NIST - Global Positioning System (GPS) - Industry Survey Data Collection - Part 2 of 3

Survey on the Impact of GPS on the
Surveying Sector
Introduction
RTI International is working with the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) to conduct an economic impact assessment of the nation’s
precision, navigation, and timing (PNT) services provided through the Global
Positioning System (GPS). The study has two objectives:
Quantify the economic impact of GPS.
Quantify the economic impact of an unexpected 30-day failure of the
current GPS system.
As part of this study, RTI is soliciting your input to better understand the
economic impact of GPS on the surveying industry. Your participation is
voluntary and confidential; only aggregated information will be included in any
deliverables or communications. Additionally, we do not wish to know any
proprietary or confidential business information, but rather your professional
opinion about the role of GPS in surveying. Our research products will be an
economic analysis, final report, and presentation materials. All deliverables will
be publicly available in early 2019 and these will be shared with you as soon as
they are released.
If you have questions, please contact:
Alan O'Connor, Principal Investigator, RTI, oconnor@rti.org
Kathleen McTigue, Technology Partnerships Office,
NIST, kathleen.mctigue@nist.gov

This collection of information contains Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
requirements approved by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply
with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless
that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control

number. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to be 15 minutes
per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing
data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden
estimate or any aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for
reducing this burden, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Attn: Kathleen McTigue (kathleen.mctigue@nist.gov).
OMB Control #0693-0033
Expiration Date: 06/30/2019

Background on GPS
Validation: Must be numeric
ID: 2

1) How many years have you been in the surveying industry?
_________________________________________________

ID: 24
2) Are you a licensed surveyor?
( ) Yes
( ) No

Validation: Min = 0 Max = 100 Must be numeric
ID: 3
3) Please estimate the percentage of your time you spend on each type of surveying.

________Cadastral
________Topographic
________Mapping
________Hydrologic
________Construction
________Boundary
________Other

Logic: Show/hide trigger exists.
ID: 4
4) Do you use GPS technology when you do surveying?
( ) Yes
( ) No

Logic: Hidden unless: #4 Question "Do you use GPS technology when you do surveying?"
is one of the following answers ("Yes")
ID: 26
5) How important is GPS to your job?
( ) Very unimportant ( ) Somewhat unimportant
) Very important

( ) Neutral

( ) Somewhat important

Logic: Hidden unless: #4 Question "Do you use GPS technology when you do surveying?"
is one of the following answers ("Yes")
ID: 22
6) When did you adopt GPS technology for surveying for the first time?
( ) 1975
( ) 1976

(

( ) 1977
( ) 1978
( ) 1979
( ) 1980
( ) 1981
( ) 1982
( ) 1983
( ) 1984
( ) 1985
( ) 1986
( ) 1987
( ) 1988
( ) 1989
( ) 1990
( ) 1991
( ) 1992
( ) 1993
( ) 1994
( ) 1995
( ) 1996
( ) 1997
( ) 1998
( ) 1999
( ) 2000
( ) 2001
( ) 2002
( ) 2003
( ) 2004
( ) 2005
( ) 2006
( ) 2007
( ) 2008
( ) 2009

( ) 2010
( ) 2011
( ) 2012
( ) 2013
( ) 2014
( ) 2015
( ) 2016
( ) 2017
( ) 2018

Validation: Min = 0 Max = 100 Must be percentage
Logic: Hidden unless: #4 Question "Do you use GPS technology when you do surveying?"
is one of the following answers ("Yes")
ID: 5

7) In what percentage of your jobs do you utilize GPS technology when you
conduct surveying activities (not including using GPS for driving directions)?
_________________________________________________

ID: 6
8) For those jobs where you do not use GPS, why do you not use it? Select all that apply.
[ ] I do not have a line of sight to the sky.
[ ] It is not economically beneficial to me.
[ ] I don't know how to use GPS technology.
[ ] I don't need it to do my job.
[ ] Other: _________________________________________________
[ ] N/A - I use GPS for all surveying jobs

Cost Structure of Surveying
We are now going to ask some questions regarding the cost structure of your surveying business. If
you do not know the cost structure, please make your best guess.

ID: 27
9) Are you the owner or part-owner of a surveying business?
( ) Yes
( ) No

Validation: Min = 0 Max = 100 Must be numeric
ID: 7
10) Please estimate the percentage of surveying expenditures by the following cost categories.
________Labor (includes time and benefits to complete jobs, gather and analyze data, etc)
________Capital costs (office space and equipment, including GPS receivers, total stations,
vehicles used for surveying work, other data gathering tools, etc.)
________Material costs (markers, stakes, batteries, etc.)
________Energy costs (including vehicle fuel, electricity)
________Professional liability insurance
________Other

Impacts of GPS on surveying
What are the primary impacts of GPS on the categories mentioned previously?
Use the slide bar to estimate how much GPS changes the amount of time that it takes a surveyor to
complete the same job, compared to using traditional technologies (e.g. total stations) over the
course of the last year.
A negative number means that GPS reduces the amount of time it takes to complete a job by that

percentage, and a positive number means that GPS increases the amount of time it takes to complete
a job by that percentage. Zero means there is no change.

Validation: Min = -100 Max = 100
ID: 10
11) Labor
Includes labor time spent on both data acquisition and data analysis as well as other work. For example,
if GPS allows you to complete the same job with one person that would take two people otherwise, set
the slider to -50.

-100 ________________________[__]_____________________________ 100

Validation: Min = -100 Max = 100
ID: 11
12) Capital
Includes expenditures on office space, vehicles, equipment, etc. For example, if you spend 50% more on
capital with GPS than you did before you used GPS, set the slider to 50.

-100 ________________________[__]_____________________________ 100

Validation: Min = -100 Max = 100
ID: 12
13) Materials
Includes stakes, markers, batteries, etc. For example, if you spend 25% less on materials using GPS than
you would without it, set the slider to -25.

-100 ________________________[__]_____________________________ 100

Validation: Min = -100 Max = 100
ID: 13

14) Energy
Includes fuel for vehicles, electricity for offices, etc. For example, if you drive 25% less on a project
using GPS than you would for a project without GPS, set the slider to -25.

-100 ________________________[__]_____________________________ 100

Logic: Show/hide trigger exists.
ID: 14
15) Does GPS enable you to complete jobs that would not have been possible without GPS?
( ) Yes
( ) No

Validation: Min = 0 Max = 100
Logic: Hidden unless: #15 Question "Does GPS enable you to complete jobs that would not
have been possible without GPS?" is one of the following answers ("Yes")
ID: 15
16) What percentage of your revenue comes from jobs that would not have been possible to
do without GPS?
0 ________________________[__]_____________________________ 100

Impacts of a 30-day GPS Outage
This section of the survey will pose a series of questions about the potential impacts of a 30-day
unexpected failure of the GPS system and how it would affect your work. You can assume that all of
your GPS devices would not work during this time period, and that it occurs during a time of year
when you have an average workload.

ID: 16

17) In the event of an unplanned GPS outage that lasted for thirty days, would you be able
to continue conducting surveying work in any capacity?
( ) Yes
( ) No

Logic: Show/hide trigger exists.
ID: 17
18) Would an unplanned GPS outage have any impact on your work?
( ) Yes
( ) No

Logic: Show/hide trigger exists. Hidden unless: #18 Question "Would an unplanned GPS
outage have any impact on your work?" is one of the following answers ("Yes")
ID: 18
19) What would be the primary impacts of a thirty day GPS outage? Select all that apply.
[ ] It would take longer to complete similar jobs.
[ ] I could not do certain jobs.
[ ] I could not compete for certain jobs.
[ ] Other: _________________________________________________

Logic: Hidden unless: #18 Question "Would an unplanned GPS outage have any impact on
your work?" is one of the following answers ("Yes")
ID: 28
20) What are the reasons that the GPS outage would impact your work? Select all that
apply.
[ ] There is no way to complete certain jobs without GPS
[ ] I do not have the right equipment to survey without GPS

[ ] It would take me too long to acquire the right equipment to survey without GPS
[ ] I do not know how to survey without GPS
[ ] It would take me a while to re-learn how to survey without GPS
[ ] Other: _________________________________________________

Validation: Must be percentage
Logic: Hidden unless: #19 Question "What would be the primary impacts of a thirty day
GPS outage? Select all that apply." is one of the following answers ("It would take longer
to complete similar jobs.")
ID: 19

21) How much longer, in percentage terms, would it take you to complete a
typical job during a thirty day GPS outage?
_________________________________________________

Validation: Min = 0 Max = 100 Must be percentage
Logic: Hidden unless: #19 Question "What would be the primary impacts of a thirty day
GPS outage? Select all that apply." is one of the following answers ("I could not do certain
jobs.")
ID: 20

22) What percentage of jobs would you be unable to complete at all during a
thirty day GPS outage?
_________________________________________________

Validation: Min = 0 Max = 100 Must be percentage
Logic: Hidden unless: #19 Question "What would be the primary impacts of a thirty day
GPS outage? Select all that apply." is one of the following answers ("I could not compete
for certain jobs.")
ID: 23

23) What percentage of jobs would you be unable to compete for during a thirty
day GPS outage?
_________________________________________________

Final Thoughts
ID: 21

24) Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your work?
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Thank You!
ID: 1

Thank you for taking our survey. Your response is very important to us.