Professionalism and Ethics in Surveying - Essay Example

Professionalism and Ethics in Surveying Introduction Behaving in an ethical manner forms the heart of what is to call professionalism as it helps in distinguishing professionals from others in the marketplace. People acting in ethical manner need to demonstrate that they are acting with integrity, they provide high standards of services, act in a manner that is promoting trust in the profession, treating others with absolute respect, and taking responsibilities (Mitcham, 2005). In the same capacity, a surveyor should consider these ethical acts when looking for, finding or using property corner monuments. The ethical conduct for a professional surveyor thus dictates that licensees shall engage in the practice of conducting land survey in an ethical manner while at the same time being familiar with the appropriate and recognized codes of the land surveying ethics. Considering the ethics, liability and legal manners for a professional surveyor, a surveyor should justify his actions at all times, be able to demonstrate personal commitment in abiding by the ethical standards in maintaining integrity of professionalism. As part of the liability, it is necessary for the surveyor to uncover sufficient facts in regards to the property being attracted through acting as a fact finder. The quality of these outcomes forms the mark of a professional. As a minimum requirement, the surveyor engaging in looking, finding or using property corner monuments assumes the responsibility of obtaining the copies of all necessary adjoiner conveyances called for in the legal description furnished, obtain all maps called for, and obtain the pertinent recorder adjoined surveys. The surveyor will also obtain the available public agency maps and when dealing with GLO states, obtain government township plats and field notes. All of these are essential for enhancing the ethics, liability and legal aspects when dealing with corner monuments (Eccles & Kingston University, 1995). Corner monuments are the parcels or lines of easements that are only possible to visualize on the ground through setting markers or with aid of survey monuments. A survey monument acts as the physical marker that helps in locating a corner or line on the ground. The survey monument can thus be on a line or offset from a line, can be noticeable or can be almost invisible. Engaging in any activity of moving or destroying the survey monument has its own possible effects. The first effect is that it ends the protection of rights to the property owners, easement holder and their adjoiners (McCormac et al., 2012). The malicious removal or destruction of the survey monument is also against the law. Destruction of survey monuments also affects stability and the balance of interests in the real property. A surveyor will be liable to face charges for the destruction of the monuments caused by his or her acts of improvements. Coming at the legal issues, a court order cannot nullify on the significance of monuments. The only legal body that may have the power of nullifying on the significance of monument is the Supreme Court. The Congress provides the Supreme Court with the authority of issues surrounding certain judicial writs. However, the Constitution does not provide the Court with such power. As the Constitution surves as the Supreme Law of the Land, any act that the court does without following the jurisdiction as provided by the Congress will be invalid. It is the obligation of the State to always protect every monument or engage in the placement of artistic or the historic interest as a matter of national interest from ant spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, or disposal (Reynolds, 2000). Another issue that might arise in relation to the survey monument is the formation of a boundary agreement. The boundary agreement is subject to establish through a mutual agreement of the owners. It only becomes effective in the case where the boundary line is not possible to locate since the deeds or maps are ambiguous. In this regard, the two adjoining neighbors may agree on the location to place the boundary line. Once the agreement has been subject to complete and upon meeting certain condition, the line becomes the permanent legal boundary (McCormac et al., 2012). This kind of agreement will not only be binding to the neighbors that made it, but will also be binding to the later buyers. However, the agreement does not change the ownership of land. Instead, it only serves as an interpreter to the ambiguous property descriptions in the deeds. Therefore, a boundary agreement does not nullify on the significance of the monument at any given circumstance. The surveyor plays significant responsibilities when it comes to the preservation or perpetuation of monuments. At first, the property owner may not be able to recognize a survey monument existing on the surface of the ground, but the local land surveyor will be able to identify properly the markers that might still be in existence near the site, and be able to recover these monuments without destruction. The surveyor has the responsibility of maintaining an open dialogue at the time of review to ensure that any evidence recovered before or during review is subject to share between the surveyors. The surveyor has the responsibility of knowing and following up the laws regarding the property boundary location and be able to execute such responsibilities in faithful and ethical manner (Salant & Dillman, 1994). In regards to the “pincushion” corners, the surveyor’s responsibility is to advise and provide recommendation for the property owners on the way forward to a permanent solution. A “pincushion” corner is the case where there is multiple boundary monuments being set by the land surveyors at the case where only one boundary corner exists under the legal contemplation (Benn, 1998). Conclusion The topic of survey monuments is an area that requires maximum professionalism. In order to uphold the ethics, liability and legal obligations surrounding the area of survey, a surveyor needs to act with integrity by never putting his or her interests above the welfare of the client. There is also need for maximum honesty as a way of establishing trustworthiness. Openness and transparency are mandatory in all survey dealings. There is also need for accountability for all the actions performed, followed by knowing the way forward of acting within limits. Following these measures will eventually help in enhancing maximum professionalism for a surveyor when handling all issues related to survey or corner monuments. References Benn, P. (1998). Ethics. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. Eccles, T., & Kingston University. (1995). A philosophical review of professionalism in surveying: The public and the private ethic. Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey: Kingston University, School of Surveying. McCormac, J. C., Sarasua, W., & Davis, W. J. (2012). Surveying. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Mitcham, C. (2005). Encyclopedia of science, technology, and ethics. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA. Reynolds, C. (2000). Monuments. Lubbock, Tex: Texas Tech University Press. Salant, P., & Dillman, D. A. (1994). How to conduct your own survey. New York: Wiley. Read More