At The Survey School, we are very lucky to have passionate, dedicated tutors like Dave Bennett to mentor our course students. Dave is an Assoc RICS Land Surveyor with over 30 years’ practical experience. From 1980 – 2019 he worked as a Cartographic Surveyor for the Ordnance Survey. He has taught with us since 2019 and in his spare time is a keen canoeist.
What do you enjoy most about being part of The Survey School?
I enjoy watching students develop as they progress through a course, both their technical skills and acquired knowledge. The surveying profession can be very focused at times, but in our courses students can discover all aspects of surveying – topo, measured buildings, utilities, GIS and setting-out.
What got you into land surveying as a career?
It started with a love of maps, leading me to apply for my first post of cartographic draftsman with the Ordnance Survey in Southampton.
What has surprised you most during your career?
A pleasant surprise has been how technology has enhanced the role of a surveyor, with GNSS, reflectorless distance measurement and data loggers. It’s a far cry from a copy of the map stuck onto a board, using a scale and pencil to update the mapping!
What is your favourite piece of surveying equipment?
A total station and a tape measure. I don’t need to rely on a phone signal and in reflectorless mode I can measure onto points I cannot get to.
If you could give one piece of career advice to a young surveyor, what would that be?
My work as a cartographic surveyor was very much a niche occupation. Be more of a generalist, it gives you the opportunity to swap jobs and careers if you need to.
What was one of your proudest working days?
An important part of the job is problem solving and land registration jobs can be challenging, but rewarding. I was proud to complete mapping the Wyre Piddle bypass, before OS 1:2500 was readjusted to match GNSS, where I needed to modify it to align with the as-built construction plan.
…and a least favourite day?
A week spent using a total station set up on the central tower of a sewage works! It was high summer… there were many flies… Hooray for GNSS!