National Surveyors Week Employee Highlight: Tony Canton
In recognition of Surveyors Week, we’re featuring Tony Canton, Vice President and Melbourne Survey Manager at Haley Ward. Based in our Melbourne, Florida office, Tony joined the team through the acquisition of EDC in 2024, where he had been since 2016. What started as a chance opportunity answering a newspaper ad for a rodman turned into a long and rewarding career in surveying. Today, he brings a mix of field experience, technical expertise, and leadership to projects that shape communities across the region.
What inspired you to become a surveyor?
Quite honestly, I had no idea what surveying was as a teen. Through high school, I worked at restaurants and a grocery store. After graduation, I wanted to take a year off. I didn’t really have a plan. I always enjoyed architecture and considered that career path. At the time, I was just looking for a job that paid a bit more than I was making working a deli counter and as a server. I stumbled on an ad in the paper (yes, I’m that old) for a survey “rodman”. I had NO idea what the job entailed. I applied, was hired on-the-spot, and never looked back.
Why did you decide to join EDC?
I met Mike Owen and the EDC team 10 years ago, on a whim, after working in Palm Beach County for many years. I liked the small “mom and pop” office feel of EDC at the time. I think there were about 9 or 10 employees then. Mike was running a single crew but wanted to grow. There was a lot of opportunity to bring my connections, co-workers and expertise to EDC and he welcomed it.
How do you spend most of your time now?
In my current role, I am not in the field as much. I spend most of my time bidding on jobs, doing business development, project management, project development, communicating with clients, reviewing contracts, QA/QC deliverables, coordination, and aiding the field teams.
How has your experience in the field influenced the way you approach project management, especially when supporting teams out on-site?
Having been “boots-on-the-ground” for many years, I know how long tasks take, what challenges field crews face, and how challenging clients, contractors and property owners can be. I understand how being provided with the right tools for the task can expediate the project.
What types of projects do you most enjoy working on?
I enjoy the construction side of surveying, being involved in a project that changes the landscape of our community, a project that will be standing for generations.
What makes surveying in Florida unique or challenging?
The weather. June through September can be brutal: humidity, mosquitoes and scorching temperatures. However, surveying in Florida in December, January, and February is amazing.
What’s one piece of equipment you couldn’t live without?
It’s hard to pick just one. From a hardware standpoint, everything from GPS and robotic total stations to drones and LiDAR plays a critical role in getting the job done. On the software side, tools like Trello and TeamUp are essential for keeping projects organized and on track.
What do you enjoy most about being a surveyor?
I enjoy the balancing act of utilizing the ever-evolving high-level technology, working outdoors, competing for projects, and working with people. We use advanced LiDAR and robotic total stations in the field, while in the office performing complex CAD calculations. We are analyzing timelines down to 10-minute intervals to be competitive in our bidding. We are protecting the client’s investment, while helping to prevent legal disputes, and adhering to varying municipal regulations/standards all while helping projects progress forward.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Seeing larger scale projects through from start to finish. We get to be the first ones in at the initial boundary/topo phase, and the last ones out as we collect the as-builts on the final lift of asphalt.
Do you have a favorite project or accomplishment you’re particularly proud of?
There are too many to name. I am always proud to be on projects that are related to first responders, for example, we recently completed several new fire stations. I am also proud of projects that have a positive impact locally or environmentally. I’ve been part of several large seagrass replacement surveys. Other projects include a large student-housing construction project for Florida Institute of Technology and The Earman River Bridge Replacement project that we are currently on, that I am proud of.
Have you had any interesting or unexpected moments in the field?
Oh yes. I’ve found human remains while cutting line for a silt fence installation, which led to the police being called and the project shutting down before it even started. I’ve also had a situation where we were given the wrong address and ended up on what turned out to be a drug stash house, which resulted in a pretty tense encounter. And then there was the time I accidentally wandered into a nudist colony while searching for a published benchmark. I still have nightmares about that one.
What’s something people might be surprised to learn about surveying?
On February 23, Romans celebrate The Festival of Terminalia, in honor of the Roman God Terminus, the God of Boundary Markers. Romans believed moving a boundary stone was a religious crime. If someone “bumped” a marker to steal a bit of a neighbor’s land, they weren’t just a thief, they were a sinner.
What advice would you give someone considering a career in surveying?
Start young. Get your degree. Get dual licensed.
How do you see the surveying profession evolving in the next few years?
Technology, Technology, Technology. Boston Dynamic robotic dogs have become more prevalent. Lidar enabled cameras/sensors overseeing construction projects around the clock, capturing real-time as-builts, drone payloads that can provide accurate SUE info, a pedestal mounted station that projects the civil plans onto the ground with vertical.
If you weren’t a surveyor, what do you think you’d be doing instead.
I love historical architecture. A passion profession would be Preservation Architect and/or Restoration Contractor
