The Benefits of Topographical Site Surveys

The construction industry has a particular character for being a tough atmosphere in which brute force takes priority over calculated thinking; however this image is far from appropriate. There is a huge amount of work that happens behind the scenes of the demolition and construction sector which is firmly grounded in the academic world. Furthermore, this unseen work is critical 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 type of work demands 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 given plot of land. The purpose of a topographical survey is to chart the naturally occurring and man-made features of a specific landscape to a high degree of accuracy.

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

Common Applications for Topographical Surveys

Perhaps the most extensively used, and most commonly recognised application for topographical surveys is cartography, or map making. Modern maps include a great amount of information about the landscape they relate to, including waterways, reliefs and ground surface, all of which will have been obtained via a topographical survey.

Topographical surveys also have a major role to play in the construction business. When individuals or companies are looking to construct any kind of structure they will need to undertake extensive surveys as part of the design stage of the project. These surveys are often an indispensable part of any application for planning permission as well.

Surveys definitely play a key safety part in primary industries like mining, or in other industries that interact with the land, such as demolition and infrastructure. Businesses in these industries will use surveys to plan their projects, but also to ensure that they can guarantee the safety of their staff on site.

Under modern regulating control, the experts who conduct demolition surveys must be properly qualified to ensure the trustworthiness of the survey results.

Types of Survey

The world of topography addresses a large number of physical characteristics so it is beneficial to identify what type of topographical survey is suitable for a particular situation.

“Lie of the land” Surveys

These types of topographical surveys are fashioned to create a summary of the physical characteristics of any given plot of land. Although the data gathered by the survey will be very accurate, and might be very extensive, the objective of these surveys is to provide a site summary. They will often be the first type of topographical survey that is undertaken on a project.

These surveys will generally include 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 measure the elevation of the land and the numerous gradients that exist.

Building Surveys

Building surveys are more generally concerned with man-made structures on a site, including the surveying of special machines and even infrastructure characteristics. This type of survey is more regularly associated with the demolition sector because it can give a detailed plan of the building to be demolished. It may be used on other projects as well.

A building survey will almost certainly include a measured survey, which entails creating a precise plan of the external and internal dimensions of a building. Depending on the requirements of the project, a measured survey could provide simple building “footprint” dimensions, or might produce a very detailed plan of the structure. This information can be used to create interior floor plans and even roof plans.

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 needed so the demolition firm can plan a demolition that is both satisfactory and secure.

Surveys will often contain information about the utility services that are present on a site before any demolition or construction work happens. This is an important safety aspect because any unmonitored destruction to pipes and cables carrying water, gas and electricity could be very dangerous.

Another aspect of the site survey will often be an audit of resources on the site. This type of survey will be a quantity survey of the various sorts of materials that can be located 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 company can more precisely gauge the need to import building resources, or they can re-use the materials on a different job. These surveys could be made pre-demolition and post-demolition.

It is an apparent reality that before construction demolition must be carried out within sites containing existing houses and other structures.

Importance of Site Surveys

Perhaps the most significant reason to perform a topographical site survey is to ensure the health and safety of the individuals who will be working on the site. The industries that most commonly call for site surveys are dangerous enough as it is without having to be concerned about the integrity of the ground on which they are working. Taking a comprehensive topographical survey can help to eliminate safety risks of this nature.

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

The inventory of site materials, as previously stated, can be of great value to a demolition or construction company working on a project. Not only are building materials themselves expensive, but importing them to the site may be a very expensive task in itself. Any time that material can be recycled on site offers an opportunity to save development time and funds. Only by taking an accurate audit of these materials can a company properly plan its imported material requirements.

Topographical surveys can also highlight other areas that will be of use to the project planners. For example, if the gradients on a site would be prohibitive to particular vehicles or machinery then a new access route or alternative machinery 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 building project, the apparatus required for the physical surveying of the site and control of the survey information 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 efficient data gathering to take place for a post-demolition study, and maintains a single point of contact for anyone who needs the topographical survey information. Most surveying firms will oversee this redeployment.

Project planners must think about secondary services like concrete removal when arranging several businesses to perform work on a building project.

Who can Perform Site Surveys?

Since topographical site surveys can play such a critical role in the success or failure of a building or demolition project it is critical that they are carried out thoroughly by the correct people. There are different divisions of site surveying and each one will have specific certificates associated with it.

When choosing a company to undertake the surveying work necessary for your project it will be wise to choose a business with a good reputation and a proven track record. Ask to see reviews of their previous work and try to get feedback about their overall performance on previous projects.

Who will use the Survey Information?

Once an adequate level of information has been accumulated by a site survey it must be passed out to the appropriate personnel 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. There will be much less need for materials information midway through construction for example.

Project Planners

Project planners will generally need access to all of the information collected by a topographical survey, although they will particularly need to use information concerning the physical relief of a site before the design phase, and a site materials inventory before they can prepare the construction phase. The more information that can be made available to project planners will assist the smooth running of the venture.

Demolition Experts

Demolition organisations will want to know about the internal and exterior properties of any building or structures that they are set to take down. Whilst every project will have individual requirements, demolition workers will generally 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 information about the relief and topography of the site. It is normally the case that they will want to assemble on a flat surface, so they will use information about the natural lay of the land to determine what work will be needed to create a steady foundation for any structure.