HFA adds surveying as in-house service

Bentonville-based Harrison French & Associates (HFA), the largest architectural and engineering company in Northwest Arkansas, recently announced it has added surveying to its line of disciplines.

“It’s always exciting to add new services and expand the ways we can provide turnkey solutions to our clients,” CEO Dave Wilgus said.

Jim Collins, discipline lead and senior land surveyor, oversees a survey department crew of three and expects to increase the number of employees in the department as it builds momentum. The surveying department works closely with the civil engineering department, comprising 10 to 12 employees.

Collins started in the position in September after working for Sand Creek Engineering for two years. He previously worked for CEI Engineering Associates Inc. for three years after moving to Northwest Arkansas from Harrison.

He was led to HFA because of “the opportunity to go outside the box and incorporate other disciplines in the surveying field,” and as a result of the opportunity, he said he’s been able to grow professionally and personally.

“The atmosphere is great,” Collins said. “It’s a wonderful company to work for, and their vision is what really excites me the most. They’re forward-thinking and focused on the future and not just what’s going on at hand.”

Before HFA established a surveying department, the company used subcontractors to provide surveying. “Instead of getting six different products from six different subcontractors when it comes to surveying, let’s just bring that in house,” he said. “We’ll get a standardized product. We’ll get what we want, and in turn, we can offer a turnkey environment all the way from the beginning surveying through design, engineering and then on the back end for surveying for as-built as well.”

Collins, whose father retired as a surveyor, started working in the surveying field while in high school nearly 40 years ago.