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Michael R. Frecks, LS

President/CEO, Terrametrix LLC

Michael Frecks, LS, is president and CEO of Terrametrix LLC and has 30 years of survey experience in the civil site topographic field along with nine years in the LiDAR industry as both an innovator and as a consultant/advisor for 3D laser scanning software development. He has extensive data collection experience and expertise in the transportation and architectural disciplines. As a professional land surveyor since 1992, Michael’s approach to data documentation combining GPS, 3D laser scanners and INS, makes his approach more accurate, safer, faster and cost efficient. His vast knowledge of scanner specifications, identifying software and hardware capabilities and how they interact with each other, beta testing of equipment and software, and his demand of high accuracy standards have advanced the evolution of acquiring as-built data documentation through 3D laser scanners.

Articles by Michael

An Essential Technology for the ‘Fix It First’ Policy

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama advocated a “fix-it-first” policy that prioritizes spending on repairing and maintaining existing infrastructure. That sounds promising, but how do we identify the areas that need to be repaired?

05 March 2013

How Safety is Driving Mobile LiDAR Forward

The Transportation Engineering and Safety Conference (TESC) at Penn State is shedding new light on the role of terrestrial mobile LiDAR scanning in transportation safety.

06 December 2012

Monumental Pangaea: GIS and Surveyors

Early in my survey career, the popular definition of GIS among surveyors was “get it surveyed.” The accuracy of GIS simply wasn’t deemed high enough to be of interest. Boy did we miss the boat.

01 August 2012

Bridging the Communication Gap in Transportation Projects

When surveyors and engineers are working together on a transportation project, conflicts sometimes result due to differences in personalities and backgrounds. To avoid problems, project goals must be clearly communicated from the beginning.

20 June 2012

The Persistence of Memory in Technology

One of the questions clients often fearfully ask me is, “How much memory will this project require?” Surreal as the persistence of memory may have been to writers and artists like Salvador Dali from the 1920s, the movement has now reemerged in the technology age of data storage.

05 June 2012

How Wide Is a Point?

I have been reading a lot of banter about accuracy and precision, which brings me to this “point.” Errors in measurements can lead to a wide range of issues in the survey profession. The sum of the potential error equals something I like to call our "error budget.” How big is your budget?

10 May 2012