doing and why is very satisfying. This is one area that takes a lot of imagination and diplomacy and is an area that AI will take a lot of catching up with!
Q6. The role of mentoring is important. Even the most successful surveyors can point to someone earlier in their life who mentored and inspired them. Were you lucky enough to have found a mentor and what are your thoughts on the role of mentoring?
A. I never had a mentor as such. I found and attended surveyor associations like the IIMS and training days. I think I learned more from the other senior (and generous) surveyors than I did from the formal teaching. What I learned most is that all surveyors seem to work in different ways, and you will develop your own working style. There were some very gifted individuals who showed me that care and attention were important, as is attitude. I suppose then that I had a lot of mentors, but no formal ones.
I have go-to surveyors to whom I will ask questions, and some surveyors who I would not believe their answers; and I think it is important to work out who to listen to and who to filter. I find I need to filter those who are most vocal as they are often not the person with the underlying expertise, no matter how much they think they are. The quietly spoken individuals often give the more knowledgeable and measured advice. I have different individuals that I will go to for different questions depending on my knowledge of their knowledge. So, my view on mentoring is it is the network of colleagues you build up that forms your mentor group.
I also think that it is important for surveyors to observe a number of more experienced surveyors so that they form their own view of how to survey, how to report, and how to deal with customers. Just relying on one guide results in mirroring the limitations of the mentor. Having multiple guides will expose the mentee to a wider set of techniques and equipment. However, pick your mentors and advisors very carefully.
One of the most memorable bits of mentoring advice I got was from a well-respected marine lawyer in the
THE REPORT | SEP 2024 | ISSUE 109 | 145
yachting business struck a chord. I asked him what was in the scope of a pre-purchase survey. He replied, ”Anything of material interest to the client”. This has lived with me ever since.
Q7. How important is it for marine surveyors to be part of a recognised surveying membership organisation? What are the key benefits to the individual and does it give you a competitive edge?
A. I partially answered this in my previous answer. The main benefit I see is the interaction with and learning from others in the same profession. Some members are experienced, and some are not, but both bring something to the interaction, and both take something from it.
The other big benefit is the curation of information for the surveyor to help them in their
work. I think all of the surveyor organisations can do more of this. Accountants, for example, find it difficult to keep pace with all legislative developments that they need to keep up with. So, they act in groups. In the surveying field, the surveying organisations have a role in sifting and collating the information and making it easily accessible for their members. With the increasing pace of novel technologies as electrification, hydrogen propulsion, materials science, recycling, and autonomus systems, this is becoming more important.
With regard to membership organisations, it is important to distinguish those with robust membership processes and criteria, from those, for example, for who it appears that the only criteria are that they have done a course, or who have a level of “membership” that is cut price and anyone can apply for and get in at. Keeping the standards high and making this very clear to the public is incredibly important.
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