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The necessary utility locations (including pipe sizes, depths, and relationship to property lines), cross sections at required intervals as it relates to NAVD (North American Vertical Datum) and any other items that the architect or builder may require, will be done on time to complete your project. 

This involves the production of maps and plans which are true to scale. Topographic maps are produced to accurately represent details of both the natural and built environment. They will also include symbols representing features or data too small to produce to scale.

Height information is added in most cases as spot heights and feature elevations; this height information is related to a control datum such as Ordinance Datum or a fixed local datum. Height information is also used to generate contours to provide a better visual representation of the changes in terrain height across the site.

Our Survey team regularly carries out high standard site surveys for our clients. Topographical & Site Surveys are directed towards planning and design for Architectural and Engineering purposes.

Precise control networks are established using the latest surveying techniques. All survey data is digitally captured using Sokkia, Nikon and Trimble instrumentation. Survey drawings are output via a range of hard and soft media and in any file format required to meet our client’s needs.

BFM is experienced in all facets of hydrographic surveying, including work in the Mississippi River as well as water erosion work. BFM uses Hydrotrac equipment and software. 

The primary use of hydrographic surveys is for nautical charting. This requires the precise location of least depths on dangers to navigation and depths significant to surface navigation. The precise location of aids to navigation is also required.

Hydrographic Surveys may be conducted to support a variety of activities: nautical charting, port and harbor maintenance (dredging), coastal engineering (beach erosion and replenishment studies), coastal zone management, and offshore resource development. The one data type common to all hydrographic surveys is water depth. Of additional concern to most surveys is the nature of the sea floor material (i.e. sand, mud, rock) due to its implications for anchoring, dredging, structure construction, pipeline and cable routing and fisheries habitat.

All hydrographic data is collected and processed with on board computer systems which store the data in digital form and generate graphic displays of the hydrographic data (GPS observations are used to establish NAVD 88 elevations on water surface).

Our team has routinely worked with engineers and utility locators to provide subsurface utility engineering mapping for our clients. We have award winning AutoCAD drafters on our team who are able to provide our clients with detailed, accurate maps which are easy to read and interpret. 

Utility surveys are used to locate all utilities, subsurface or otherwise in a specific area. Complete and accurate topographic/utility surveys are critically important. The cost savings can be immense and delays can be minimized by having precise site and route surveys at project inception. Most of the surveys that we have completed include a topographic aspect.

BFM personnel have over 35 years experience in precision surveying as it pertains to the industrial field, having worked for numerous major industrial clients in the region. This includes varied aspects of industrial plant work, including horizontal and vertical control monuments. 

Industrial surveying consists of acquisition, processing and presentation of geographic and geometrical information within the offshore and industrial activities. The information is used as basis for construction, prefabrication and mating of constructions as well as verification and control.

A high-quality measurement is essential owing to the increased complexity of construction projects on the one hand and the prefab composition of their components on the other hand. The increased quality consciousness makes stringent requirements in his field. The application of surveying techniques in construction and industry makes often high demands on ingenuity, accuracy and machinery.

With today's accuracy requirements, construction surveying services can be simplified at a lower cost by better utilization of material dimensions. This requires correct construction procedures, accurate drawings and a Quality Control system during construction including documentation.

Safety is also highly dependent on documentation of how a structure is built. As-built documentation can unveil critical errors that have to be improved before the final construction can be approved.

The requirement for surveying and dimensional control, have therefore grown by the awareness of the total time and economy savings of first time construction.  In principle, everything can be surveyed. Mostly it is a question about time, accuracy, cost etc.

The accuracy and dependability of our people have made our services invaluable to the commercial industry where mistakes are costly. We come through where accuracy counts. Plans are reviewed in the office before going into the field to confirm that all dimensions add up. In the event pilings are required, we confirm that we have enough information to stake each piling accurately. The review of each set of plans first, saves time in the field, which saves the client money and ensures the accuracy of the layout.

BFM offers an integrated source of advanced data acquisition systems and multi-disciplinary expertise highly suited to linear projects and the pipeline industry. 

We provide efficient and cost-effective benefits while combining expertise with Leica 1200 Series GPS/GIS and professional skills in environmental, geotechnical, and surveying. BFM provides its clients with real-time solutions beginning with project pre-planning and through to construction, operations, and abandonment. This sophisticated information management system also gives our clients the ability to improve project management and control during any phase of a pipeline project.

The establishment of a pipeline corridor is increasingly difficult because of the maze of design, regulatory and permitting requirements. BFM’s professional staff understands the complexity of environmental, geotechnical & geoscience, and surveying requirements needed during a pipeline project. Thus, issues like wetland delineations, storm water management, right-of-way maps, location surveys, construction stakeout, erosion control, etc. can be managed and documented throughout the project. 

Through our contract experience with state and local agencies, we have become thoroughly knowledgeable in right-of-way mapping standards and local agency guidelines for city and parish/county projects. We specialize in right-of-way research and analysis and preparation of plans and legal description exhibits for the acquisition process. Route surveys include recreational trails and abandoned railroad rights-of-way. We are also familiar with various funding sources and can assist our clients with the associated requirements.

"No Work" Affidavits will be issued prior to starting your project and is intended to state that work has not started and materials have not been delivered to the site. These affidavits are important to the lending agency handling the project. This is to ensure that no work is done before the act of sale that could impact the lending agency for the client. We go through great pains to walk the property. We time and date each affidavit and each affidavit is certified by a licensed land surveyor.

BFM possesses  everything necessary to complete your project from start to finish, and at a great price. Our construction surveying services are generally done in stages and are somewhat treated as separate stages from the initial boundary survey with all corners set with iron rods, construction benchmark set to the proper grade (FEMA), location of improvements (forms before pouring concrete to insure proper grade and location to property line generally this is needed to get permit from the parish. Once concrete is poured then we confirm location and elevation than the slab certification is issued to FEMA requirements. Then once the flatwork is in (driveway, patio, sidewalks) it is located on the plan then the final plan and flood certificate is issued and the project is complete.

Flood Certificates accepted by the Federal Government will be issued reflecting the evaluation (NAVD) of your house or building slab. It reports the relative vertical distance above or below a base flood elevation from a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The FIRMs were produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of our federal government for use in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The FIRMs were designed to help determine whether a property and building were in a special flood hazard area. The FIRM typically shows no buildings, and many minor or residential streets are not shown. Therefore, the surveyor is often called upon to measure the elevation of a building and report on an Elevation Certificate how far above or below the base flood elevation it is.

The Elevation Certificate is an important administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It is to be used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment or Revision (LOMA or LOMR-F).

Use of this certificate does not provide a waiver of the flood insurance purchase requirement. Only a LOMA or LOMR-F from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can amend the FIRM and remove the Federal mandate for a lending institution to require the purchase of flood insurance. However, the lending institution has the option of requiring flood insurance even if a LOMA/LOMR-F has been issued by FEMA. The Elevation Certificate may be used to support a LOMA or LOMR-F request. Lowest floor and lowest adjacent grade elevations certified by a surveyor or engineer will be required if the certificate is used to support a LOMA or LOMR-F request. This certificate is used only to certify building elevations.

BFM will use only the highest qualified personnel and latest electronic equipment to expedite the survey and insure its accuracy. The process of finding, identifying, measuring, and reporting the location of the boundary lines of a parcel of land as per the recorded deed description in addition to locating existing improvements. Boundary surveys will also indicate the extent of any easements, whether burdening the parcel (such as a utility line easement crossing the subject property to a neighboring property) or appurtenant to the parcel (such as the right to cross another property for access to a road). A Boundary Survey should also reveal any evidence of encroachments. An encroachment is the use of a parcel of land by an individual other than the owner without the benefit of a recorded right to do so. The neighbors might be encroaching on the parcel or vice versa. Either occurrence will be reported on the Boundary Survey.

The corners of the property are physically located, and, if necessary, new corner monuments are set as specified by the state rules. Boundary surveys are recommended for any real estate transaction, especially those involving complex commercial and industrial properties, and whenever the survey is to be used for new construction.

For surveying a property that exists as a matter of record (current recorded deed), the following are some of the minimum requirements each state rules: 

Research. Research shall include obtaining a copy of the record description of the parcel to be surveyed, along with the record descriptions of adjoining properties as necessary to reveal any gaps or overlaps with the adjoining properties.

Field Investigation. Field investigation for retracement or record document surveys should include extensive searching and locating of monuments defining the subject boundary along with monuments which may reference missing control monuments. Relationships to physical occupation such as fences, tree and shrub rows should be located. Parole evidence accompanied by affidavits may be used in establishing obliterated control monuments.

Publication of results of retracement and record document surveys shall require the registered land surveyor to furnish the client with a written surveyor's report, which in addition to other pertinent data, gives the registered land surveyor's professional opinion of the cause and the amount of uncertainty in the lines and corners found or established by the survey because of the following:

* availability and condition of reference monuments.

* occupation or possession lines.

* clarity or ambiguity of the record description used and/or adjoiner's descriptions.

* the theoretical uncertainty of the measurements.

A typical survey on a platted lot would include the monumentation of the lot corners per the recorded plat. The survey is based on the requirements as specified by the state board for the state that the survey is in.

Throughout the years, our personnel have not only designed and laid out subdivisions of our own, but we have also laid out subdivisions designed by others. 

Understanding the developer's needs is first and foremost – initial meetings to develop the necessary strategies for a successful and cost effective design are crucial, as is cost analysis for an effective construction budget and rate of return on investment. Preliminary meeting with regulatory agencies to assure compliance: Time tables will be established for the submission and approval processes. Meeting with regulatory officials, including engineering officials, helps to eliminate re-submissions, which in turn helps to eliminate delays and plan revisions. 

Review of Zoning and Platting Regulations

Local and regional zoning requirements including current land use zoning and current use of property are thoroughly reviewed. Analysis of local development trends and adjacent property uses are also considered. Special conditions are researched such as tax abatement, enterprise zones, and any other conditions which may affect the subject property. 

Preliminary Design

BFM's staff of trained professionals will assure that the plan is in conformance with developer's needs and budget. Additionally, appropriate governmental agencies will be consulted prior to final submissions. 

Design Phase and Considerations

Many factors are considered in the initial design phase such as wetlands assessment, soil types, erosive factors including erosion control plans, adjacent rights of way and accessibility, and off-site and on-site drainage issues. Special consideration is given to receiving drainage areas. Detention will be as required, with emphasis on aesthetic use. Grading and special consideration will be given to a proper cut and fill balance. Factors such as landscaping and utilization of effective berms for practical and aesthetic solutions will all be considered, as will professional design conditions of pavement alignment for project enhancement, sanitary, storm sewer and waterline design, utilizing "the shortest route mentality" for maximum cost savings. Coordination of utilities (gas, electric telephone and CATV), design and placement, are also of prime consideration.

Construction Inspection

This will assure that the developer's investment is maintained, and to assure that "acceptance for maintenance" is painless. 

As-Built Plans

These are performed very cost effectively as detailed project and infrastructure measurements maintained throughout the project. 

Project Close Out

All proper filings to appropriate governmental agencies. Representation for acceptance of maintenance for infrastructure.