Survey Spotlight: Benjamin Tilman, RLS

Ben Tilman serves as Civiltec’s Arizona Survey Manager, leading the firm’s surveying operations across the state. With over 15 years at Civiltec, he has played a pivotal role in advancing the firm’s capabilities, integrating cutting-edge technology like drones to enhance efficiency and accuracy. His expertise and leadership ensure high-quality survey results while also mentoring the next generation of survey professionals.

As Civiltec’s Arizona Survey Manager, what does your role entail, and how has it evolved over the years?

The first step is bringing in the work; writing proposals and determining fees. This is a responsibility I feel greatly; having hired people to do the work, we need to ensure that we have the work to give them the hours. Once we have the work, I move into the “before and after” process. I need to make sure everybody has what they need before they go to do the work, which includes managing equipment from hammers to trucks and GPS receivers, all of the research and preparation work that goes into having the right documents, plans, and calculated points in the crew’s hands when they leave, and talking with project managers and clients. Then, after the fieldwork is done, I need to Q/A the data from the crews and pass it along to whoever needs to use it, whether that is a drafter drawing up a topographic survey, a PM waiting for an answer to a question, or a client needing a finished product.

Surveying has changed significantly with advancements in technology. How has the integration of drones and other innovations impacted your work at Civiltec?

Technology has moved fast during my career, and it requires accepting new ways to do things. When I was starting, the total station was the gospel, and GPS was the barely acceptable new tool, which had to be checked and double-checked to ensure quality. GPS steadily become more trusted, and scanning and drones have joined the field of new technology. The impact has generally been a movement toward speeding up the process of data collection, but I also think I see an improvement in the quality of the data. When the designer can “see” the field conditions as well as they can with scanning and drone data, the quality of the end product has to improve. 

What is one of the most challenging survey projects you’ve worked on, and how did you and your team overcome obstacles?

The work at Drake Cement has always been done in a challenging environment. It is a mining environment, which means a fast pace alongside the physical difficulty of very loud noise, extreme dust, heavy equipment passing, and both confined spaces and huge areas. They also require the strictest accuracy, because of the crowded nature of the conveyor belts, tunnels, and buildings in the plant area itself. Civiltec started work there when it was just mining claims, and we have remained their preferred survey provider through today. The main reason, I believe, is our careful attention to detail; we provide data only once we are sure it is correct and checked.  

Mentorship is a big part of Civiltec’s culture. How do you approach training and guiding the next generation of surveyors?

For the past year, we have done an all-survey department training on the last Monday of the month, with each member of the department being assigned a day in which to give everyone else whatever they want to teach. I also try to demonstrate how I do things like downloading data and checking it to the crews, and always be available for questions.

What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing a career in land surveying, especially in today’s evolving industry?

Jump in with both feet, try hard, and learn as fast as you can. Going 100% at it is the most important thing. You really can’t fail if you are sincerely giving it your full effort.

Looking ahead, what trends or advancements in surveying excite you the most, and how do you see Civiltec staying ahead in the industry?

The different technologies will begin to merge; scanning, drones, and GPS will become “total packages” just like the total stations were a merging of laser distancing and precise angle measurement. We will have units that know exactly where they are, using GPS chips and potentiometers, which will have imaging and laser scanning abilities, while being carriable or wearable, so that a surveyor will walk through a site, capturing data as he moves, probably combined with a drone following him and giving a bird-eye view of the same site. We will have to continue as we have done; watching for the opportunities where technology becomes worth the investment while continuing to learn and keep up with it.