April 1st, 2022 marked a special day for GeoScan and its sister companies Xradar and Vuit. Staff from all three companies got together for the first-ever company-wide conference in Whistler, BC.
The three outfits officially merged earlier this year under their umbrella company, GeoRadar Group. With the pandemic in the rear view and business at an all-time high, the time was right to come together for a weekend of education and entertainment.
The GeoRadar Group convenes in Whistler, BC for the first ever company-wide conference.
The Group has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2010. Back then, GeoScan had 5 employees. Now, combined with Xradar and Vuit, the Group has over 80 full-time staff with various offices across Canada.
The conference opened with a raucous tournament of Rock, Paper, Scissors spearheaded by Director, Joseph Salazar. After that, Founder Will Meredith addressed the team, giving a great overview of the company’s roots and its direction moving forward.
Will then handed things off to Field Supervisor and Technical Manager of Utilities, Angus Botting. ‘Goose’ spoke to the group about Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), working with municipalities, and CAD deliverables. He discussed the Ground Penetrating Radar and Electromagnetic methods we use every day. A true showman, Angus even brought in some survey equipment for show and tell.
Goose had all the toys out for the day
Staff had the pleasure of hearing from Rafael Rebolone twice over the course of the day. Relatively new to the company, Raf became Manager of our newly-found Land Surveying division in Spring 2021. He detailed his team’s experiences over the first year, highlighting some major projects and identifying key opportunities. In his second session, Raf talked about his experiences as a GeoScan client prior to joining the team. “I was always impressed by the emphasis on service and quality. However, I saw things that could be improved. Now that we are together, we share knowledge and ideas and help eachother get better at what we are doing”.
Quite possibly drawing the biggest crowd of the day, the ‘Money Movers’ Julie Meredith and Lora Gray gave a joint-presentation. Together, they pulled the curtain back on our financial picture. Although very transparent with staff when it comes to revenue and budget, the Accounting team rarely gives presentations. As Julie said, “most accounting people are introverts so doing a presentation is a little nerve-wracking”. Regardless, they were fantastic. The team learned all about year over year comparisons, profitability, and cash flow.
In what was likely the most highly anticipated presentation of the day, our Lead Shallow Geophysicist, Brian Whiting, took us on a journey around the world. Before talking about Electromagnetic resistivity in Barbados, Brian provided some local project examples of salt infiltration and unmarked burial mapping. A long-time professor at Seattle University, Brian kept the crowd engaged and finished off with a fitting song ‘Radar Love’.
Geophysics Department Manager, Brian Whiting speaks to the GeoRadar Group
Senior Technician, Andy Marr, chose the title ‘What can D.I.R.T. tell us about Utility Locates’ for his presentation. He educated the group on the Damage Information Reporting Tool (D.I.R.T.), which is released each year by the Common Ground Alliance. The report tracks damages to underground infrastructure and recommends preventative actions. Andy broke down the differences between provincial legislation of the locate industry, and how GeoScan will have to adapt when expanding to other provinces.
Andy Marr gives us the D.I.R.T. on utility locating
Peter Takacs’ technical brilliance was on full display towards the end of the day when he presented on GPR Data Processing. His session was highly informative, detailing basic processing steps and visualization options. He dived into GRAD, a program he developed in-house. In conclusion, he invited those in attendance to experiment with some open-source projects he has been working on.
Learning about GPR data processing with Peter Takacs
With the day coming to a close, Director and Head of Business Development, Joseph Salazar brought the energy up once again. Aptly titled ‘All Aboard the Sales Train’, Joe acknowledged some key players bringing in leads for the company. Providing some entertaining visuals along the way, Joe discussed the sales funnel, our company uniques, and target markets.
After a day of skiing on Saturday, the Group got back together for an informal dinner and quiz. Having the majority of the company in the same location was special. It was a weekend we won’t soon forget.
A new GeoRadar Group tradition: King of the Mountain
GeoScan is Canada’s leading provider of Ground Penetrating Radar services, Subsurface Utility Engineering, Utility Locating, Land Surveying, and Shallow Geophysical Surveys. If you have a need for our services, please get in touch with our team via our contact page or by calling (604) 436.7226.