Surveying Business and Ethics Flashcards

A surveyor is hired to perform a boundary survey and discovers that a fence, believed by the client to be the property line, encroaches significantly onto the neighbor's property according to the record documents. The client demands that the surveyor show the fence as the boundary line on the final plat. What is the surveyor's most ethical course of action?

Answer: Show both the record boundary line and the location of the fence, clearly labeling each and noting the encroachment.

The surveyor's primary duty is to the public and the integrity of the survey. This requires showing all pertinent factual evidence discovered during the survey. Showing both the record line and the line of occupation (the fence) accurately depicts the conditions on the ground and allows all parties to understand the situation. Ignoring the fence or showing it as the boundary would be misleading and unethical.

A surveying firm agrees to perform a large topographic survey for a client for a single, predetermined price, regardless of the actual hours or expenses the firm ultimately incurs. This type of agreement is BEST known as which type of contract?

Answer: Lump Sum

A lump sum contract (or fixed-fee contract) is an agreement where the surveyor agrees to provide a specified scope of services for a single, fixed price. This contrasts with Time and Materials (billing for labor hours and expenses), Cost-Plus (reimbursing costs plus a fee), and Unit Price (billing based on quantities of specific items).

Which of the following best defines the 'standard of care' as it applies to a professional land surveyor?

Answer: The duty to exercise the degree of skill and care ordinarily employed by other reputable surveyors practicing under similar circumstances.

The standard of care is the legal and ethical benchmark for professional performance. It requires a surveyor to use the same level of competence and diligence that other prudent professionals in the same field and locality would use in similar situations. It is not a standard of perfection but one of reasonable competence.

A licensed surveyor in State A is asked by a client to perform a boundary survey just across the state line in State B, where the surveyor does not hold a license. The surveyor is familiar with the area and knows the technical procedures are similar. What is the surveyor's correct and ethical response?

Answer: Decline the work, explaining that they are not licensed to practice surveying in State B.

Practicing land surveying is regulated at the state level, and it is illegal and unethical to perform regulated survey work in a jurisdiction without a valid license for that specific jurisdiction. While partnering with a locally licensed surveyor (Option C) might be a possibility, the most direct, correct, and universally ethical action is to decline work for which one is not licensed. Performing the work and having someone else 'rubber stamp' it (Option A) is also unethical.

A surveyor creates a detailed and original plat of survey for a client. Unless specified otherwise in a contract, who generally holds the copyright to the prepared plat?

Answer: The surveyor or surveying firm that created the plat.

Under U.S. copyright law, the creator of an original work, such as a map or plat, is the copyright holder. While the client has a license to use the survey for its intended purpose, the intellectual property rights remain with the surveyor unless explicitly transferred via a contract.

According to the NCEES Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which of the following actions is generally considered unethical for a professional surveyor?

Answer: Offering a commission or fee to a non-surveyor for the referral of potential clients.

Offering commissions, gifts, or other valuable considerations to secure work is often prohibited by professional ethics codes. Such payments, sometimes called 'finder's fees,' can create a conflict of interest and compromise professional judgment, as the referral may be based on the fee rather than the surveyor's qualifications.