I recently had a conversation with a dentist friend,  about our professions.  I was quite amazed at the similarities.  Not from the standpoint that we do anything similar in our daily work, but from the standpoint that we are both in professions that are rapidly evolving.  He teaches seminars and does presentations on how to utilize new technology in the dental field.  I found it interesting that we are both trying to give visibility to new technology that will benefit our chosen professions. 

Until this point, I had never thought about dentistry as being an evolving profession and I am pretty certain that most dentists do not think of land surveying as a profession that is rapidly changing or evolving.  One of the similarities was the fact that many dentists are not evolving or embracing new technology as are some land surveyors resisting change.  We discussed advantages that  early adoption can provide.

Over that past year, I have noted in various articles that many land surveyors are not learning to adapt but contractors are readily embracing the technology.  I have made the point that once the contractors get a hold of the technology, they don’t look back.  However, there are still many contractors that have not adapted to the technology and they have no intensions of adapting at this point, but we don’t hear about these companies because they are not doing anything to differentiate themselves in the industry.  The numbers being discussed in the industry still seem to show machine control utilization rates of 10 to 15 percent in the construction industry.  This utilization rate is an overall number, but obviously it can be more or less for various regions.  However, it simply indicates that 85 to 90 percent of contractors are still not using the technology.  This is not a high adaption rate with technology that has been readily available for almost 10 years. 

The conversation continued and lead to us discussing how certain people resist change while other embrace it whether it is in land surveying, dentistry or the construction industry.  Even if a construction company embraces and invests in the technology, there are still situations where the personnel within the company still may not accept it. 

When you convert to machine control technology, there is always someone that says they don’t need the technology and they can do the work without it.  In my experience, the person that seems to always resist the change is the more experienced equipment operators.  They have always been able to work without machine control and they don’t need it to continue in the construction industry.  These are people that didn’t grow up with computers and had a hard time accepting TV remotes.  At first they see the technology as something that will eventually take their job away from them.  They soon find out that this is not the case. 

I have talked with many equipment operators that do not believe the technology will help them at all.  They have been operators for many years and this “new fangled satellite equipment” won’t make them a better operator.  What most of these operators find out, after a little education and they finally accept that the technology will not take away their job, is that with this technology they are still a great operator, but it makes their job easier and they become the “go-to” person on the job.

Operators eventually discover that the technology puts them in a better position for doing their day to day job.  With machine control technology, they know where they are at all times on the job site and they know what all the cuts and fills are to bring the site to grade.  I have run into instances where the foreman on the ground or the project superintendent on the ground will jump up on the dozer or grader to see where they are and how much cut or fill is left.  The operator has this information at all times so they know where the project stands at all times.   

Many people find out, after being educated about the technology and over coming their fear of losing their job, that the technology actually helps them do their job better.  Since the utilization of machine control in the construction industry, there have been many comments about how the technology will make a mediocre operator a good operator, but it will also make a good operator a great operator.  During the times when it is hard to find good qualified people, if you have the technology to improve someone’s performance, you are putting your business at a huge advantage over others.   

Apparently the fear of change is a common theme in many professions, not just land surveying.  I had never look at other professions as being slow to adapt just because they didn’t understand new technology.  I have always viewed other professions, such as the medical field, as always changing and adapting to new technology and techniques to help advance their profession. I guess land surveyors have more in common with other professions that I had realized.  

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