MALSCE 2022 Annual Convention

2022 MALSCE Convention
Workforce Development and Attracting the Next Generation of Surveyors

Brought to you by the Central Massachusetts Chapter and MALSCE Sustaining Members

Airworks Solutions, Allen & Major Associates, Inc., Beals and Thomas Inc., Bluesky Geospatial Limited, 
Brennan Consulting, Inc., BSC Group, Inc., Carlson Software, CHA, Coastal Engineering Co. Inc.,
DGT Associates, Donovan Hatem LLP, Eastern Topographics, Feldman Geospatial, Hancock Associates,
Maine Technical Source, Meridian Associates, Moran Surveying, Inc., Nitsch Engineering,
Samiotes Consultants Inc., Spiller's, Topcon Solutions Store, VHB, Inc.

Friday and Saturday, March 18 & 19, 2022
DoubleTree by Hilton Leominster
99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA 01453
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM Friday
7:00 AM - 1:45 PM Saturday

Featuring:

Remote Access, Live and Recorded Sessions
Remote access will be provided to featured sessions. Video recordings will be made for most sessions and available for registrant viewing for a 60-day period.

In-depth Presentations
On technological advances, standards of practice, and business trends impacting the land surveying and civil engineering professions

Convention Exhibitors
Showcasing the latest technologies and services

Plan & Field Notes Contests
Submitted plans and field notes will be displayed at the Convention and participants will vote for the best plan and field notes in various categories as well as the Plan and Field Notes of the Year. 

Networking Breaks, Benefit Auction, and more!
Plenty of down time to network with and learn from with your peers. To donate an item for Friday’s auction to benefit the MALSCE Education Trust simply bring it to the convention registration desk. If you wish to donate an item before the convention, contact Rich Keenan:  617/305-4110 or rkeenan@engineers.org.

Surveyor-in-Training Refresher Course
MALSCE is pleased to offer a Surveyor-in-Training Refresher Course this spring to help participants prepare to take the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) Exam. Subjects to be covered are as follows:

• General Information and Sample Exam
• Water Boundaries
• Basic Boundary
• PLSS Overview
• Survey Math/Calculations
• GPS/Photogrammetry

The course will take place at the Convention from 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM on Saturday, March 19.
Click here to learn more and register.

Reserve your overnight room by Thursday, February 25, 2022!
Click here to learn how to reserve an overnight room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Leominster for Thursday or Friday, March 17 and 18 at the $119 MALSCE Convention attendee rate. Deluxe rooms are also available.

Please note that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists anywhere other people are present, and even precautionary measures such as masking and social distancing cannot completely eliminate this risk. Any person who chooses to travel to participate in this in-person Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers (MALSCE) convention assumes all risks arising from that decision. All participants must agree to comply with all safety procedures established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as any other protocols put in place by MALSCE, the host hotel, travel facilities, or any other applicable authorities.

Registration Deadlines: Friday, March 11, 2022 for in-person attendance; Tuesday, March 15, 2022 for remote access.
Full Convention Rates: Member $350, Non-Member $460
Remote Full Convention Access: Member $300, Non-Member $410
Friday Convention Only: Member $250, Non-Member $360
Saturday Convention Only: Member $110, Non-Member $170  

The 2022 MALSCE Convention will include the following sessions:

Friday, March 18, 2022

7:00 AM - 4:30 PM Registration Desk Open

8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Exhibit Hall Open

8:00 AM - 3:30 PM Plan and Field Notes Contests

8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Session 1: Exhibitor Quick Fire Session
Featuring a rapid-fire format during which convention exhibitors will provide a quick overview of the products and services they offer

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Breakout Sessions

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Session 2A: Coupling On-line Education with Workforce Development Initiatives
A. Richard Vannozzi, MS, PLS, Assistant Professor, Surveying Engineering Technology, University of Maine
At the core of workforce development is training and education. Historically this has meant that the jobs had to be plentiful enough in one location to bring in training and attract workers, or the jobs and workers needed to be in close proximity to existing educational institutions. Combinations that have rarely existed in surveying. However, by accessing online education, workforce development programs, employers and prospective employees can couple jobs and workers and the necessary education simultaneously virtually anywhere. In just over three years, the University of Maine’s online Baccalaureate has revolutionized undergraduate surveying education in the United States.  In the same way, the University’s online surveying undergraduate certificate program can be leveraged to create a robust workforce development program for surveying, in turn revolutionizing the creation of the next generation of technicians and professionals.

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Session 2B: 50 Ways to Improve Your Surveying Measurements 
Sponsored by Beals and Thomas, Inc.
Joseph V.R. Paiva, PhD, Principal, GeoLearn LLC
You often encounter best practice suggestions from many sources. How many of these do you follow? Do you share these with your team that conducts the field work? Joe Paiva takes you quickly through 50 tips, techniques, and procedures that all surveyors should be following to help ensure good measurements. They include tips for blunder prevention or to reduce know errors that are easy to overlook. With one-person so prevalent how do new field techs “learn the ropes?”  If you supervise or lead teams, how do you ensure everyone is “signing from the same page?” Joe’s an experienced surveyor who has also taught thousands of students in field practices, worked for manufacturers, so he has some “insider” tips, as well as his own experience as a surveyor. 

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM Session 3: Reinvigorating our Profession – Perspective from the Next Generation Surveyors
Sponsored by the MALSCE Proprietors’ Council 
Moderated by Michael A. Feldman, President, Feldman Geospatial, MALSCE Proprietors’ Council Chair. Featured Panelists include Shaine R. Bonin, Project Manager/ Survey Technician, BSC Group, Inc., Charles G. Dexter, Survey Technician, Field Chief, Feldman Geospatial and Sterling Hooke, PLS, Project Manager, Encompass Energy Services
We have heard from survey business owners, PC Members and leaders for years about our profession: challenges, successes and where they see things headed. This year we are going to provide a fresh perspective from three next-gen surveyors so we can hear their perspectives on the profession, where they want to be and how we can reinvigorate our profession for years to come. This will be an interactive session where the moderator will encourage audience questions/comments and feedback so we can get thoughts from everyone in the business – from field to office, project management, and PLS to owners.

12:30 PM - 1:45 PM Lunch, MALSCE Annual Meeting & Awards Presentations
Presiding: J. Dan Bremser, PLS, Senior Project Manager, Hancock Associates, MALSCE President
Featuring: Timothy W. Burch, PLS, Executive Director, NSPS
Featuring the Surveyor of the Year Award and President’s Award presentations. NSPS Executive Director Tim Burch will deliver the Annual Meeting’s keynote address.

NSPS, National Surveying Advocacy, and the Future of Surveying
Timothy W. Burch, PLS, Executive Director, NSPS
Like many jobs in this age of automation, the surveyor is quickly becoming an endangered profession. There are many facets in our everyday lives that are the responsibility of a surveyor, but the number of practitioners is dwindling. The pandemic may have turned our world upside down for many reasons but for surveyors, it increased our visibility and workload. Attrition will claim many within our ranks over the next several years, so we must rise together and find a way to prolong our profession through all avenues, including word of mouth, marketing, social media, and recruiting at all ages. NSPS is leading the way as the national voice and advocate for the surveying profession. We are working with legislators across the country to safeguard our professional licensing process and continuing to educate the public on the importance of our profession. 

The future of surveying remains at the forefront of the NSPS list of advocacies. We recognize the challenges faced not just by surveyors but by many other professions and occupations. We also recognize that inclusion is a key component to creating diversity and we are ramping up our efforts to be more inclusive of all nationalities, races, and genders. Together, we grow as a profession and a nation. The future of surveying is very bright, and NSPS is continuing to lead the way in creating a positive career path for our future geospatial professionals.

1:45 PM - 2:15 PM Session 4A: Surveying Career Slide Deck for Student Outreach
MALSCE Public Outreach Committee
It’s never too early to start attracting the next generation of surveyors to the profession! View the presentation the MALSCE Public Outreach Committee put together to bring to local schools to teach children about land surveyors and what they do.

1:45 PM - 3:45 PM Session 4B: Things About Instrumentation You May Have Forgotten or Never Learned 
Sponsored by Beals and Thomas, Inc.
Joseph V.R. Paiva, PhD, Principal, GeoLearn LLC  
A significant part of the error prevention and detection work can be with respect to instrumentation. The premise of this course is that by knowing some simple technology-checking techniques and a few more things about technology operation, field team members can become the first level of quality assurance in a surveying organization’s work. The approach taken in this course is that surveyors need to learn this content so that they can become teachers and coaches of their surveying teams.

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Session 5A: MassDOT New Engineering Directive E-21-005, Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE): Its Impact on Mass-based Engineers, Surveyors, and the Future of the Industry
Michael Twohig, Director of Subsurface Utility Mapping, DGT AssociatesSubsurface Utility Mapping (SUM), also known as Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), is an engineering discipline dedicated to locating and mapping buried facilities. This session’s presenter will discuss SUM, the roles and responsibilities of the owner, engineer, and contractor in protecting subsurface utility assets and the impact the latest technology will have on investigations. He will also examine national law changes requiring SUE, MassDOT’s recently released Engineering Directive E-21-005, Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), and how the U.S. compares to other countries making effective policy changes to improve public safety through survey practices.

4:15 PM - 6:00 PM Session 6A: Structural Monitoring – Tracking Movement in a Fast-Paced World
William T. Derry, Prof. LS, Technical Sales Engineer- Solutions, Monitoring, Leica Geosystems, Inc.
Today’s projects require the ability to assess measurement challenges and make decisions on which technology and approach best suit the needs of the client, who often do not understand what they need. Whether to deploy a solution involving geotechnical sensors, GNSS or automated total stations requires a solid understanding of what each can provide and how they can be deployed as a system to maximize effectiveness. This session will provide a generic review of some typical projects, considerations in planning projects and review of available technologies, without focusing on one brand. Their will be time for questions and answers, exploration of how to fully explore equipment and software capability, and common pitfalls.

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM MALSCE Education Trust Benefit Auction/Reception

7:30 PM - 8:30 PM Dinner

Saturday, March 19, 2022

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM Breakfast & MALSCE Board of Directors Meeting

8:00 AM - 12:15 PM General Session: Re-Engineering Surveyors and Their Businesses
Sponsored by Beals and Thomas, Inc.
Joseph V.R. Paiva, PhD, Principal, GeoLearn LLC 
Surveyors often ponder their status as professionals – are they or aren't they? The program will begin by examining what surveyors do currently and how it affects their self-perception and perceptions by others. We will discuss how these perceptions are created and what we might do to alter them as individuals, as a group, and as businesses. Learn from your peers and the facilitator how you might manage an “image improvement” program, as this type of activity is a difficult thing for surveyors to implement on their own. This course will help you formulate a plan for developing a plan for improving the perception of the profession from within, as well as by the public and affiliated groups.

12:15 PM - 1:15 PM Lunch

End of Convention

2022 MALSCE Convention Things to Remember

Reserve your overnight room by Thursday, February 25, 2022!
Click here to learn how to reserve an overnight room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Leominster for Thursday or Friday, March 17 and 18 at the $119 MALSCE Convention attendee rate. Junior suites are also available.

Enter the 2022 Plan and Field Notes Contests
Award-winning plans and field notes will be displayed at the 2022 MALSCE Convention and noted in the MALSCE member newsletter. Learn more by downloading the 2022 MALSCE Plan and Field Notes Contest Entry Form.

Donate an item for the auction to benefit the MALSCE Education Trust!
To donate an item, simply bring it to the registration desk at the convention by 12:00 PM on Friday, March 18. If you wish to donate an item, but cannot attend the convention, contact Rich Keenan:  617/305-4110 or rkeenan@engineers.org.

Promotional Opportunities

Reserve your exhibit space!
Download the 2022 MALSCE Convention Exhibit Space Rental Agreement.

Become a convention advertiser and sponsor!
Promote your organization to convention attendees. Advertise in the convention booklet and/or sponsor a refreshment break. Download the 2022 MALSCE Convention Advertising and Sponsorship Registration Form.