SURVEYING

Background

Surveying started in Africa a long time ago , in Egypt during the times of the Pharaoh. The
Pharaoh used to own all the land and for purposes of collecting tax , he used to give pieces of
land to people to carry out any activities they wished to do . Later he would collect his tax . The
Pharaoh used to subdivide land and let it out to people. The people responsible for subdividing
the land on behalf of the Pharaoh used a piece of rope of a certain dimension as a tool. During
those times they were called rope pullers . Everything started as land survey . As civilization
grew and people started living in communities , e.g. in towns during the Roman Empire,
constructing theaters , the surveyor was in demand. The surveyors divided the land for various
activities e.g. grazing land , residential areas , roads linking different communities. The land
surveyor could not handle the volume of work alone and other surveyors came into play and
this is how other branches of land survey were borne.

Classes of survey

There are two classes of surveying namely Geodetic and Plane survey. Geodetic survey comes
from the word Geodesy a survey subject or the highest type of surveying . Plane surveying
means survey work carried out in a plane i.e. a flat piece of area with no adulations.

Geodetic surveying

This is a class of surveying carried out over very large areas e.g. continental mapping ( mapping
an entire continent) , measurement of very large distances like measuring the distance from
Cape Town to Cairo , carrying out associated scientific studies e.g. determination of the earth’s
magnetic field , measuring the true size and shape of the earth , detecting continental drift etc.

Plane survey

This class of survey is carried in a small area approximately 236 metres square. Any
measurements carried out during plane survey do not take into consideration curvature of the
earth. Most of the survey work carried out on daily basis fall into this class .

Branches of surveying ( land survey)

As explained in the background surveying began as land survey and as civilization grew the
demand for the surveyor also grew and as a result of the demand other branches of surveying
came into existence.
Topographical surveying

This is a branch of land surveying that is responsible for producing topographical maps and
plans i.e. maps showing the relief features of an area .

Cadastral surveying

A branch of land surveying that deals with property boundaries.

Hydrographic surveying

A branch of land surveying that deals with water bodies . It is used for mapping coastlines ,
determination of the sea bed , offshore oil exploration and production , design , construction
and maintenance of harbours , inland water routes , river and sea defences , in control of
pollution and scientific studies of the ocean.

Mine surveying

A branch of land surveying responsible for planning the development and future of mineral
workings. They advise on planning appliucations and appeals , mining law and working rights ,
mining subsidence and damage , environmental impacts of mines and the rehabilitation of
derelict land . A mine surveyor also manages and values mineral estates and surveys mineral
workings on surface and underground.

Photogrammetry

A branch of aerial surveying that extracts its information from air and ground photographs.
Photogrammetry is used in agriculture for monitoring diseases in crops on very large
plantations, disaster management ( e.g. oil spillage in oceans) , for military purposes , flood
monitoring e.t.c.

Quantity surveying

The quantity surveyor is an expert in the financial , contractural and communications as pects
of the construction industry . The quantity surveyor is responsible for volumes of material on
construction sites . In actual fact they are not surveyors.
Engineering Surveying

It is a branch of land survey that is applicable to the construction industry. The term
engineering surveying is a general expression for any survey work carried out in connection
with the construction of engineering features e.g. roads , railways , pipelines , dams power
stations , airports e.t.c. Its objectives are :

( 1 ) To produce up-to-date plans of areas in which engineering projects are to be built.

( 2 ) To determine the necessary areas and volumes of land and materials that may be required
during construction .

( 3 ) To ensure that the construction is built in its correct relative and absolute position on the
ground .

( 4 ) To record the final as – built position of the construction including any amendments .

( 5 ) To provide permanent control points from which particularly important projects can be
surveyed e.g. monitoring the faces of dams for any horizontal and vertical movements .

Principles of Engineering Surveying

The principles of engineering surveying are straight forward and follow a logical step by step
sequence as follows :

( 1 ) Carry out a reconnaissance ( first visit to site by the surveyor) and look around the area and
choose suitable positions for location of control points .

( 2 ) Construct the points . This can range from establishing steel pegs cast in conctrete or
driving wooden pegs into the ground .

( 3 ) Take field measurements of all necessary angles , heights and distances . All the
information should be recorded in field books or booking forms .

( 4 ) Calculate the positions of the control points i.e. coordinates and checking the calculations
wherever possible .

( 5 ) If the control points are to be used for setting out work , calculations are undertaken to
obtain the relative angles and distances required to establish the exact position of the
engineering feature from the control points.