Traveling to Hawaii

The construction trade has a certain reputation for being a tough environment in which brute force takes precedence over calculated thought; however this image is far from appropriate. There is a substantial amount of work that happens behind the scenes of the demolition and construction sector which is firmly grounded in the academic arena. Moreover, this unseen work is essential to the success of the more visible procedures.

One part of this unnoticed work is site surveying, or more specifically pre-demolition and post-demolition topographical surveying. This kind of work calls for a good balance of specific technical understanding as well as experience of the industry and a natural intuition for the complexities of the job.

Topographical Surveys

A topographical survey is a study of the physical features of a particular piece of land. The aim of a topographical survey is to map the naturally occurring and man-made features of a specific landscape to a high degree of precision.

Topographical surveys could be carried out on a very broad range of environments, from open countryside to urban areas and across a variety of elevations and land surfaces. Surveys can be designed to take into account a great many factors, such as ground conditions or vegetation, and as such can be used for a number of tasks.

Common Applications for Topographical Surveys

Probably the most extensively used, and most generally recognised application for topographical surveys is cartography, or map making. Modern maps include a great amount of detail about the terrain they relate to, including waterways, elevations and ground surface, all of which will have been gathered via a topographical survey. This information is also being made available online.

Topographical surveys also have a key role to play in the construction industry. When people or companies are looking to construct any kind of structure they will need to perform extensive surveys as part of the design phase of the project. These surveys are often an important part of any application for planning permission too.

Surveys definitely play a key safety role in primary industries such as mining, or in other industries that interact with the terrain, such as demolition and infrastructure. Organisations in these industries will use surveys to prepare their projects, but also to be sure that they can guarantee the safety of their workforce on site. As such, topographical surveys are often a legal requirement for these types of projects.

To comply to specific safety regulations a demolition survey is usually required prior to demolition work happening.

Types of Survey

The world of topography covers a large number of physical characteristics so it is beneficial to identify what type of topographical survey is appropriate for a particular situation. A few of the more typical types of survey required for construction sites are discussed below.

“Lie of the land” Surveys

These types of topographical surveys are designed to create an overview of the physical properties of any given plot of land. Whilst the data gathered by the survey will be extremely accurate, and may be very extensive, the purpose of these surveys is to provide a site summary.

These surveys will usually incorporate a boundary survey that sets out to determine the extent of the site and spotlight any specific restraints that are determined by the geography of the site. They may also include a level survey that will plot the elevation of the land and the various gradients that exist.

Building Surveys

Building surveys are more typically concerned with man-made constructions on a site, including the surveying of special apparatus and even infrastructure characteristics. This type of survey is more regularly associated with the demolition sector since it can give a detailed plan of the building to be demolished.

A building survey will probably include a measured survey, which involves creating a detailed plan of the external and interior proportions of a structure. Depending on the requirements of the job, a measured survey might provide simple building “footprint” dimensions, or might produce a very detailed plan of the structure.

Content of a Topographical Site Survey

A survey of a demolition site will almost always include the details gathered by the types of boundary and building surveys mentioned above. This information will be required so that the demolition firm can plan a demolition that is both adequate and secure. More often than not these surveys will also be legally requested.

Surveys will often include information about the power services that are present on a site prior to any demolition or construction work happens. This is an important safety aspect because any unmonitored damage to pipes and cables carrying water, gas and electricity could be very dangerous. The information might also be used to plan new buildings, based upon the existing supply of these ammenities.

Another aspect of the site study will often be an audit of materials on the site. This type of study will be a quantity survey of the various types of materials that can be found on site, for example, tiles and masonry, concrete that can be utilised as hardcore or even wood. By getting an accurate audit of site materials the construction firm can more accurately gauge the need to import building resources, or they can re-use the materials on a different project. These surveys can be made pre-demolition as well as post-demolition.

It is an apparent truth that prior to construction demolition must be done in sites containing existing houses and other buildings.

Importance of Site Surveys

Perhaps the most important reason to undertake a topographical site survey is to ensure the safety of the individuals who will be doing work on the site. The industrial sectors that most commonly call for site surveys are risky enough as it is without having to be concerned about the integrity of the ground on which they are working. Taking a detailed topographical survey can help to eliminate safety risks of this nature.

Another critical reason to get a suitable survey done is to highlight any potential problems that may arise because of the physical characteristics of the area. Particular things will not be evident on the surface of the site and will only be discovered once digging or demolition has begun.

The inventory of site supplies, as previously mentioned, can be of great benefit to a demolition or construction company working on a project. Not only are construction materials themselves expensive, but transporting them to the site may be a very expensive task in itself. Any time that material can be recycled on site provides an opportunity to save development time and money. Only by taking an exact audit of these supplies can a company properly plan its imported material needs.

Topographical surveys can also identify other areas that will be of use to the project managers. For example, if the gradients on a site would be prohibitive to specific vehicles or machinery then a new entry route or alternative equipment will need to be found. Equally, a suitable site will need to be found for the base of control operations for the project. Good site surveying can help out in these less tangible ways.

Positioning of Survey Control

During the surveying and construction stages of a construction project, the equipment required for the physical surveying of the site and control of the survey data will often be stored on-site. This is obviously a problem when it comes to the demolition stage of a project since the machinery is both expensive and sensitive.

Once the demolition has occurred and the site has been deemed safe for staff to return to it, the surveying equipment can be restored to its original position on site. This will allow for effective data collecting to take place for a post-demolition survey, and maintains a single point of contact for anybody who needs the topographical survey information. Most surveying companies will oversee this redeployment.

Experience is often a deciding variable whenever picking a buildings demolition contractor because every job has specific requirements and unique difficulties.

Who can Perform Site Surveys?

Because topographical site surveys can play such a critical role in the success or failure of a construction or demolition project it is critical that they are undertaken carefully by the right people. There are different divisions of site surveying and each one will have specific certificates associated with it. Getting surveyors with these specific qualifications will certainly be beneficial.

When choosing a company to undertake the surveying work necessary for your project it will be sensible to choose a business with a good reputation and a proven track record. Ask to see examples of their previous work and try to get feedback about their overall performance on previous projects. It may also be worth thinking about how a company can deliver the survey data, i.e. in 3-D models or CAD ready formats, for ease of integration with other members of the project staff.

Who will use the Survey Information?

Once an adequate level of information has been gathered by a site survey it must be handed out to the appropriate people on-site. Who gets which pieces of information will largely depend on the job roles being executed, but can also rely on the stage that a project is at.

Project Planners

Project planners will generally require access to all of the information gathered by a topographical survey, though they will particularly need to use information concerning the physical relief of a site before the design phase, and a site materials record before they can plan the construction phase. The more data that can be made available to project planners will aid the smooth running of the project.

Demolition Experts

Demolition businesses will want to know about the interior and external characteristics of any building or structures that they are arranged to take down. Whilst every project will have individual requirements, demolition experts will typically need to know about the fundamental structure of a building and the materials it is made out of.

Site Engineers

Construction engineers on-site will be mainly interested in the survey data about the relief and topography of the site. It is usually the case that they will want to assemble on a flat surface, so they will use details about the natural lay of the land to calculate what work will be needed to create a steady foundation for any structure.

 Mail this post