Share

Chastain-Skillman is excited to celebrate National Surveyors Week 2022 by recognizing our talented & dedicated surveying staff. Each day during National Surveyors Week, we’ll highlight members of our team on social media and in our blog. Today we’re chatting with Jeff Ammermann, PSM!

Assistant Survey Director, Jeff Ammermann, PSM has been on the Chastain-Skillman team in Lakeland for over 5 years. A graduate of the University of Florida with a BS in Geomatics, Jeff recently passed the NCEES Principals and Practices of Surveying Exam, making him a licensed Professional Surveyor and Mapper (PSM #7388).

Throughout his 17 years in the surveying industry, Jeff has provided surveying services to development companies, construction companies, city and country municipalities, and mass land excavation companies for projects ranging from small tracks to parcels of 100+ acres in size.

As Assistant Survey Director, Jeff supports the Director of Survey in coordinating and managing the surveying department. Many of his responsibilities around the office include providing topographic and corridor surveys, construction layout, boundary surveys, and environmental surveys to numerous projects.

Jeff’s surveying skills have been utilized in countless projects with Chastain-Skillman across the Central Florida area including projects for The City of Lake Wales, the City of Lakeland, the City of Winter Haven, numerous airport companies, the Hardee County School Board, and more.

To mark the fifth day of National Surveyors Week 2022, we talked to Jeff about his experiences, fulfilling aspects of his job, and what some of his favorite projects have been over the course of his 17 years in the industry.

Read more below:

Jeff Ammermann, PSM

Describe your typical day: What do you do as soon as you get to the office? What takes up most of your time? What is your favorite part of the workday?

The first thing I do when I get to work is to make sure that projects are prepared for the field crew for that day. I review what the field crew will be given and look for any holes or any other data that may help them complete their work. I spend most of my time answering questions for existing projects or on the phone talking to clients about future work. My favorite part of the workday is the evening time when the field crews come back in and go over what they completed for the day.

What is the most challenging part of your job as a surveyor?

Working within the time restraints and dealing with the legal principles.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? What interested you in becoming a surveyor?

I wanted to be a veterinarian. I was interested in becoming a surveyor because I always enjoyed seeing and being a part of the process of the development from a raw piece of land to a developed site.

What has been one of your favorite projects to work on?

  1. 9664.02 Florida Gas Transmission Site in Tallahassee. It was a 40-acre site that was being purchased and given to the state for Wetland impacts. We had to backpack in and cross a creek to get to the site. We spent a week on the project in the woods in the middle of nowhere.
  2. Layout at Florida Polytech. It was an interesting project and was fun to see it all come together.
  3. Location of Trees at Bonnet Springs Park. We made GIS map of every tree and took pictures that can be used for years to come.

What is one of the most fulfilling aspects of your job as a surveyor?

Training the next generation of surveyors.

What is one thing you wish people knew about surveying?

We establish the Boundary lines based upon the evidence that we find through research and what the field crew finds in the field. Land is one of the most valuable assets that most people own, but they care so little about their survey or the map. Through the survey and the title search, surveyors can provide a history of the land that someone is purchasing if they are willing to pay for a quality survey and not just go with the cheapest price they can get.

Land is one of the most valuable assets that most people own, but they care so little about their survey or the map. Through the survey and title search, surveyors can provide a history of the land that someone is purchasing if they are willing to pay for a quality survey and not just go with the cheapest price they can get.

– Jeff Ammermann, PSM

Share

Like what you see?