In celebrating Surveyors Week, we highlight Survey Party Chief Justin Gilmore who brings more than 15 years of experience from the National Guard and civilian sector to our Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, survey crew.
From construction to boundary worksites, Justin uses modern geospatial technologies such as lidar scanners or Trimble Surveying Systems to capture data with pinpoint accuracy.
What do you enjoy most about the profession?
Justin: Working outside with my hands! Every day brings new challenges, and I’m always learning. For example, I started at Dawood using the Trimble X7 Tripod-Mounted Scanner–challenging at first, but it clicked once I figured it out.
How did you get your start in the field?
Justin: I originally got a taste of surveying with a few college classes and loved it! I wanted to learn more, so I took that passion to the National Guard and enrolled in their surveying school in 2010. After six years of full-time service, I transitioned to the civilian sector and landed at Dawood. I now serve part-time in the military, teaching the next generation of surveying soldiers.
What’s your favorite equipment?
Justin: I’d say scanners since they’re convenient to set up and use—capturing millions of metadata points and gathering this information into a point cloud. A close second would be the Trimble S7 Robotic Total Station, calculating distances and angles between points by bouncing light beams off prisms.
Most memorable project?
Justin: I’d have to say my first Dawood scanning project at the Lutheran Home Care Medical Building has been the highlight so far. This multi-storied structure made scanning challenging, so our team swapped out conventional tools with the X7 Scanner. We nailed down a method that worked to complete the project.
What’s your go-to pastime?
Justin: Since I’m mechanically inclined, I enjoy working on cars to improve their speed and handling for autocross tournaments. It’s similar to rally racing, except instead of dirt roads, you drive on the pavement with a course mapped out by cones. The goal is to get the best time without hitting anything!
Read Surveyors Week employee highlights here.