WHAT DOES A LAND SURVEYOR DO?

Published: Jan 08, 2026 - The Land Surveyor is responsible for quantity take-offs, cost estimation, and budget planning throughout the project, including tracking design changes and coordinating adjustments with stakeholders. This role manages subcontractor payments, prepares variation and progress reports, and ensures timely cost analysis and tender documentation. The surveyor also monitors site progress, resolves construction disputes, and documents on-site work to support accurate output planning and project reporting.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Land Surveyor

1. Land Surveyor Responsibilities

  • Utility Research: Utility research and field designation of utilities according to ASCE standards and common practices
  • Utility Coordination: Coordinate with utility owners, read and interpret maps, record drawings and plans
  • Geophysical Operation: Select and utilize the appropriate geophysical equipment to accurately designate utilities in a variety of congested utility environments
  • Equipment Maintenance: Perform minor maintenance and calibration of geophysical locate equipment
  • Field Documentation: Prepare detailed notes, sketches, and exhibits to summarize field utility findings and deviations from research
  • Data Management: Manage large quantities of utility location data, prepare utility sketches and input utility configurations, designate location and other details into a tablet or laptop using mapping programs, GIS database, and/or CADD tools
  • Survey Coordination: Coordinate and/or perform survey location of the designated utilities
  • Schedule Management: Maintain schedules on utility locating projects and assist with survey location of existing conditions

2. Land Surveyor Accountabilities

  • Professional Oversight: Provide professional and technical oversight and guidance
  • Project Management: Perform project research, logistics and management, review plats and prepare legal descriptions
  • Policy Compliance: Adhere to the company’s policies, safety plan and the project safety plan
  • Quality Control: Perform quality control checks on each project, including computations, field book formats and content
  • Crew Supervision: Supervise project field crews and/or serve as field PLS Party Chief
  • Survey Operations: Work on control, boundary, subdivision, heavy civil, topographic and design surveys, aerial mapping control and aeronautical surveys
  • Instrument Operation: Accurately run and adjust survey measuring instruments, including digital levels, GPS equipment, and total stations with electronic data collecting capabilities
  • Error Identification: Understand and identify basic sources of measurement errors
  • Field Calculations: Perform mathematical calculations and check field data
  • Data Processing: Perform data reduction, field note reduction, calculations, data checks and staking computations using survey programs and AutoCAD

3. Land Surveyor Functions

  • Research Planning: Carries out and/or provides direction in researching and gathering information from various sources for the preparation, planning, and execution of surveying projects.
  • Field Assignment: Carries out and/or assigns work to field survey teams for the collection or layout of positional information at the project site.
  • Data Processing: Uses data processing software to download, edit, and coordinate existing and recorded field survey data, converts data into standard HRM formats, and distributes data files and plots to various clients.
  • Boundary Analysis: Analyses deeds, plans and other documentary information and compares with field survey data to determine the location of property boundaries.
  • Plan Certification: Checks, prepares and certifies legal survey and subdivision plans in accordance with municipal by-laws and the Land Surveyors Act and Regulations.
  • Description Preparation: Prepares and checks legal descriptions of land for acquisition or conveyance by HRM.
  • File Archiving: Creates project file archives by storing digital data and documentary information in established HRM surveying information systems.
  • Survey Expertise: Provides survey expertise to various HRM departments
  • Info Retrieval: Researches, obtains, and provides copies of existing information according to established internal policies and practices.
  • Staff Training: Trains survey staff in the use of field surveying equipment and data processing software.
  • Survey Consulting: Consults and advises on surveying standards, project requirements, project estimates, and general surveying practice.

4. Land Surveyor Overview

  • Survey Support: Support the Lead Surveyor and undertake surveying by the Lead Surveyor to prioritise Engineering Surveying and set out the services demand on the project
  • System Setting Out: Survey and set out complex systems, including Civil, Mechanical and Piping Equipment
  • Measurement Analysis: Performing mathematical calculations and analysis to determine and confirm surveying measurements
  • As-Built Documentation: Prepare and maintain sketches, drawings and reports and ensure timely submission of data to relevant stakeholders of as-built positional checks of the works
  • Technical Expertise: Provide technical support to the project and client as a subject matter expert
  • Staff Development: Coach, mentor, and develop less experienced surveyors/engineers to teach practicable survey/best practice techniques for setting out
  • Quality Assurance: Ensure project quality assurance and reporting processes are fully complied with
  • Project Collaboration: Collaborate and work with project managers, the client and the construction teams

5. Land Surveyor Details and Accountabilities

  • Quantity Estimation: Be responsible for quantity and budget estimation.
  • Cost Communication: Communicate with management and subcontractors on the adjustments of the cost estimate to facilitate the smooth transition of information
  • Cost Planning: Prepare a statement for the quantity and cost, and provide cost planning
  • Design Quantities: Be responsible for estimating quantities from design drawings, tracking changes to the design, cost adjustments, etc.
  • Subcontract Settlement: Prepare subcontract settlement and payment.
  • Variation Ledger: Prepare Ledger of variation, Measurement, and payment
  • Cost Analysis: Be responsible for collecting cost data and coordinating cost analysis.
  • Output Planning: Be responsible for calculating the planning of output value and the completion of output value.
  • Progress Tracking: Keep track of work progress based on the contract, resolve construction disputes, and collect photos of the on-site construction process.
  • Tender Preparation: Prepare relevant tender documents and information to submit for tender, involved in tenders.

6. Land Surveyor Additional Details

  • Project Management: Managing survey projects in Alberta (project planning, schedule development, and management)
  • Staff Supervision: Supervising and providing direction to field and drafting staff in the creation of both cadastral and engineering survey products, to ensure deadlines and objectives are met efficiently and on time.
  • Quality Assurance: Providing quality assurance and quality control of results
  • Professional Responsibility: Taking professional responsibility for surveys performed
  • Invoice Management: Ensuring timely and accurate invoicing
  • Client Communication: Maintaining professional communications with clients, staff, and the public
  • Boundary Calculation: Calculating/checking parcel boundaries, construction layouts, and control networks in a wide variety of markets
  • Business Development: Contributing to Business Development efforts to generate project work from new or existing clients

7. Land Surveyor Essential Functions

  • Survey Research: Perform survey-related research, boundary analysis, calculations, exhibits, and legal descriptions for a variety of land development and public works-related projects from commercial and housing developments to military and public-related improvement projects throughout Southern CA
  • Plan Review: Review construction plans and perform calculations for layout staking and prepare exhibits.
  • Crew Planning: Prepare work plans and staking calculations for field crews
  • CAD Analysis: Use AutoCAD Civil 3D and other software for analysis and preparation of exhibits
  • Map Preparation: Prepare and/or oversee the preparation of final maps, parcel maps, record of survey, and ALTA maps, and prepare and/or oversee the preparation of legal descriptions and associated plats, boundary analysis, as well as work closely with engineers to ensure coordination of technical surveying and engineering aspects of a project
  • Business Support: Support department business development goals, develop written scopes of work, and prepare cost/bid estimates
  • Field Surveying: Serve as a member of a survey crew performing fieldwork on civil engineering, construction, and general surveying projects.
  • Equipment Operation: Maintain and operate all instruments and equipment needed to complete surveying tasks.

8. Land Surveyor Role Purpose

  • Data Assessment: Collect and process survey data and assess this data against the tolerances within the specification.
  • Deviation Reporting: Notify the Survey Manager and wider construction teams of any deviations or non-conformance
  • Report Creation: Create reports on completed measurements using a range of software and compile these reports onto an online reporting system.
  • Control Measurement: Measure and maintain survey control across the site using a range of measurement methods.
  • Technical Documentation: Record this measurement in technical documents to then be issued to the wider construction teams for use on site.
  • Procedure Review: Review and make comments on the contractor's survey and measurement procedures.
  • Procedure Compliance: Ensure that the contractor follows these procedures and raises any issues with the Survey Manager.
  • Construction Understanding: Develop and maintain an understanding of construction drawings, construction activities, Quality Control Plans, and Quality Inspection Records.
  • Workload Management: Manage and organise the survey workload within his allocated construction area.
  • Inspection Reporting: Write the survey inspection reports, technical documents to be approved by the Survey Team Manager or Lead Surveyor.
  • Specification Compliance: Ensure that all activities carried out are in accordance with the specifications and documents applicable to that work.
Relevant Information
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