Across the sector, more clients and client organisations are recognising its value and are actively seeking out TSA to find out more about what the scheme offers.

Why PUMA matters

Geospatial surveying is one of the essential, but often unseen, disciplines behind and under the built environment.  Raising standards in utility surveying, a specialism within geospatial surveying, has never been more important. High-quality, reliable survey data is essential to prioritise safety, improve efficiency, and ultimately save time and money on infrastructure projects.

This was the driving force behind the creation of PUMA, the PAS128 Utility Mapping Accreditation scheme and feeds directly into the national marketing campaign recently launched by TSA

Developed over ten years by TSA, PUMA represents a significant step forward for our profession. It provides a robust and independent way to assess whether geospatial surveyors can consistently deliver work in line with the PAS128 specification.

Building confidence through accreditation

For accredited TSA members, PUMA offers a clear and credible way to demonstrate compliance with PAS128:2022. Crucially, it also gives clients confidence in both the level of service and the accuracy of the data they receive.

Every PUMA-accredited company has undergone independent audit, ensuring that:

• Survey outputs meet PAS128 requirements
• Working practices are robust and consistent
• Staff are properly trained and demonstrably competent

This means that when clients choose a PUMA-accredited company, they can be assured they are working with a provider fully equipped to deliver reliable, compliant survey data.

Raising the bar for utility surveys

By standardising how PAS128 surveys are delivered, PUMA has raised the bar for the entire construction industry. It establishes a benchmark for quality, giving accredited companies a powerful way to differentiate themselves and prove their capability.

Equally, it simplifies decision-making for clients, who no longer need to rely solely on claims of compliance as they have independent assurance.

PUMA is administered by LRQA, a global leader in assurance, certification, and inspection services, further strengthening the scheme’s credibility and rigour.

A scheme gaining real traction

What’s particularly encouraging is how quickly PUMA is gaining recognition across the sector.

With a number of major infrastructure projects in the pipeline that will require PAS128 surveys, we are seeing a shift in client expectations. Organisations with large contracts are beginning to explicitly request that PUMA accreditation is written into project requirements.

In many cases, they are actively reaching out to TSA to better understand how the accreditation works and how it can support their project delivery.

PUMA is increasingly being recognised as the gold standard for PAS128 surveys.

Looking ahead

The momentum behind PUMA signals a positive change for the industry. For survey companies, this is an opportunity to demonstrate excellence and stand out in a competitive market.

For clients, it is a chance to reduce risk, avoid costly delays, and ensure confidence in the data that underpins their projects.

Find out more about PUMA

If you’re interested in learning more about PUMA accreditation and how it could benefit your organisation or projects, we encourage you to get in touch with TSA.

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Preserving our past

3D Geospatial Surveys are the ultimate way of recording and keeping track of the condition and change in old buildings. These types of specialist surveys, guided by Historic England’s specification, will capture buildings, important sites, structures and even landscapes in high detail and accuracy. It is useful data for government, councils, conservation specialists, estates, and private owners to evaluate and maintain their assets, providing a snapshot for present and future guardianship.

The 3Ddata, drawings, and models are then used to inform planning or conservation decisions, to ensure that any intervention balances the need for modernisation or retrofit with conservation and preserving the historic fabric. In this way, we can both preserve the past and ensure a future for these buildings and monuments, with the emphasis on their importance and place in our cultural landscape.

Protecting the future

A heritage geospatial survey provides accurate, reliable measured data to support the understanding, conservation, repair and long-term management of historic buildings, structures and landscapes. A specialist geospatial surveyor will be guided by Historic England’s Geospatial Survey Specifications for Cultural Heritage (2024), selecting appropriate methods according to the significance, complexity and intended use of the site or asset.

This may include desk-based preparation, review of existing information, site assessment, survey control, terrestrial laser scanning, mobile mapping, photogrammetry, GNSS, UAV survey, topographical survey and measured building survey techniques. The objective is not simply to produce a “normal as-built survey”, but to create accurate, appropriate and well-structured geospatial data that records the form, position, geometry and spatial relationships of the heritage asset.

Depending on the project requirements, this data may document architectural features, such as windows, staircases, doorways, arches, roof structures, floor levels, wall alignments, decorative elements, and areas of deformation or movement. It can also support condition surveys, conservation planning, structural assessment, archaeological interpretation, retrofit design, maintenance strategies, and future monitoring.

Heritage geospatial surveys are therefore an essential part of responsible conservation practice. They help ensure that decisions about repair, adaptation, development, renovation or retrofit are based on accurate information, reducing the risk of avoidable damage to historic fabric and helping protect irreplaceable cultural heritage for the future.

Building trust and confidence

TSA Council Member Andy Beardsley MRICS, a chartered geospatial surveyor and Managing Director of Terra Measurement, has spoken extensively about the importance of Heritage Surveys and their place in the surveying landscape.

“For over 30 years, I’ve worked in geospatial survey measurement and monitoring, much of that on historic structures. And what concerns me today is not technology or software, it’s decision-making. Because the risk to heritage today is no longer a lack of care, it’s false confidence in inadequate information. Information that looks complete because it’s detailed, because it’s visual, because it’s been modelled, but it hasn’t been fully verified. So, decisions get made, designs progress, procurement follows, and the risk is already embedded. ‘It looks detailed’ is not the same as being right.

“Every time we measure an historic building, we are making a decision about how well it will be understood, not just today, but in the future. There is a campaign by The Survey Association that has just begun and it puts this theme more bluntly. If geospatial surveyors stop tomorrow, the cracks begin to show. But this is a metaphor. It’s not just about physical cracks. It’s cracks in coordination, in communication, in confidence and in the financial stability of construction projects. Because when the information isn’t reliable, teams stop trusting it – and when teams stop trusting the information, they start to make their own decisions on site, under pressure, without a shared reference point or survey. And that’s where risk multiplies.” 

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Running a survey business can be an enjoyable challenge but it can also be very stressful for many reasons. Combined with tight budgets, economic uncertainty, staff shortages and the pressure to deliver precise results, stress can quickly build.

For those in smaller teams, or surveyors working alone, there may be fewer opportunities to share concerns or decompress with colleagues. And although surveying is a diverse profession, many individuals may not feel naturally inclined to open up or ask for support, even when it’s needed.

Be proactive with protecting your mental health

That’s why it’s important to be proactive. Looking after your mental health doesn’t require dramatic change, as small, manageable actions can have a significant impact. On site, this might include:

• Taking regular breaks, even short ones, to reset and avoid fatigue
• Staying connected, checking in with a colleague or friend during the day, for more than just health and safety reasons
• Planning your workload realistically wherever you can to reduce unnecessary pressure
• Getting fresh air and movement, beyond the task at hand, to clear your mind
• Recognising early signs of stress, like irritability or difficulty concentrating, and addressing them early.

Team leaders can support this proactivity by creating open cultures where wellbeing can be discussed freely. Ultimately, taking care of your mental health is not a luxury, it’s essential. You don’t have to handle everything alone. This May, let’s encourage everyone in the surveying community to look after themselves and each other.

The post Mental Health Awareness Month: Looking after your wellbeing in May appeared first on The Survey Association.

Depth of knowledge

The answer, of course, is “All at sea”. Hydrographic surveys are an important aspect of global mapping and are useful at finding a myriad of features and structures concealed by water. In the same way that underground utility surveys reveal what lies beneath ground level, hydrographic surveys explore the depths of various bodies of water. They are a practical way to explore oceans, the sea, inlets, harbours and coastal areas, lakes, rivers, meres, pools, estuaries and other watery expanses.

Hydrographic surveys map areas such as ocean floors and riverbeds, to show how the ground undulates and indicates depths and other data. They can be used for civil engineering projects, such as bridges, or for maritime projects like dredging or environmental issues. They can also map the ocean floor for navigational purposes.

Expansive projects

River and canal surveys have defined parameters and follow the course of the waterways, whereas oceans and seas are more complicated and expansive, requiring survey vessels and other equipment. But they don’t just explore and map subaquatic landscapes. They are also used by maritime industries, construction firms, insurance companies and government agencies to inspect, map and evaluate submerged structures and vessels. They are essential for ensuring the safety and maintenance of bridges, harbours and waterways, docks, oil rigs and pipelines, as well as checking the condition of boat hulls and the position of wrecks.

The importance of geospatial surveyors is exemplified by the number of sectors the profession can be involved with – everyone from environmental campaigners, cartographers and construction projects, to local councils, planners and lawyers settling boundary disputes. Hydrographic surveys are another discipline and a specialist area of surveying knowledge, with its own equipment and skillsets. Once collected, the digital data can be processed to create digital models and 3D views of the terrain or structure. This information is invaluable, as so much beneath the waterline is unseen and unknown.

Dive into a new career in geospatial surveying

The breadth of knowledge required to be a surveyor goes beyond maths and an ambition to work outdoors. There are many different disciplines that feed into surveying and people with all kinds of backgrounds enter the profession. The flexibility and appeal of working outside and inside – not simply being office-based – is a big draw for many people. It’s also a career that can be learned and enhanced whilst doing the job. This can be via apprenticeships, with professional qualifications available and ongoing development an option, through courses such as The Survey School curriculum and other organisations and bodies.   

There’s a lot more information about routes into surveying here https://www.becomeasurveyor.com/ with case studies and practical insight into how to join the profession and map out a successful career.

The post Where would we be without…Hydrographic Surveys? appeared first on The Survey Association.

Across the UK, more than four million excavations are carried out each year. A significant number proceed without a comprehensive survey of buried pipes and cables. Strikes on underground assets pose serious risks to life and can cause major financial loss and project disruption. Improving the consistency and reliability of utility surveys is crucial for improving safety and reducing cost and delay. TSA created PUMA to provide its members with a robust, independently assessed framework that raises standards across the industry.

By choosing a PUMA‑accredited company, clients gain assurance that survey work will be carried out accurately and to an agreed level of quality – helping avoid costly errors, unnecessary delays and potentially dangerous incidents.

Sam Roberts, Chair of the PUMA Governance Committee and TSA Council member, said:

“Before the introduction of PUMA, any organisation could state that they were working to the PAS128 specification, but there was no requirement to verify this. TSA’s accreditation scheme has changed that. When clients see that a survey company holds PUMA accreditation, they can be confident that the service and data quality will meet a recognised and independently assessed standard.”

Two stages to PUMA accreditation

PUMA is available to eligible members of The Survey Association. The scheme is delivered by LRQA, a global leader in assurance, certification and inspection. Accreditation involves two stages: a rigorous review of a company’s office processes and systems, followed by a detailed site assessment. Once accredited, companies enter a three‑year cycle of LRQA surveillance to ensure that the standards on which accreditation was awarded are consistently upheld.

Come and meet TSA’s team on Stand P128

Visitors to Utility Week Live 2026 are invited to meet TSA’ ‘s team on stand P128 to learn more about PUMA and how the scheme supports safer working, improved efficiency and significant cost savings across utility and construction projects.

Register for Utility Week Live 2026 here.

The post PUMA: TSA’s PAS128 Utility Mapping Accreditation to be showcased at Utility Week Live 2026 appeared first on The Survey Association.

In this article, we’re going to look at 10 typical examples of geospatial surveying being used to gather data and inform decisions, designs, planning, legislation, our futures and more…  

Utility surveys at planning stage and urban upgrade projects

Underground utilities surveys are among the most useful surveys in the planning stage of construction projects, locating the positioning and depth of various underground services and channels, to ensure that delays and hazards are minimised. 

They are also essential in urban upgrade projects, where new technologies are being introduced and installed in built environments. The location of existing services has to be known in order for new technologies – for example fibreoptic broadband or water and sewer upgrades – to be installed underground and aligned with existing routes.

Flood risk management – geospatial expertise needed

One of the biggest concerns about housing development in the UK is the potential use of floodplains and areas prone to waterlogging or flooding for building. Flood risk management is another area where geospatial surveying can be extremely useful at the planning stage, mapping areas of concern and identifying how flooding can be mitigated against, or avoided altogether, by the location of the project.

Measuring water resources

Water is also a huge natural resource and its management is an integral part of the UK’s water supply to households and industry. Accurately measuring water resources is an important part of that management process. Hydrographic surveys can measure riverbed levels, or survey reservoir capacities, to provide detailed data for dredge planning and flood/waste modelling too.

Port projects

Hydrographic surveys can also be used in harbour or port projects, to ascertain if safe passage can be achieved for ships, so they will be able to navigate safety to dock. Many estuaries change over time, with silting and other geographical shifts, and monitoring of this using surveying techniques is an essential element of maritime construction.

Coastal protection

Monitoring land near the sea is also a vital part of coastal protection. In instances where coastal erosion and weathering are causing major changes to our coastlines, geospatial surveyors can chart these changes and define the pace of change and measures that will need to be installed, as defence against such land loss.  

Trains, traffic and infrastructure

For new rail transportation infrastructure, such as metro links or high-speed rail, geospatial surveying can be used to plan efficient routes, analyse the environmental impact of traffic and manage land acquisition, to be traversed by the tracks.

Bridge construction projects deploy a variety of surveying techniques in their design and construction process – from land surveying of the bridge approaches to underwater surveys of the riverbed’s geography, if pylons or stanchions are going to be required as bridge supports.

The construction of tunnels is one of the most complex types of infrastructure project, whether they are for road or rail routes. A project such as Crossrail would employ 3D modelling and other geospatial technology to monitor the precise boring and construction of underground tunnels, to ensure they integrate with existing infrastructure.

Protecting the environment

Geospatial surveying is essential for environmental protection and conservation work. From tracking deforestation to streamlining land management, surveyors can help to instigate projects such as replanting, to ensure efficiency and sustainability in the landscape are preserved for future generations.

The post 10 times a geospatial surveyor is essential appeared first on The Survey Association.

Part 1 explored why that moment is necessary. Part 2 addresses the more uncomfortable reality: what happens when we do nothing?

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

By the time most people realise there is a problem with a survey, the consequences have already taken hold.

The data has been trusted. The design has been developed. Models have been coordinated. Procurement decisions have been made. Construction is either underway or complete.

At that point, the question is no longer whether the survey was correct.

It is how much the error is going to cost.

TSA Council member Andy Beardsley, has written part two of this special edition of The Geospatial Edge.

The post Reclaiming geospatial – why the sector must unite (part 2) appeared first on The Survey Association.

This year’s invitation list expanded beyond the traditional membership, bringing together Tier 1 contractors, clients of survey companies, and other key industry stakeholders. The result was a lively, engaged gathering of serious-minded geospatial professionals, decision makers, and influencers, all committed to the future of the profession.

Key decisions and the President’s Award

The formal AGM business was chaired by TSA President Claire Fenwick, who oversaw several important updates, including a significant change to TSA’s Articles and Rules. For the first time, Affiliate Members will now be eligible to stand for Council — an important step toward broader representation and sector-wide collaboration.

Claire also presented the President’s Award, sponsored by Lockton, to Melvin Penwill of KOREC, recognising his enthusiastic and tireless work in supporting training at The Survey School. His contribution continues to make a meaningful impact across the sector.

Shaping a national awareness campaign

One of the day’s central themes emerged as Oliver Viney, TSA Vice President, introduced the Stakeholder Session. He was joined by Kirsty Ostell, Managing Director of O Agency, who highlighted the vital role of professional marketing expertise and experience in raising the profile of geospatial professionals on a national scale.

The vision is clear: the profession needs greater visibility, clearer messaging, and better public understanding. As both speakers emphasised, this change will take time. It is not going to happen overnight, but will involve structured input and a clear plan to be carried out over years rather than months.

TSA has committed to this long-term approach. However, the campaign’s success will depend on sustained support and funding from across the profession. Members should contact TSA CEO Rachel Tyrrell or any Council member for more information on how to contribute.

Connection, conversation and planning ahead

After the morning’s discussions, attendees enjoyed a tour of Twickenham, followed by lunch, a welcome opportunity to continue conversations informally and build on the energy of the sessions. Smaller group meetings took place in the afternoon, with considerable enthusiasm around shaping the next phases of the awareness campaign.

The shared sense of purpose was summarised powerfully by Oliver Viney, who stated:

“Our profession shapes the nation’s infrastructure, fuels innovation, and underpins every major decision about our built and natural environments – yet its value is still widely underestimated. We’re here to change that. By uniting behind a bold, UK wide campaign, we can elevate the profile of our skills, attract the next generation of talent, strengthen standards, and secure our rightful place at the top tables. Together, we can make geospatial surveying recognised as the critical national infrastructure it truly is – not someday, but starting right now.”

What attendees said

When asked about the best part of the day, the feedback spoke volumes:

• “The feeling I got with a unified call to action was so inspiring and filled me with confidence for the future of our profession.”
• “Gathering and harnessing the passion and unity desire in the room!”
• “The open and frank discussion around important issues that need to be actioned.”
• “Good to see a major campaign of this scale launched so effectively. A significant amount of work has clearly gone in behind the scenes, and it was presented in a way that genuinely engaged the room. Credit to the TSA team and the speakers on the day, a well delivered and professionally run session.”

The 46th AGM marked not only an important moment for the Association, but also a turning point for the wider geospatial community – one defined by unity, ambition, and the shared commitment to tell the story of a profession that underpins the nation’s future.

The post TSA’s 46th AGM: A landmark gathering and the launch of a national campaign appeared first on The Survey Association.

It is an ambitious move, built around visibility, advocacy, recruitment, and a unified voice for a profession that underpins everything from infrastructure and construction to heritage and environmental management.

But the need for this Charter raises a more uncomfortable question. How has a discipline so fundamental — the starting point of design, the reference for engineering, and the record that supports long-term asset management – reached a position where it must explain its value, clarify its identity, and actively reintroduce itself to the industries it supports?

TSA Council member Andy Beardsley, has written this special edition of The Geospatial Edge

The post Reclaiming geospatial: Why the sector must unite appeared first on The Survey Association.

In the first of a series of snapshots discussing various aspects of surveying, we ask: “Where would we be without underground utility surveys?”   

Essential groundwork

Underground utility surveys, also known as PAS128 surveys are an integral part of the construction process. Without them, it would be much more difficult to ascertain the suitability of a site for building projects, or to understand the location of services and potential obstacles underground.

The layout of any development depends heavily on the resources and services already present. Ideally, you don’t design a housing development on a site criss-crossed by underground electric cables and sewer pipes. That isn’t to say such obstacles are insurmountable, but an underground utility survey could identify them well in advance, allowing designers to proceed accordingly.

Under investigation

Underground surveys are carried out by qualified professionals using geospatial technology. Surveyors use electromagnetic detection, GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar), GNSS and total stations to create a detailed, multilayered digital map of what lies beneath. The construction process can be fraught with unforeseen challenges, but having the assurance of a PAS128 utility survey goes a long way towards minimising these risks.

Construction projects need underground utility surveys (or PAS128 surveys) to be carried out before building work can start. A surveyor will locate, identify and map most utility services beneath the surface. Most underground utilities, such as electric cabling, telecoms, drainage, gas, water, and fibre optic services, can typically be found, along with other buried hazards, voids and other subterranean features.

In a world where surveys are not carried out, expensive design changes or costly diversion of services might be needed mid-project – if existing services are found to  obstruct foundation layouts or conflict with planned utility routes servicing the development.    

Build on solid foundations

A world without underground surveys would mean far more exploratory, preparatory work before any design or construction could begin.

Our ‘depth of knowledge’ and expertise in underground utility surveying is reinforced by our commitment to ensuring our member companies carry out their work to the highest standard. TSA has created a PAS128 accreditation scheme called PUMA (PAS128 Utility Mapping Accreditation) for all its utility surveying members. PUMA provides a defined benchmark and creates a national standard for best practice. It demonstrates continuous professional improvement, gives clients confidence in survey quality, and can save time and costly delays.

To find out more about our PUMA accreditation, get in touch with us today.

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