CONNECT WITH CHRIS

au.linkedin.com/in/csnixon/

 

PROFILE
As at: October 2016

Name/ Nickname: Chris Nixon

Age: 36

Family? (Marital status?)
Married with 3 beautiful girls

Current job/Role ?
NSW Survey Manager at FYFE

What’s the best advice your parents ever gave to you?
Tell the truth

What’s your personal motto?
Buy the best and look after it

What makes you happy?
No stress

What makes you angry?
Doing a job twice – because the engineer made a mistake. Check your work!
 

Career History

Career to date?
Over fifteen years surveying experience, including twelve years of mining and quarrying and three years of civil, cadastral and hydrographic.

Career influences?
Len Solomon – the first mine surveyor I worked with. A great role model and gentleman.

Career highlight (biggest achievement)?
Becoming an Unrestricted Mine Surveyor in NSW

Career shocker?
Having a digger on a dump after pegging the wrong line – learnt from that mistake!

Career goals?
To be respected by my peers as a competent and reliable surveyor.

 

Survey Work / People

What is the best piece of survey equipmenttechnology/software that you have used & why?
Maptek I-Site Studio software. So powerful, intuitive and fun to use.

What is the oldest piece of survey equipment that you have used?
A steel band – at uni.

What's the most contentious survey issue in your workplace at the moment?(eg. Hours of work, $$, career path, poor planning/scheduling, technology/equipment improvements, field experience, housing, training …???)
Lack of training due to the “economic climate”.

If you were the boss for a day - list 3 things you would change?
Implement better machine guidance on all equipment on site
Restructure the organisation
BBQ lunch to lift moral

APART from $$, what factor attracts you to work in the mining industry as opposed to other survey disciplines?
Being able to stay up with the latest surveying technology

Would you recommend a career in surveying to a grade 12 school kid? If not, what career would you recommend?
Definitely. Surveying has allowed me to travel the world on numerous occasions, keep up with the latest technology and meet some great characters along the way. It has a great mix of outdoors / indoors work.

 

Sports/Hobbies

How do you relax?
Playing with the kids

What sports do you play/ watch?
Tennis at the moment

What are your other hobbies outside work?
Restoring an old car

Where would be your ideal retirement location?
Sunshine Coast looks good

Favourite food/drink?
Anything seafood

Favourite movie?
The Bourne trilogy

Finally, if you were down to your last $10 what would you spend it on?
I think Chris Moy got it right: “Ice creams for the wife and kids.”