Land Surveying Ethics

In an industry involved in both art and science, itundertaken.
is sometimes difficult to have hard and fast rulesWhen dealing with others within the business
that apply to every ethical situation. But there is acommunity, a surveyor should not make or allude
clear set of guidelines that every respectable andto any false or misleading statements while
honorable land surveyor should follow:advertising your business or service. As well,
First and foremost, every land surveyor shouldsurveyors should not seek to undermine or
always approach their work with a devotion tobesmirch the reputation or endanger the business
fairness, courtesy and personal honor towards allprospects of any other surveyor.
parties involved. The land surveyor is dependedPersonal ethics in regard to a surveyor's
upon to be a neutral party the people can turn tocompetency are also important. No surveyor
who will make their best assessment possibleshould accept an assignment that is outside the
given the evidence they are given.scope of their professional competence, and
With regards to dealings with clients, surveyorsshould ensure that when working in a new area
should avoid any professional impropriety in anyof expertise they conduct thorough research and
aspect of their business. They should disclose anyutilize the skills of an expert where necessary.
potential conflicts of interest, prior affiliations orAlso, assignments should only be accepted if the
involvement with any parties involved before theproject is within the resources and the expertise
acceptance of any assignment. Surveyors shouldof the surveyor to allow them to complete the
also not receive remuneration from multipleproject in a reasonable time and professional
sources for any one project without the fullmanner. If the surveyor has any employees or
knowledge of all of the parties involved. Acontractors who perform work for them, the
surveyor should also keep any personal orsurveyor must accept professional responsibility
proprietary information received from clientsfor any actions or work carried out by them.
completely confidential, even after the completionAs with all sets of ethical standards, a good
of the project.guiding principal to is to treat both business and
A surveyor trying to run his business ethicallypersonal associates as you would like to be
should seek compensation that matches the leveltreated. It is also important for a surveyor to
of technical complexity and time spent for theremember that their actions and behavior not
services rendered. An ethical surveyor will notonly reflect upon themselves, but upon the entire
make any fraudulent charges or sign anyindustry of Land Surveying. Most people do not
certificates, reports, or plans unless they werehave many dealings with land surveyors during
prepared and completed under their personalthe course of their lifetime, so the interaction that
supervision. Details on how compensation wasthey do have with one surveyor can shape their
determined should be provided at the request ofopinion of the entire industry. All surveyors must
the client; where possible, this should be discussedkeep in mind at all times that they are
to the best of your ability before the project isambassadors of their profession.