S.U.E Tech's

[Gryphon]

Any members of this fine forum working as S.U.E techs. I am considering applying for an entry level S.U.E position, but would like to know what to expect. I am very experienced as a contract locator and understand the basic differences between the two occupations, but what is the actual work like. Is the a lot of digging, and jack hammering? a lot of walking in sweeping circles saying "what the hell is this I'm toning

Thanks all in advance.

[putter]

Really matters what firm you are working for. There are the larger firms that are all over, so you might be traveling alot. There are the smaller firms that are mostly in one state so not as much travel. Also matters on the firm and how they are set up but you can figure to do about half vacuum excavation or test holes and half designating. From what I have seen SUE firms do large scale projects like maybe a 5 miles stretch of road. They designate everything that is one the project site. Once this is done they survey it and cadd it up for the engineer they are working for. Once design is done they go back out and do vacuum excavation at trouble spots, then survey them in and report it back to the engineer. Hope this helps

[yahoo]

Really matters what firm you are working for. There are the larger firms that are all over, so you might be traveling alot. There are the smaller firms that are mostly in one state so not as much travel. Also matters on the firm and how they are set up but you can figure to do about half vacuum excavation or test holes and half designating. From what I have seen SUE firms do large scale projects like maybe a 5 miles stretch of road. They designate everything that is one the project site. Once this is done they survey it and cadd it up for the engineer they are working for. Once design is done they go back out and do vacuum excavation at trouble spots, then survey them in and report it back to the engineer. Hope this helps

putter thanks for your time and info......

[Gryphon]

Thanks for the info. Do you currently work for an engineering firm the performs S.U.E ? I guess my biggest concern is a slight bad back that might limit my ability to do heavy construction type things such as operating a jackhammer or hand digging holes all day, any of that going on? I dont have any problem in my current duties as a 4 way contract locator, but dont want to accept a position I am not physically capable of performing to expectations.
Thanks again

[locatetopia]

I have worked in S.U.E. for the last 5 years and before that I worked in contract locating for 14 years. There is a lot less stress (atleast for me) compared to contract locating but the vac work can be a little rough. I have back problems as well and it can wear on you when you are doing a large test hole project or vacuum trench project. We have done several trenching projects that consisted of a 4' wide 4' deep thrench that made me feel my age. I have brought a few guys from my old company into SUE and they all have said it was a good switch. Like yahoo said it really depends on the company you work for.

[cablemagne]

I worked for TBE for a few months and can tell you that they ar a good company.They are pretty big so they do a bit of traveling.I just talked to a friend who still works for them and he said they had been spending a lot of time in the Utah area.Thier is no work going on in this area s they send you to an office that needs help,possible but not limited to Canada.But they do take good care of thier employees.In alot of ofices they have crews that only do vac truck so you might end up just doing designating.

[underground quester]

I worked for TBE for a few months and can tell you that they ar a good company.They are pretty big so they do a bit of traveling.I just talked to a friend who still works for them and he said they had been spending a lot of time in the Utah area.Thier is no work going on in this area s they send you to an office that needs help,possible but not limited to Canada.But they do take good care of thier employees.In alot of ofices they have crews that only do vac truck so you might end up just doing designating.

Cablemagne:

Nice to see you back. Keep posting when you can....