When I think about what ties my career to my father ’s and grandfather ’s careers before me, three generations of marine surveyors, one word comes to mind: integrity.
In this line of work, credibility is your currency. A surveyor’s report can carry weight equal to millions of dollars in insurance liability, and if you’re not willing to stand by what you’ve written, you have no business putting pen to paper. That’s not to say you can’t change your opinion upon receipt of further evidence; but in such instances the facts together with the surveyor’s revised position should be presented promptly otherwise, there could be consequences, i.e., loss of trust, loss of clientele, and in worse cases, professional liability.
Another ingrained lesson – know your limits. A good surveyor isn’t someone who claims to know everything. It’s someone who knows when they’ve reached the boundary of their field and will recommend qualified experts or specialists. Calling for 3rd party professional evaluation isn’t a weakness — it’s part of protecting both the client and your own credibility.
Over the years, I’ve inspected an extraordinary range of cargo. Some of it common, some of it unusual, some of it once-in-a-lifetime. To name a few:
- Everyday goods in bulk: 3000 MT of Sugar, 20 MT of chocolate, 20 MT of candy, containers full of cream cheese, beer, wine, liquor, fruit juice, energy drinks, concentrates, coffee, tobacco, frozen French fries, garlic, seafood, and fresh fruit – berries, bananas, citrus and pineapples.
- Construction and industrial materials: large scale shipments of copper, fly ash, concrete, plywood, flooring, hardware, fasteners, paper products
- Steel products: Steel pipe, tubing, coils, plate, and structural material.
- Energy products: Oilfield equipment, transformers, heat exchangers, diesel and natural gas tanks, wind turbine blades ad solar farm components.
- Vehicles and heavy equipment: new automobiles, antique automobiles, bespoke luxury automobiles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, jet skis, kayaks, aircraft fuselages, wings, and Auxiliary Power Units, carnival machinery and train car derailments.
- Medical and high-tech cargo: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, human body parts in cryogenic storage, computer servers, laboratory instruments, and satellite components.
- Unique and high-value shipments: taxidermy trophies from Africa, luxury marble slabs, carved statues, furniture, household goods, clothing, outdoor equipment, brewery and distillery equipment, and packaged liquid products.
- Hurricane, flood and fire: Assorted warehouse inventory for stock throughput policies.
At first glance, losses pertaining to the goods outlined above couldn’t be more different. But when you strip them down to the core, they share a common thread for surveyors. Understand the risk, evaluate the loss, and communicate clearly.
And that’s where integrity comes in. Whether you’re looking at a pallet of frozen French fries or a multimillion- dollar piece of satellite hardware, the role of the surveyor isn’t just to record facts. It’s to be trusted as a fair witness, someone both sides believe will call it like it is and someone who knows when to call in additional expertise.
Be sure enough of yourself, to stand by your word, and know you are entitled to your professional opinion. But also, be flexible enough to adjust your position in view of new factual evidence. That’s a lesson passed down through three generations in my family, and one I’ll carry throughout my career.
Question for my peers: What’s the most unusual cargo you’ve ever encountered, and did it teach you anything new about trust in our line of work? Feel free to comment or message me – I’m always interested to hear from others.
This article was first published on LinkedIn and is reprinted here with Austin’s approval. You can view his profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinmccloud/.