LANDTECH Expands Survey Capabilities

LANDTECH is proud to announce the acquisition of the one of the most respected surveying teams in Connecticut, William Seymour Associates.

The two firms have had an ongoing collaboration for years, and LandTech leadership is committed to carrying on the legacy of the firm's late founder William W. Seymour. He was a skilled and dedicated professional who showed great leadership and care for members of his team as they have worked for decades to provide quality, reliable survey solutions to all their clients throughout Fairfield County, Connecticut.

About William Seymour Associates

William W. Seymour (1943-1997) founded the company in 1977. He served three terms as president of the Connecticut Association of Land Surveyors from 1987 through 1989. Seymore was instrumental in preparing the current Standards for Surveys and Maps in the State of Connecticut.

On his death in 1997, long-time employee Jeffrey W. McDougal purchased the firm, and serves as its President to this day.

William Seymour Associates is a member of The Connecticut Association of Land Surveyors, Inc., Land Surveyors in Private Practice, National Society of Professional Surveyors, American Congress of Surveying and Mapping, Connecticut Harbor Management Association and The Connecticut Business and Industry Association.

A Little History of Land Surveying

Surveyors have played a role in shaping history. Surveying tools and basic mathematical principles helped ancient Egyptians set the corners of the great pyramids. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln were all surveyors.

Thomas Jefferson commissioned Lewis and Clark to explore and survey the territories resulting from one of the greated land transfers in history, the Louisiana Purchase. Their findings, reports, maps, and data led to one of the greatest migrations in history, the expansion of European settlements that eventually took over and led to statehood for much of the western sections of the United States.

Surveyors were responsible for the engineering that connected the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads, which met in Promontory Point, Utah, to form the first transcontinental railroad in the Western Hemisphere.

They also helped measure the distance from earth to the moon. The first men to land on the moon placed a grouping of reflector prisms - measuring tools used by surveyors. The distance measured was accurate within a few feet.

When the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred in February of 2003, the debris field scattered over hundreds of miles across 40 states. Using high-precision GPS equipment, surveyors were able to identify debris locations so that scientists could collect the materials and reconstruct the accident.

Land Surveying Techonology

Land surveying technology has come a long way over the past several decades. Advancements in scientific equipment have improved accuracy, efficiency, and entire process of land surveying. These improvements include:

GPS Technology, including GPS (Global Positioning System)

This technology has become far more accurate and accessible — at this point, we would argue indispensable — since the days of analog transits being physically aligned with measuring rods. These tools gives land surveyors the ability to measure precise locations of finely measured points on the ground surface. The result is also a process far faster and more efficient than previously imagined.

GIS (Geographic Information Systems)

GIS is now an essential tool integrated into professional land surveying. It allows surveyors to manage, visualize, analyze, and depict measurements for more effectively. GIS integration has made it easier to create accurate maps and identify trends or patterns in the landscape.

Remote Sensing Capabilities

Remote sensing technologies such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and aerial photography have undergone radical technological transformations. These enablee surveyors to collect detailed data on large areas quickly and accurately. They give surveyors the ability to map out and analyze terrain, plant life, built structures, large objects and other landscape features without the need to access every point on the ground physically.

Drones

The growth of drone use and the technologies available in drone design have revolutionized land surveying. They offer reliable and efficient methods for capturing very high resolution aerial imagery and data about topography and land formations. Drones can cover huge surface areas as they provide detailed data that is used in dozens of surveying applications.

Digital Data Collection

The swift conversion from outdated pen-and-paper methods to digital data collection has changed the surveying process radically. It reduces the risk of human error. It accelerates the process. It provides accuracy once thought impossible. Surveyors use digital devices and software to store measurements, observations, and other data from directly on site in the field.

Advancements in Software

The development of highly specialized hardware and software for use in the surveying world has improved the way professionals collect, channel, analyze, and create presentable data. It is easier to create accurate and detailed maps, reports and models. These can be easily shared with clients.

These advancements have not only made land surveying efficient and far more accurate but have also expanded the ever-growing range of applications for professional surveyors. Land surveyors are playing an expanding role different professional specialties such as urban planning, environmental data, climate change monitoring, and development of infrastructure, public works and may others uses.

LandTech's professional survey work provides a high-quality dependable resource for establishing property boundaries, environmental setbacks and drainage requirements, and to serve as the basis for design and layout of land developments, public works, street and highway projects and other mapping projects.