Simpson Shaw Surveyors Ltd

08/08/2026

Not every day at the office looks like this one.

I spent 4 hours flying an entire island in the Bay of Islands — 250 hectares, captured in a single session thanks to dead-calm conditions and perfect visibility.

The drone took 1,100 photos to build a 4cm resolution orthophoto covering the whole island, giving a highly detailed aerial picture. But the real value came from the LiDAR sensor on board, which sees straight through the vegetation to the ground below. That gave us an accurate ground surface that revealed the island's walking trails and helped our client identify possible heritage sites hidden under the canopy — sites that are very easy to miss even walking the ground in person.

Between flights, we watched a young humpback whale surface just offshore, with the R. Tucker Thompson sailing past in the background — a rare bonus even by Bay of Islands standards.

It's days like this that remind us why we love this job: incredible places, and technology that lets us see things nobody else can.

14/04/2026

A smarter way to survey bridge infrastructure.

We recently completed a topographical survey of a bridge using a combination of LiDAR drone scanning, photogrammetry, and handheld SLAM scanning.

Using the right tools for each part of the job meant we could capture detailed information from the air, along the bridge, and around the structure — all brought together into a high-quality point cloud dataset.

From this, we delivered:
✅ Point Cloud
✅ High-Definition Aerial Orthophoto
✅ CAD Linework
✅ Interactive visualization

This approach gives our clients accurate, practical information for design, assessment, maintenance, and future planning.

At Simpson Shaw Surveyors, we’re always looking for the best way to combine modern survey technology with real project outcomes.

14/03/2026

Our Licensed Cadastral Surveyors can help if you want to get a paper road identified on your land (staked out).

We can also help you with the process of getting a paper road removed.

Removing a paper road is a formal legal process known as "road stopping," usually conducted under the Local Government Act 1974 or the Public Works Act 1981.

A Licensed Cadastral Surveyor must prepare a survey plan defining the exact area of the road to be stopped. This plan is then submitted to LINZ for approval.

Contact us for further info: [email protected]

Paper roads cover 6924ha in Northland, or 3.7% of public land in the region.

08/09/2025

We’ve gone SLAM 🚀
Simpson Shaw Surveyors has invested in the XGRIDS L2 Pro handheld SLAM scanner. After hands-on testing across several options, L2 Pro delivered the best mix of speed, accuracy, and visuals.

Why it matters:
• Rapid scanning with minimal site disruption
• Works brilliantly in GPS-denied, vegetated, or confined spaces (culverts, plant rooms, tunnels)
• Powerful deliverables: point clouds, photoreal visualisations, floor plans/sections, meshes, and web viewers for virtual inspections
• Smarter decisions from accurate as-builts and clash/clearance checks

Big thanks to Schutte for outstanding support during testing, and to Xgrids & Aptella for getting us set up.

Keen to see how SLAM could help your project?
👉 simpsonshaw.co.nz

04/09/2025

We're nearly at the end of the road for our SH1 Loop Road Safety Improvement project! We're headed towards completion in October or November of this year.

A traffic switch has been put in place to make room for our team to work safely with live traffic.

Roadworkers will be installing the median barriers, pouring concrete, and finishing the shared path for use. Once warmer weather arrives, they’ll complete the asphalting and final line marking.

For more information on the project, go to https://nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh1-loop-road-safety-improvements

09/08/2025

Rail Safety Week begins on Monday and this year our campaign focus is on discouraging trespass in the rail corridor with the slogan "Stay off, Stay safe. Tracks are for trains."

Trespassing in the rail corridor is one of the most dangerous and sadly, most common behaviours we see across the network. It’s not just illegal, it’s extremely dangerous.

Keep your eyes peeled for our campaign launching next week and help us spread the word by sharing posts, popping up posters around your community and by spreading the word.

Let’s work together to save lives. For more information on these years campaign, please visit : https://www.kiwirail.co.nz/communities/safety-in-the-community/railsafetyweek/

03/08/2025

Shout out to Anna & co. at Cabbage Tree Cafe for the catering last week. Lovely fresh food 🧁🍰🥪

30/07/2025

Photogrammetry left us guessing — now LiDAR shows us everything.

We recently scanned a rural hillside prone to slipping using our LiDAR drone system, producing a clean, automatically classified bare-earth model with 20 cm grid detail.

🌿 Vegetation no longer blocks the view.
🎯 Accurate ground data — even under tree cover.
📈 Ready for geotechnical analysis, design, and planning.

See the scan and rendering in action 🎥👇

Curious how this could benefit your site? Let’s chat.

🌐 www.simpsonshaw.co.nz

29/07/2025

This slip on State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills in Northland earlier today is an example of how quickly conditions can change in winter.

Earlier today we closed the road due to a slip two kilometres north of the SH1 / SH12 intersection near Kaiwaka. The road is now back open under stop/go traffic management.

We'll temporarily close state highways when periods of intense weather and the associated effects on the road make it unsafe to travel. Always check our pages to see if state highways are affected before you travel. You can find more information in this post: https://www.facebook.com/nztransportagency/posts/pfbid02BLqeDPmEXyJsqjN6Ln17T6tKw4Tq8vr6cWWc4WeTrf5NxaS6mmkLumR4oMKd7QbZl

It’s illegal to travel on a closed road – stay connected with us and avoid getting caught out by road closures.

Take extra care when you're travelling in bad weather. Adjust your speed to suit the conditions – slow down and avoid sudden braking or turning to reduce the risk of sliding. It takes longer to stop on slippery roads, so increase your following distance to people ahead of you.

Turn your headlights on dipped when it's raining. Many of us have silver, grey, or white vehicles which easily blend into the road, grey sky, and snow. Having your headlights on makes you more visible to everyone and helps you see the road.

28/07/2025