| THE EDUCATION AND PRACTICE OF THE GEODETIC SURVEYOR IN WESTERN EUROPE | |
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APPENDIX D17 - Switzerland (Population 7 million) ( Refs. A17, B17.1, B17.2, C17) |
SSMAF / SVVK
Société suisse des mensurations et améliorations foncières / Schweizerischer Verein für Vermessung und Kulturtechnik / Swiss Union for Surveying and Rural Engineering.
Today there are 900 members divided in 11 regional societies. Membership is usually restricted to surveyors with a surveying engineer degree from one of both "Swiss Federal Institute of Technology". The SSMAF has educational purposes on an academic level.
The owners of private survey firms are usually members of the "employer group" (Gruppe der Freiwerbenden - Groupe patronal) of the SVVK / SSMAF, which has market oriented purposes.
The basis of the Swiss cadastral survey is the civil law, which specifies that the "property register" has to be established on the basis of a cadastral survey. During the last decade, an important reform of cadastral survey has been designed, which extends the role of cadastral survey as a basis for Land Information Systems (LIS).
The organisation of cadastral survey significantly varies within the states (cantons). In most german speaking states, cadastral survey work is done by "district surveyors", who have concluded exclusive agreements with groups of municipalities. In some other states, cadastral work is only done by state employees. In most french speaking states, cadastral work can be done on a "free market" basis under the responsibility of any authorised surveying engineer. Most private firms and offices are also involved in rural and environmental engineering tasks.
17.4 Education structure
(See diagrams A17, B17.1
and B17.2)
Generally, there are three different education levels in the field of surveying in Switzerland:
Both Federal Institutes of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ) and Lausanne (EPFL) offer a curriculum in surveying sciences at an academic level (graduation in 4 1/2 years).
Zürich offers two different curricula in rural engineering and surveying engineering. Lausanne offers a more general curriculum in rural, environmental and surveying engineering (optional courses in surveying engineering have to be taken in order to be eligible for the cadastral survey authorisation).
New curricula are today in discussion in both Universities. Both schools also offer Ph.D. programs. The control of the studies is through practical and theoretical exams. These are under control of professors and professionals.
17.4.2 State Engineering Schools
(Ref. diagram B17.2)
Two state "Engineering Schools" (Yverdon and Muttenz) offer engineering curricula with a more practice-oriented focus. In a near future, these schools will be promoted to "Specialised Universities" (Fachhochschulen - Hautes écoles spécialisées). Graduation in 3 years.
17.4.3 Technician training
A four-year, practice-oriented "apprenticeship" allows young people to get a
federal certificate of qualification at the operational level (draughtsman).
After some years of practice and additional courses, qualified draughtsman can
take an exam to become "surveying technicians".
At each level, we note a trend toward more integrated "land information
management" programs, as a basic component for land management activities.
The scope of the profession is illustrated in diagram C17. It ranges from
traditional surveying activities to various activities related to land
management, such as rural and environmental engineering.
In Switzerland the geodetic surveyor has a well established lofty status on
account of his quasi-judicial role in cadastral operations. The Swiss communes
have a traditional right to their own governance which grants them
responsibility for many civil functions which are generally delegated in other
countries to larger administrative units.
Some communes are very small; some indeed consist of only a few hundred
inhabitants. In many instances responsibility for the management of the basic
service infrastructure, water and electricity supply lines etc., is vested in a
private géomètre who performs various technical, legal and
management functions on behalf of the commune. Knowledge of various local and
national legislation dealing with land transactions, building and planning
regulations in addition to technical competence is required. This work carries
much responsibility and is clearly of an important professional nature.
The concept of `quality control' as a carefully thought manufacturing process
is new, but it has been known for a long time as a normalised process in the
Swiss Federal Survey. Its modern and normalised form according to ISO 900X is
now applied in some important offices.
The professional association employer group also supports this process and
offers training in the field of Quality Assurance.
EINEV Prospectus; 1994
ETHZ: Departement Geodätische Wissenschaften: Annual report for
1994 and other material.
EPFL Plan d'Etudes et Règlements 1994-5 and other material.
"The Response of Swiss Cadastral Surveyors to the Challenges of GIS/LIS":
Daniel Steudler: Proceedings of the XX FIG Congress Melbourne 1994.
ETHZ
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich.
Hönggerberg
Abteilung Viii für Kulturtechnik und Vermessung
CH 8093 Zurich
EPFL
Section de Génie Rural Environment et Mensuration
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
GR-Ecublens
CH-1015 Lausanne.
EINEV
Section de Mensuration et de Génie Rural
Ecole d'Ingenieurs de l'Etat de Vaud
Route de Cheseaux 1
CH-1400 Yverdon las Bains
Ingenieurschule Beider Basel IBB
Gründenbstrasse 40
CH-4132 Muttenz
Eidgenössische Vermessungsdirektion (V+D)
Budesamt für Raumplanung
Einsteinstrasse 2
CH-3003 Bern
Budesamt für Landestopographie (L+T)
Seftigenstrasse 264
CH-3084 Wabern
Eidgenössische Meliorationsamt (EMA)
Mattenhofstrasse 5
CH-3003 Bern
17.5 Professional Practice
(Ref. diagram C17)
17.5.1 Structure and professional firm sizes
Professional practice is divided between public administration and private
firms. The estimated number of TU or ETS qualified geodetic surveyors currently
active (1995) is shown below.
1 Federal Survey Direction Eidgenössiche 10
vermessungsdirektion: V+D Direction Fédérale
des Mensurations: D+M
2 Bundesamt für Landestopographie: L+T Office 30
Fédéral de Topographie: S+T : Federal Office of
Topography
3 Surveying authorities in most of the 26 cantons 100
ranging from 3 - 30 each.
4 Kantonale Stellen für Melioration Remembrement 100
state offices
5 3300 Municipalities The most important of them 200
have their own surveying office
6 Private firms of from 3 to 100 people 800
7 Total estimate 1240
17.6 Quality control of practice
In the domain of surveying, there has ever been a deep concern for quality. In
the course of the last ten years, the scope of quality has shifted from process
accuracy to product reliability and accuracy.
17.8 Acknowledgements
The author wishes to express his thanks to the many persons who assisted
personally or with written material in compiling this report. These include
Paul Gfeller, Daniel Steudler, Prof. Christian Kunze and Professors
J-Robert Schneider and René Oguey, Professor Alphonse Miserez and Alain
Buogo, Professors A Carosio and E Spiess, Jean-Luc Horisberger and last but not
least the Swiss contact person Professor Francois Golay who worked so hard on
our behalf.
SVVK: Société suisse des mensurations et
améliorations foncières / Schweizerischer Verein für
Vermessung und Kulturtechnik / Swiss Union for Surveying and Rural
Engineering
Postfach CH 4501 Solothurn.
| Published by the Comité de Liaison des Géometres Européens / The European Council of Geodetic Surveyors | Back to Main Contents |  |