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Rory M Stanbridge, FCInstCES, MRICS, FRSPSoc, is secretary general of The Survey Association. Here he outlines TSA’s new guidance on utility mapping
The Survey Association, or TSA as it is better known, recently released a new guidance document on utility mapping. The document has been two years in the making and has been endorsed by a number of major organisations as well as Mark Prisk MP, the Business and Enterprise Minister.
TSA’s role
TSA is the trade body for land, hydrographic and technical surveying companies in the UK. The association was formed in 1979 to give a focus for the private sector businesses in land and hydrographic survey. Today, TSA has over 130 companies in membership as full, associate, supplier, academic and affiliate members directly involved in the survey business.
The role of TSA is to promote best practice amongst its members, provide a forum for members for discussion, debate and continuing professional development and to the wider audience (such as engineers), provide guidance on new methods and techniques and a list of suitably qualified and experienced companies. TSA is also heavily involved in lobbying government and other bodies such as the Environment Agency regarding policies likely to affect or involve the survey industry.
Guidance
TSA has written and published a series of guidance notes, all of which are downloadable free of charge from the website at: www.tsa-uk.org.uk. All TSA guidance notes and client guides are additionally endorsed by the RICS and the CICES. The notes cover a wide range of subjects all designed to help clients and members alike to understand and make the most of modern surveying techniques. Subjects covered include accuracies, laser scanning, specifications, building surveys, working on railways etc.
In 2008 TSA engaged with other major stakeholders in producing a set of guidelines to de-mystify the use of GPS. The final results are in a set of best practice guides for use both by surveyors and clients. The GPS guidance document and the latest utility guidance document can also be downloaded free of charge from the TSA website.
Mark Prisk MP, the business and enterprise minister, wrote
“I am pleased to see that The Survey Association has produced this document which is not only written in plain and concise English but which will also become a vital source of information for all those concerned with the UK’s construction industry. Clients and contractors alike will find the utility guidance note a useful document when both commissioning a utility survey and when considering health and safety issues.”
Liaison
TSA also liaises with the RICS and CICES on a range of issues and has established a group called the SLG, or Survey Liaison Group. This body meets at regular intervals to examine matters of mutual interest and to ensure that there is little or no duplication of effort by the three bodies.
Can any survey company become a member of TSA? The answer to this question is no. Any Company applying for membership has to provide substantial trade and professional references. It is also a requirement of membership that the applicant company must have been trading for at least three years with sound supporting evidence of financial stability. The final requirement for membership is the examination of recent projects by at least three members of TSA Council, all professional surveyors themselves, and an assessment visit by the secretary general of the association.
Guaranteed performance?
What guarantees does TSA provide in respect of its members and their performance? After a company has been admitted into membership, there is still an ongoing annual assessment of the company, particularly of the members’ financial standing. TSA has a complaints procedure to address any client complaints about a member company. However, it is fair to say that in the thirty years since the formation of TSA, the number of complaints can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
A new addition to the website is a client feedback form. TSA encourages all types of feedback, both positive and negative, as it is only from sharing experiences that we can all improve. Another recent addition to the website is the inclusion of a series of work samples which are intended to show to the purchaser of a survey the quality of data that should be expected from a TSA member.
So there you have it. If you want to ensure that your project goes without a hitch and gets off on the right foot, engage a TSA member and get it right from the start.
A video has been produced to accompany the document and this can be viewed on the TSA website at www.tsa-uk.org.uk
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