JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research and Innovation
School of Civil Engineering and Geospatial Engineering
Bachelor of Geomatics Engineering and Geospatial Systems
Bachelor of Geospatial Information Science
INTERNAL ATTACHMENT
Group 4
Fieldwork 2 Report
LEVELLING
Student Name Registration Nº
Gavin Kendo ENC221-0330/2016
Stildon Kimani ENC222-0337/2016
Tarri Halakhe ENC221-0159/2016
Calvin Kiplimo ENC222-0168/2016
Ivy Njeri ENC221-0157/2016
Raymond Rawlings ENC222-0362/2016
Sharon Mwanza ENC221-0098/2016
Barasa Samuel ENC222-0351/2016
Faith Mwende ENC221-0311/2016
Kosgei Antoney ENC222-0354/2016
Paul Akelo ENC222-0331/2016
Group 4 ǀ Fieldwork
Introduction
Levelling is the determination of the relative heights (altitudes)
of the different points in the area under survey, it is this
information which, when coupled with that of the pan, enables a
section through the land and/or artefacts to be drawn (Clancy,
1991). A horizontal line (or plane) of sight (line or plane of
collimation) is established with a telescope (fitted with cross-hairs)
which can be turned about a vertical axis. The difference in
consecutive readings taken on a vertical staff gives the level
difference between two points which can be seen in the figure
below.
Objectives:
To determine the difference in level between points on the
surface of the ground a 'series' of levels will need to be carried
out; this is called a level traverse or level run.
Able to adjust and check the levelling data.
2
Group 4 ǀ Fieldwork
Instruments to be used:
1. Level.
2. Staff.
3. Tripod.
Figure 1
Procedure
a) Set up the leveling instrument at Level position 1.
b) Hold the staff on the Datum (RL+50 m) and take a reading.
This will be a back sight, because it is the first staff reading
after the leveling instrument has been set up.
c) Move the staff to A and take a reading. This will be an
intermediate sight.
d) Move the staff to B and take a reading. This also will be an
intermediate sight.
e) Move the staff to C and take a reading. This will be another
intermediate sight.
f) Move the staff to D and take a reading. This will be a foresight;
because after this reading the level will be moved. (A change
plate should be placed on the ground to maintain the same
level.)
3
Group 4 ǀ Fieldwork
g) The distance between the stations should be measured and
recorded in the field book.
h) Set up the level at Level position 2 and leave the staff at D on
the change plate. Turn the staff so that it faces the level and
take a reading. This will be a back sight.
i) Move the staff to E and take a reading. This will be an
intermediate sight.
j) Move the staff to F and take a reading. This will be a foresight;
because after taking this reading the level will be moved.
k) Now move the level to Leveling position 3 and leave the staff at
F on the change plate.
l) Now repeat the steps describe 8 to 10 until you finished at
point J.
Sources of Error
A problem we encountered during the practical was reading
and booking errors. Many mistakes can be made during the
booking of staff readings taken with a tilting level, and the
general rule is that staff readings must be carefully entered
into the levelling table or field book immediately after reading.
We have done this practical twice, which is our first practical
result was rejected. This is because the actual value is greater
than allowable value.
The next problem we faced was balancing the staff. When the
reading is being taken, the staff is unbalanced due to the
uneven ground surface and hot weather disrupted the holder’s
concentration. Alas, we gave timed signals so that the staff
holder can concentrate for a few seconds while the reading is
being taken.
The next problem is weather conditions. In strong winds, a
level can become unstable because the line of sight is always
moving and it is also difficult to hold the staff steadily. For
these reasons, it is not possible to take reliable readings under
these conditions which should be avoided when levelling.
Therefore, we had to find the suitable time to carry out our
fieldwork.
4
Group 4 ǀ Fieldwork
Conclusion
In this fieldwork, the reduced level of Bench Mark (BM) 1 is given.
The leveling process begins with obtaining the back sight (BS) of
BM1 and the foresight (FS) of turning point (TP) A. Then the auto
level is shifted to obtain the BS of TP A and the FS of TP B. This
process is repeated by shifting the auto level to obtain the BS and
FS of the following staff stations and lastly go back to BM1 to obtain
its FS in order to calculate the error of misclosure.
We used both the rise and fall method and the height of collimation
method to calculate the reduced level of each staff station. The error
of misclosure was -0.006mm and the acceptable range of error of
misclosure was calculated using the 12+/- √k formulae where k
represents the number of set-ups, and the acceptable range of error
of misclosure is +/-37.947mm. Thus, our leveling is acceptable.
To distribute the error, the correction per set-up is calculated using
the following
formulae:
Correction per set-up
= Error of misclosure ÷ Number of set up
