By Erin Jean, Geospatial Field Technician
We demonstrate the values that are important to us on a daily basis. As individuals and members of the Firmatek team, it’s now more important than ever to have guiding principles. Since the majority of our team works remotely across the United States, these values not only ground us, but also keep us aligned. As a field tech, we are the face of the company. We are the ones who the clients see on site. And many times, we are the only people they have face-to-face contact with. The service we provide is a direct reflection of Firmatek’s values and principles.
Stewards to our clients
One of Firmatek’s core values is stewardship. Stewardship is the idea of taking responsibility or care of something. According to Merriam Webster, stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” That being said, when someone hires Firmatek, they are counting on us. They’ve entrusted us to take care of their data and provide reliable, accurate service.
When working in the field, I typically work alone. I am the steward in the field responsible for the client’s data collection. Without quality data collection, there is nothing to give our clients. Each of us in the field has an obligation to do the best we can each day. Not only do I take pride in my work, I take responsibility for it as well, which means I also take responsibility for my mistakes. We all know mistakes happen, that’s why I pay close attention and take great care when collecting data.
Stewards of our equipment
Our responsibility in the field goes further than just the work we turn in. We are called to be stewards of the company’s resources and equipment. Our work would not be possible without our equipment. Whether it is our truck, scanner, or drone, we take care of the things entrusted in our care. Management trusts each of us in the field to take care of what’s been given to us. That includes keeping up to date with truck services, such as oil changes and regular maintenances. That also includes keeping our trucks clean and organized. It is important for us to prepare by having our drone batteries charged and having extra cables on hand.
The last thing any of us wants is equipment issues. When our equipment fails, due to human error, like missing cables, or unforeseen issues, such as car troubles, we miss out on a day’s work. That throws our whole schedule off because either we will have to go back to the site at a later time, or someone else has to go back for us. It is our responsibility as stewards to eliminate as many as those issues as we can to ensure we provide the best service that we can to our clients.
Stewards to ourselves
Lastly, we also have the responsibility to take care of ourselves. During this trying time of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have to ensure we are staying safe and healthy. Anything we can do in the field to make sure everything runs smoothly is important. What’s most important now is to make sure we do not get sick. If any of us get sick, that is at least two weeks we could be out of work. That could mean entire regions are without field technicians. Keeping hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, Lysol, face masks, and gloves in our trucks could be our saviors and keep those around us safe.
I have been entrusted with a lot, and I take pride in taking care of those things that have been entrusted to me. Stewardship is a Firmatek value that I practice on a daily basis and that ultimately keeps the team strong and working together.
We hold our values high and portray them everyday in the field. We are the stewards of the field. We conduct our duties and we work hard to provide our clients with the best data and customer service we can.
