A Hydrographic Resourcer with Big Ideas
Article

A Hydrographic Resourcer with Big Ideas

Precise Consultants

Based in Shoreditch at the vibrant heart of East London (UK), Precise Consultants is a resourcing firm focused on the hydrographic sector. Working to match talented freelancers with clients from around the globe, Precise Consultants was set up by former hydrographic surveyor Peter Thompson and financial analyst Adam Sumner.

After nearly a decade as a freelancer in the hydrographic industry, Peter wanted to shake-up how resourcing and talent supply works across the sector. So, he matched his hydrographic industry experience to the financial and strategic background of business partner Adam Sumner to help bring the company to life in early 2013.

The ethos behind the Precise project is to create a warmer, more people-focused approach to hydrographic resourcing. As such, both Peter and Adam have set about instilling a transparency to their resourcing process that they hope will soothe the anxieties of a freelancing community they feel will benefit from a more holistic, rounded service.


Current Profile
The fundamental business mission of Precise Consultants is to work onshore to help hydrographic freelancers and professionals find their next challenge in the offshore world. Their client base is global, and they work on a range of ­disciplines throughout the ­hydrographic sector.

The Precise team – which currently numbers six in total - works as a personnel support service to clients whose operational need for freelance staff can really vary. They source hydrographic professionals to come on board across project lifecycles, with clients relying on them to provide the skillsets they lack, and which are required to fulfil challenging assignments.

There is also a great desire within the company to engage with the broader needs of their freelancer base, because in doing so they believe they can build lasting relationships. With broad in-house industry experience of the offshore environment, Precise feels well placed to meet the everyday needs of their freelancers, rather than just playing the role of a resourcer that limits itself to a placement service.

As such, Peter and Adam have focused on offering broader support to freelancers. They offer in-house expertise on global taxation issues, they have devised a comprehensive insurance service to safeguard freelancers against potential legal issues, and they provide smoother transitions to distant work assignments.

International and Global Scope / View On the Future
As an offshore world, hydrography is totally global in scope and Precise Consultants places freelancers throughout various geographies. As such, there are plans to expand the business into the Middle East in the near future.

Both Precise founders recently spent some time in the region to source locations for new office space in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, they found time to liaise with clients to determine resourcing requirements, as well as gaining valuable market insight in how the Middle East, and Abu Dhabi in particular, expects to develop over the next few years.

The buoyancy of the oil and gas sector will see Abu Dhabi seeking to increase production capacity of oil to 3 million barrels per day over the next three years. The investment will form the backbone of the Abu Dhabi 2030 infrastructure plan, which seeks to redefine the shape of the Emirate. The focus will be on robust and sustainable energy production that will work to help fund wider community and urban planning, with the hope that this will further bolster the economy and improve quality of life across the region.

The overwhelmingly positive mood this level of projected investment and improved economic performance has created meant that the Precise team encountered a strong buzz in terms of business opportunities in hydrographic resourcing following their recent visit.

Clients reported their busiest working calendars for some time, with rolling recruitment drives spanning the entire year. Hydrographic disciplines across the board are strongly sought after, with Peter and Adam expecting to be especially active in sourcing personnel for party chief, geophysicist and surveyor roles.
Closer to home, the Precise Consultants team is also looking to expand and take on new talent internally. There is the added excitement of an impending office move to new premises in London to cater for their growing staff numbers.

Brief Conclusion
With the global economy broadly in buoyant mood, the expansion plans of the company sit neatly with the wider industry picture going into the second half of 2014.


As well as burgeoning resource requirements in the Middle East, clients elsewhere are reporting 2014 to have been amongst the busiest years they can recall. Work in the areas of construction and inspection amongst the hydrographic sector has seen significant demand.

The Precise team believes that new field discoveries reaching exploitation stage are driving this demand for personnel, with clients needing specific expertise to help them mature these opportunities.

The future, then, looks bright for Precise Consultants, with an expanded team coming online and the chance to develop further into the booming Middle Eastern economy. A busy year looks set to get even busier and even better.

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