Bass, PE, SIT, held the first official training, which was an in-house LiDAR instruction specifically for new TopoDOT users in the Surveying Department. These learning sessions were split between hands-on training and working independently in the private partitioned cubicles. The training center was specifically designed for privacy but still allows for collaborative teamwork between other trainees. 

Though the center provides training opportunities for various disciplines to use the space, it was created with the firm’s surveying and mapping personnel in mind, Bass said. The center’s in-person training, led by professional surveyors in a collaborative workspace at the firm’s Orlando, Fla., headquarters, will gather small groups of DRMP staff together to learn everything from surveying principles to the newest technologies.

“The main purpose for this training center is to provide opportunities to our surveying field staff to have their very own space to develop their skills and practice the newest technology and to have a touchdown space where they feel comfortable to sit down and process their own field work,” Bass said.

DRMP Intern Connor Allen, EI, was among the first employees to experience the training during the workshop on Mobile LiDAR technology taught by Bass.

For Allen, engineering is a family affair. Allen learned early on from his father, a civil engineer, the importance of surveying and mapping in the A/E/C industry. Allen decided to follow in his father’s footsteps for engineering, then, halfway through college, he chose to pursue his passion for engineering and surveying. He has a desire to become a licensed professional engineer (PE) and a professional surveyor and mapper (PSM) and looked for a firm to support his goal.

“I’m grateful that DRMP was open to it and gave me a shot,” said Allen, a DRMP Project Engineer/Surveyor Analyst. DRMP gave Allen his first career opportunity out of college.

“I’m working with a surveying subconsultant on a couple of engineering projects, and the training helped me better understand their work,” Allen said.

The firm’s surveying and mapping leaders hope to duplicate Allen’s response to their training moving forward, said Bass, who drew his own inspiration for the training center during his time with the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) training program. The NCDOT’s trainee program allows newly hired engineers to work for multiple disciplines in an 18-month period. In the future, Bass hopes DRMP will have a similar program for new interns in surveying and engineering.

Along with education for interns and beginning engineers, the center could provide cross-discipline training for established professional engineers. Pointing to Allen’s experience after the training, Bass said the center is particularly resourceful for engineers who often have the project responsibility of requesting surveying and mapping or Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE). Bass said a task could prove difficult without the right information to make it happen.

“The training center can serve anyone,” Bass said. “Interns could have a chance to explore surveying to see if it is a good fit career-wise, it would help professional engineers on their current projects, and it’s a great opportunity for surveying staff to develop professionally by learning about the newest technology and studying for certifications.”

While professional development was the main mission, DRMP clients will also benefit from the training center.

“Our clients are going to get a better product from professionally-trained individuals and well-rounded staff, “ Bass said.