Vector Geomatics Land Surveying

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Today, between their four offices in Fort St. John, Kelowna, Calgary, and Chilliwack, Vector Geomatics employs an expert team of over 70 skilled surveyors, detail-oriented drafters, and mappers. According to Greg Calvert, Vice President of Operations, the combined experience and capabilities of those team members is what enables Vector to meet and exceed their project goals and deadlines. In turn, he says their ability to achieve those goals has enabled them to build strong and lasting relationships with clients.

“At Vector, we are dedicated to providing our clients with the best service possible,” Greg says. “It is because of the commitment of our clients that Vector has been able to continue to grow as a company and a family. We take our commitments seriously so we continuously strive to find better ways to complete the tasks given to us. The success of our client’s project is our top priority, and I think that’s reflected in our history of repeat business.”

Patrick Randall, Senior Project Manager, further credits Vector’s consistent growth to their “innovative technologies and best practices.”

“Vector Geomatics is committed to integrating the latest technologies into surveying projects,” Patrick says. “We apply cutting-edge technologies and surveying techniques to ensure project specifications are not only met, but that surveys are completed accurately and quickly. Our utilization of digital drafting and advanced GPS delivers the most accurate and consistent results each and every time.”

Vector Geomatics was first founded in 2006 by Jason Whale, the company’s president and CEO. Jason is a graduate of the University of Toronto, holding a Bachelor of Science in Surveying Science, and he has been involved in the surveying industry for the last 35 years. For 18 of those years, he has been directly involved with the oil and gas industry in Northeastern British Columbia.

Both Greg and Patrick have been working with Jason since the start of Vector Geomatics. Greg is a graduate of Northern Alberta’s Institute of Technology in Geomatics Engineering, and in his time in the surveying industry has held a role at all levels, which allows him a unique understanding of project and client needs. Patrick, meanwhile, is a graduate of British Columbia’s Institute of Technology in Geomatics Engineering, and he has surveyed in various locations throughout British Columbia, Alberta and the Yukon. A large part of his experience is working with the oil and gas industry, and he maintains close relationships with almost all the large players in the industry.

Vector was originally established in Fort St. John and for many years they primarily serviced the oil and gas sector there. In 2015, the company expanded into Kelowna with the intention of going after more land development work in the Okanagan area. In 2017, they further expanded into Calgary – where they at first mainly targeted the oil gas sector, though they eventually evolved into doing a lot of municipal work as well. In 2018, they purchased another land surveying company based in Chilliwack, bringing their office count to four. 

These days, Vector Geomatics takes pride in taking the lead and contributing to a variety of innovative projects, for clients spanning a variety of sectors, including oil and gas, construction, transportation, utility, transmission, land development, municipal, engineering, and green energy. Between their four offices, they are capable of servicing clients “pretty much anywhere in BC and anywhere in Alberta,” Patrick says – and on jobs where it makes sense they are prepared to venture further, including as far as the Yukon and the Northwest territories.

Between their four offices – and between the skilled and experienced teams that make up those four offices – Patrick also says that Vector Geomatics now has the capacity to do virtually “any type of surveying.”

“If it’s a type of job that needs a surveyor, we can find a way to get it done,” he says. “Between all our project managers and all our field and office staff, we have expertise in just about everything. We can do everything from a simple housing layout to layouts for multi-storey buildings, bridges, complex plants – anything that needs a survey, we’ll find a way.”

No matter the client, however, or the service they need provided, Greg believes they choose Vector Geomatics for the same reason – which is their aforementioned “client commitment.”

We’re very service and client oriented,” Greg says. “We make sure we put the needs of the client first.”

“We also make sure we understand our client,” Patrick adds. “We get to know all of our clients. We try to become familiar with them and their business, so we understand their objectives and what they actually need from us. That way, we can talk candidly with them and make sure we’re offering them the proper service.”

“We then provide that proper service promptly and accurately,” Greg says. “When we get a job, we do our best to get there fast and do it right. I think our clients appreciate that.”

Vector’s clients also appreciate how accessible their team is, Patrick says:

“Much to the chagrin of our families, we always have our phones on. We’re always checking our emails. We come in whenever we need to get something done. If a client needs a crew the next day, we’ll be there. We’ll be nimble and we’ll meet their needs.”

Also, Greg reiterates, that while the company is moving quickly, they are still making sure that the client’s project specifications are met and that surveys are completed accurately. He partly credits that accuracy to their use of cutting-edge technologies, as previously established, but he also partly credits the experience of their leadership team:

“All of our managers were once in the field,” he says. “We’ve done the work for ourselves. When we’re in the office and preparing our plans, we’re preparing them with the knowledge of what it’s going to look like in the field and we know how to complete every step of the job up to the final deliverable. That knowledge and experience is very valuable when it comes to quality.”

That experience, that accessibility, and that general client-orientation has proved a very successful formula for earning customer loyalty. According to Patrick, the “vast majority” of the company’s work comes from repeat clients.

“A lot of the clients I work with personally I’ve been working with for many years,” he says. “Whenever they have new work, we almost always get it.”

Staying up-to-date

Much like they do with clients, Vector Geomatics Land Surveying also tends to form longstanding relationships with employees. For example, many of their employees based in Fort St. John have been there from the very start – Greg and Patrick included. A lot of the employees in Kelowna, Calgary, and Chilliwack have similarly been there from the start of those offices.

“We have a really high retention, especially when it comes to senior staff,” Greg explains. “If someone leaves, it’s often because they’re retiring.”

Patrick credits that employee loyalty to some of the factors that motivate client loyalty – for example, there’s the accessibility of the company’s leaders:

“We’re not a big corporation where I don’t know the boss,” he says. “If there’s a problem and I need to resolve it, I can go down the hall and talk to my boss. If I need to get a hold of someone in the other offices, they’re only a quick phone call away. The managers here are easy to get in touch with.”

“I like to think we have a really good corporate culture,” Greg adds. “I know that if I was to leave, it would be because I didn’t want to be in surveying anymore – it wouldn’t be because I didn’t like being here.”

The company also does varied and interesting work, Greg says – and he believes that further contributes to retention. On that note, they also keep things interesting by consistently adopting new technology and trying new things. Greg says that staying-up-to-date is “very important” to Vector Geomatics.

“In surveying, the technology advances every six months it feels like,” he explains. “Something new is always coming up that will help you be more efficient, more accurate, and help you do a better job. We do our best to stay on top of those advances. We buy new equipment every year and sometimes multiple times per year. If something new comes out and we can find a need for it, we’ll pick it up.”

Moving forward, Greg says the company will continue to adopt new technology as it becomes available, and continue striving to keep their employees engaged by pursuing interesting work. As an example of an interesting job, he cites their recent work on the Highway 29 Realignment Program for the Site C Dam construction project, where they had a crew on site there for almost two years. He says they would love to do more projects of that scale and complexity in the future.

Recently, Vector Geomatics has also worked with several different First Nations groups, conducting surveys to help assist with their treaty land entitlements, working with them to ensure they get their proper allotments of land as set out by the government. Those were also rewarding jobs that the team at Vector would enjoy doing more of.

Finally, as far as growth is concerned, Patrick says the company will consider that on a “case by case basis.” They don’t have any immediate plans to open any more new offices, for example, “but if a good opportunity comes up, we’d definitely take a look at it.”

“Right now, I think we’re at a good size,” Greg concludes. “We have an amazing team in place. We’re in a good position to expand our opportunities for work without having to hire a lot. We already have the expertise we need in-house. We have what we need to scale up and take on more projects and different types of projects, and that’s a great place to be.”

For more on Vector Geomatics, their diverse array of services, examples of their past projects, and more on the expertise of their team – and to get in touch with that expert team, including Greg and Patrick – visit https://vectorgeomatics.com/