About Us

Jim and Deryck, alongside the Sault staff, took a bold step forward by parting ways with their subsidiaries and establishing a new vision under the name Total Precision Surveying (TPS).

What began as a strategic transition quickly evolved into something much greater. Built on a foundation of expertise, innovation, and a commitment to delivering exceptional surveying solutions, TPS has grown into a trusted industry leader with a strong presence across Canada and an expanding reach internationally.

Today, Total Precision Surveying stands as a testament to the vision and determination that shaped its beginnings—continuing to set the standard for precision, professionalism, and excellence in the surveying industry.

After stepping away from equipment sales, Total Precision Surveying returned to the market in response to overwhelming demand from our clients. Their continued requests for the products, service, and expertise they had come to rely on prompted the company to re-enter the sales market.

This marked an important new chapter in our history, reaffirming our commitment to serving the surveying community with the equipment, knowledge, and support our clients expect from us.

Recognizing a growing need for dependable, purpose-built equipment in mining production, Total Precision Surveying began developing its own branded theodolite.

The result was the TPS402 Series—designed specifically to fill a gap in the market and provide mining professionals with a practical, reliable, and cost-effective solution for production applications.

The TPS402 Series represented another step in our evolution from surveying equipment provider to developer of solutions built around the real-world needs of our clients.

As drone technology began to transform the surveying and mapping industry, Total Precision Surveying recognized early that unmanned aircraft would play an important role in the future of the profession.

To meet this emerging opportunity, TPS partnered with Stoneblue Airlines to develop our own aerial solutions, including both a fixed-wing aircraft and quadcopter platform.

This move allowed Total Precision Surveying to expand beyond traditional surveying equipment and compete in an evolving market—while developing drone technology specifically with the needs of our clients in mind.

As Total Precision Surveying continued to grow, it became clear that we needed a facility that could grow with us. We moved from 35 Cedar Street to our new facility at 178 Drive-In Road, giving TPS the space and accessibility needed to better serve our expanding client base.

The new location provided a more accessible destination for our clients while giving us room to develop a fully stocked showroom featuring the latest surveying, construction, and mining products.

The move represented more than a change of address—it was an investment in our clients and our future. With more space, greater product availability, and a location designed around our customers, TPS was better positioned to welcome clients, showcase new technology, and provide the support they needed under one roof.

From taking flights to surveying the depths, Total Precision Surveying continued to look for new ways to expand the capabilities of modern surveying.

Recognizing a growing need for hydrographic surveying in smaller and more challenging areas, TPS invested in drone-based survey boat technology and became a supplier of Seafloor Systems.

As demand grew, we expanded our hydrographic capabilities beyond compact drone vessels, adding boat-mounted systems designed for larger-scale survey applications.

This expansion marked another milestone in the evolution of Total Precision Surveying—bringing advanced surveying technology from the land and air to the water.

After years in the field, Jim made the decision to permanently step away from surveying and focus his efforts on sales, marking the beginning of his gradual transition from day-to-day field operations.

With this change came new responsibilities for Deryck and Gary, who stepped further into the leadership of Total Precision Surveying. Their roles expanded across both the office and the field as they worked to ensure the company continued to operate smoothly and, most importantly, that the clients who had helped build TPS continued to receive the service and support they had come to expect.

It was the beginning of a new chapter for Total Precision Surveying—one built on the foundation Jim had helped establish and carried forward by the next generation of leadership.

As drones rapidly became an integral part of the surveying industry, Total Precision Surveying recognized that staying ahead meant investing not only in technology, but in the expertise to operate it.

To ensure we could continue providing comprehensive support to our clients, three key members of the TPS team pursued and obtained Advanced Pilot licensing.

This milestone strengthened our in-house capabilities and positioned Total Precision Surveying to safely and professionally deliver drone-based surveying solutions as the industry continued to evolve.

Total Precision Surveying had the opportunity to support one of our long-standing clients on a major undertaking—the Alamos Tailings Pond Dam Raise.

The project began in 2018 and continued through to its completion in late 2020. Throughout the project, TPS provided the surveying expertise, technology, and support required to help keep the work moving forward.

The project also demonstrated TPS's ability to maintain continuity and deliver consistent service through a period of change within the company.

The Alamos project was more than another job—it was a reflection of the long-standing relationships, trust, and commitment to our clients that have remained at the heart of Total Precision Surveying throughout our history.

With Jim announcing his retirement at the end of 2019, Total Precision Surveying entered another defining chapter in its history.

As one era came to a close, Deryck and Gary stepped forward to take the reins, once again evolving their leadership roles to meet the needs of the company. Together, they embraced the responsibility of guiding TPS into the future—building on the foundation that had been established while continuing to adapt, innovate, and grow.

With new leadership came a renewed vision: to carry the legacy of Total Precision Surveying forward while shaping the company for the next generation.

With the transition complete, Deryck and Gary officially took the reins of Total Precision Surveying, beginning a new era for the company.

With a vision for continued growth, they set out to take on more challenging projects, expand TPS's capabilities, and build a team strong enough to support that growth. As opportunities increased, so did the need for talented people—and TPS began expanding its team with skilled professionals who shared the company's commitment to quality and client service.

The foundation had been laid. Now it was time to build the future.

Following the completion of the groundwork on the Alamos project, Total Precision Surveying returned its focus to another long-standing client, Tenaris Algoma Tubes.

TPS played an important role in both the Wolverine and Premium Line projects, working closely with the Tenaris team to support installations, upgrades, and precise surveying requirements throughout each stage of the work.

These projects further strengthened a long-standing relationship and demonstrated TPS's commitment to delivering the precision, reliability, and high standards our clients have come to expect.

Once again, TPS was proud to work alongside an industry leader and contribute to projects that would help shape the future of their operations.

As technology continued to reshape the surveying industry, Total Precision Surveying remained committed to evolving with it.

TPS began upgrading its 3D scanning capabilities, investing in new equipment and emerging technologies to provide our clients with faster, more accurate, and increasingly advanced surveying solutions.

This continued investment in technology reflected our commitment to staying ahead of the industry while giving our team the tools needed to take on new challenges and deliver the level of precision our clients expect.

Innovation has always been part of our journey—and we continue to invest in what comes next.

With our clients continuing to recognize the value of our support, Total Precision Surveying gained momentum and expanded its role on some of Ontario's major projects.

TPS was brought on to support two significant developments: the Alamos Gold Phase 3 project and Algoma Steel's Electric Arc Furnace project.

On these projects, our role evolved beyond traditional surveying and layout. Working directly with our clients, TPS became involved in Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC), helping monitor the work, identify potential issues, and ensure that projects remained aligned with design, specifications, and expectations.

This evolution marked another important step in the history of Total Precision Surveying—from providing measurements and layout to becoming a trusted partner in ensuring major projects stayed on track.

As Total Precision Surveying continued to expand its support for clients, we recognized another important opportunity—building the next generation of talent within the surveying and civil engineering industry.

TPS partnered with Sault College to help bridge the gap between education and industry. Through our involvement with the Civil Program, we began welcoming co-op students into the company, giving emerging professionals valuable hands-on experience while allowing TPS to identify and develop promising talent.

The partnership quickly became an important part of our growth. As opportunities increased, TPS more than doubled its staff, bringing new talent and fresh expertise into the company to support our expanding workload and growing client base.

This connection between the classroom and the field created a pathway for students to build their careers while giving TPS access to a growing pool of talented graduates.

By investing in both people and partnerships, Total Precision Surveying strengthened its team, expanded its capabilities, and positioned itself for continued growth well into the future.

As drone technology became increasingly valuable across the surveying and construction industries, Total Precision Surveying recognized the need to expand its aerial capabilities.

TPS invested in three additional drones, each offering different technologies and capabilities to address a broader range of applications. With this expansion, we grew our team to four qualified drone operators, giving us the capacity to deploy the right technology for a wide variety of projects.

This investment allowed TPS to continue supporting our two major ongoing projects while also expanding our drone services to additional clients and industries.

What began as an emerging technology had now become an important part of our service offering—giving TPS another powerful tool to deliver accurate, efficient, and innovative solutions for our clients.

As Total Precision Surveying continued to meet new clients and build lasting relationships, our growth also highlighted an important area that needed attention.

The increasing demand for our mining products and repair services was putting pressure on our manufacturing and repair capabilities. Rather than allowing growth to compromise the service our clients depended on, TPS recognized the need to invest in both people and processes.

We brought new talent into the team and focused on streamlining our manufacturing and repair operations, improving our ability to keep pace with demand while maintaining the quality and reliability our clients expect.

This investment strengthened an essential part of our business and ensured that, as TPS continued to grow, our ability to support our clients grew with us.