Networking opportunities

Our members always appreciate opportunities to network with each other and where we can, we like to choose venues for our events that are memorable for all the right reasons. The Anfield stadium in Liverpool was certainly a magnificent setting, whether members were football fans or not! Watch some abbreviated highlights of the video we made on the day, which convey the great atmosphere of this stunning location.

Networking at Geo Business 2023

We are looking forward to catching up with many of our members at next week’s Geo Business at Excel in London (17-18 May).https://www.tsa-uk.org.uk/five-reasons-to-visit-tsa-at-geo-business/. In the meantime, remember that access to live events, including our annual conference and our AGM, are just one of the perks of membership of TSA. To find out more about TSA membership, go to https://www.tsa-uk.org.uk/membership/ and don’t forget to keep an eye on our events page here https://www.tsa-uk.org.uk/events/ for news on our latest exclusive events for members.

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In a change to the usual format of the day, Martin Mulholland of MD Safety presented the morning session with the afternoon being run by Jenny Evans of Rainbows End Coaching.

TSA Members enjoy this free event every year, with legislative updates and news followed by a more in-depth focus on a particular subject.

Martin focused on the usual Health & Safety Legislation updates, which included HSE statistics from 2018.  He then went on to cover how to manage staff safely, when confronted by violent behaviour or the threat of it – especially in relation to survey equipment theft.

After the opportunity to do some networking over lunch, Jenny Evans kicked off a truly interactive workshop on Emotional Wellbeing.  Attendees were encouraged to participate in a series of enjoyable, but ultimately thought-provoking exercises to understand how we see ourselves, how we can cope with stress more effectively and how a positive mindset can truly change our lives.

Feedback from attendees:

“Thanks for arranging, I found the day very useful.”

“Both presentations were very interesting.”

“Very informative, looking forward to the next one!”

“Fantastic event again.”

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The actual business of the AGM was presided over by TSA President Adam Bradley, beginning his second year in office, along with Nick Hampson as Vice-President who was also re-elected.

The newly elected Council was announced: Adam Bradley, Nick Hampson, Graham Mills, Stuart Dimond, Olly Viney, Adrian Halliwell, Tony Rogers, David Watterston, Nathan Spencer, Sam Roberts, Mike Hopkins and newly elected Lucy Powers.  This year had seen an election for Council and Adam thanked Luke Steadman who had been unsuccessful this time around. The effort that the volunteers of Council put into TSA should not be underestimated and Adam thanked all concerned.

This year’s President’s Award was presented to Andrew Crumpler, Senior Tutor at The Survey School. Andrew has personally taught hundreds of students and given them a firm foundation in surveying, many of whom took to social media to express their delight at the announcement and gratitude to Andrew for the skills he had taught them so well. Lockton sponsored the glass trophy and have generously donated £100 to Andrew’s nominated charity – ‘Maggies’, which supports cancer patients and their families.

With the official business of the AGM finished quicker than an England innings in Australia, the day was devoted to topics that matter most to members.

As he did last year, Gordon Jenkins, Director of Operations at CSCS, gave an update on the changes to the CSCS Card scheme which is affecting TSA Members.  Gordon explained the background and also the way that TSA has worked closely with them to deal with any problems that have arisen.

TSA Vice-President, Nick Hampson, then provided the latest news on both TSA Level 3 Diploma in Engineering Surveying and the Geospatial Apprenticeships.  Almost 200 registrations have been received for the Level 3 Diploma qualification, with seven Assessors at various stages of training and 17 candidates actively going through the process. The Geospatial Apprenticeships (level 3 and Level 6) have now received Ministerial approval so employers can now use their Apprenticeship Levy payments or Government apprenticeship funding to pay for the development of new talent for their businesses. TSA is very proud to have funded all the development work. If anyone would like to know more on where the Apprenticeships are being delivered, please contact Christina Hirst directly (christina.hirst@chconsultancy.com)

Everyone’s favourite subject, GDPR, was then covered by Brett Taylor from QMS – giving Members the background to the regulation which has an implementation date of 25^th May 2018. A thorough explanation followed, taking Members through what the changes to data protection are and what steps they need to take.

We were then joined by Stephen Kyberd, Head of Engineering at the Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI) at Oxford University. Stephen spoke on Mapping and Localising for Autonomous Vehicles, showing examples of where their engineering teams deploy the ORI’s research across a range of robots in diverse environments.

A two course lunch was then served, with the opportunity for everyone to sit either at tables or enjoy the sunshine on the balcony, with the players having a net on the pitch below. Members also made the most of the opportunity to network.

The afternoon session was given over solely to the drastic rise in survey equipment theft over the last 12-18 months. Rachael Oakley from SmartWater gave members an overview of the new initiative launched with TSA in February, to collect all theft details and feed them into an Intelligence Portal. TSA Members are now receiving regular updates which include crime hot spots and analysis on trends and organised crime. Andy Barton from Jelf gave the insurers perspective and then a lively and thorough debate ensued. Members were able to quiz the panel, which included James Cooper of Survey Solutions and David Norris of Plowman Craven – sharing their experiences and also useful suggestions. The manufacturers also updated everyone present as to the various measures they are taking to help tackle the problem. TSA’s greatest strength was in evidence – providing a forum for all elements of the survey profession to come together and discuss issues that affect everyone.

A further session on this subject will be held at GEO Business, on 23^rd May at 10.30am – please do come along, details are HERE.

The feedback has been excellent:

“TSA organised a very good event, very impressed with debate over stolen instruments.”

“This was my first conference and it was a pleasure to be in the company of like-minded professionals who are all going through the same business related issues.”

“The event was very well organised and the speakers were all interesting and relevant. The stolen equipment forum was particularly good with many valid points raised. Well done TSA”

“This was the first one I have attended. It was fantastic.”

“Excellent day. Good agenda. Lively discussions.”

What are you waiting for? Get involved!

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The day had been fully booked in just a matter of hours, so the appetite was definitely there for TSA Members to improve their understanding and use of Social Media for their business.  Every company is now expected to have a presence on LinkedIn and Twitter – if not, then you risk simply being left behind.  The opportunities are enormous and yet many people do not fully understand how it works – and how it can transform your business and how you communicate.

Every attendee had access to a laptop – part of a recent upgrade of the IT infrastructure of The School by TSA.  This ensured a very hands-on session, where members could immediately put new skills into practice.

The morning session focused on LinkedIn – starting with the very basics and helping people set up their own profile, understand what each section was for and how best to maximise networking opportunities.

After an enjoyable buffet lunch (the cakes were delicious!) – and some face-to-face networking time for which TSA events are famous – the group got to grips with Twitter.  Much fun was had as everyone set up an account and then starting tweeting, retweeting and hash-tagging to their heart’s content.  Check out TSA’s Twitter account, @surveyassoc, for proof of the explosion of tweets.  We hope to be able to run another course on this subject soon.

The feedback has been excellent:

“I found the course extremely #helpful. It has given me the #knowledge I need to setup and use our social media accounts more effectively. Thanks @surveyassoc!”

“A really helpful, useful course with time for practical exercises and lots of time to ask questions and get feedback. The course ran at a good pace and covered topics in a good level of detail. I would recommend the course to my colleagues.”

“It was a motivational day, thanks very much.”

“Yes good crowd as usual. And a good venue and well organised. Many thanks.”

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The day had been fully booked in just a matter of hours, so the appetite was definitely there for TSA Members to improve their understanding and use of Social Media for their business.  Every company is now expected to have a presence on LinkedIn and Twitter – if not, then you risk simply being left behind.  The opportunities are enormous and yet many people do not fully understand how it works – and how it can transform your business and how you communicate.

Every attendee had access to a laptop – part of a recent upgrade of the IT infrastructure of The School by TSA.  This ensured a very hands-on session, where members could immediately put new skills into practice.

The morning session focused on LinkedIn – starting with the very basics and helping people set up their own profile, understand what each section was for and how best to maximise networking opportunities.

After an enjoyable buffet lunch (the cakes were delicious!) – and some face-to-face networking time for which TSA events are famous – the group got to grips with Twitter.  Much fun was had as everyone set up an account and then starting tweeting, retweeting and hash-tagging to their heart’s content.  Check out TSA’s Twitter account, @surveyassoc, for proof of the explosion of tweets.  We hope to be able to run another course on this subject soon.

The feedback has been excellent:

“I found the course extremely #helpful. It has given me the #knowledge I need to setup and use our social media accounts more effectively. Thanks @surveyassoc!”

“A really helpful, useful course with time for practical exercises and lots of time to ask questions and get feedback. The course ran at a good pace and covered topics in a good level of detail. I would recommend the course to my colleagues.”

“It was a motivational day, thanks very much.”

“Yes good crowd as usual. And a good venue and well organised. Many thanks.”

The post Social Media for Surveyors appeared first on The Survey Association.

TSA’s annual November Discussion Group meeting was held last week at the stunning venue of the SS Great Britain in Bristol. The topic for the day was Hydrography, rightly befitting an association whose full title is The UK Land & Hydrographic Survey Association although most people just call it TSA.

The title for the meeting was appropriately “A life on the ocean waves” and included presentations on modern hydrography, education, flood protection and offshore engineering. With a slightly less watery theme, there were also presentations on accountancy and auto enrolment. TSA really appreciates the time given up by the speakers at these events.

The SS Great Britain offers a real insight into days gone by and the lunch, held in the saloon of the ship, was accompanied by a short talk on the ship by a member of staff. The ship is now used as a wedding venue and it must be a fantastic setting for such an event.

Each year, for the last four at least, the meeting has included the presentation of the bursary prize to a student from Newcastle University. This monetary prize is awarded following the submission of a relevant (to the venue and topic) paper by the students and judged by four TSA Council members. This year the recipient was Edward Caltieri whose brother also won it three years ago. Hereditary surveyors perhaps? The winner’s cheque was presented by Graham Mills (TSA President) although Edward will have to write a mid-term report to receive the rest of the bursary. We do like to make the students earn their money.

In addition to the TSA members, a few special guests were also invited to the event. These included Bill Pryke and Steven Lailey from Chartered ICES and ex TSA Council member Matt French. It was great to see him again.

The day was efficiently and amusingly chaired by Adam Bradley and, judging by the feedback received to date, everyone seems to have had a good time. These events are great for networking and we are currently looking at how best to increase this element of the meeting.

Plans are already being pulled together for next year’s event which will concentrate on BIM. We hope you will all find time to attend.

Feedback received:

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