ABSTRACT
The dollars spent are “real”, in that they actually flow out of the company. They thus occupy a conspicuous place in project budgets. However, there are compelling arguments for finding a good contractor to perform the physical property measurements for a company. There is sometimes resistance to the idea of contracting out data measurements. People who make their living taking data have a reputation to maintain, so they cannot afford to send out bad data; thus, they try to be expert in what they do. Typically, they will have access to good analytical equipment, or know how to build what they need. They are likely to be adept at figuring out the best way to measure the needed data. Sometimes a new piece of apparatus will be necessary and, based on extensive experience, they will know how to do it correctly. University professors are usually anxious to have research money, but not so anxious to have strings attached.
