CIU 07207 – ENGINEERING SURVEYING

INTRO: Engineering surveying ---> defined as

those works involving in the planning and
execution of surveys for the location , design ,
construction , operation and maintenance of civil
and other engineering projects.
 OR Is for collection of requisite data for
planning , design , and execution of
engineering projects such as design of roads ,
bridges , dams , transmission lines.
THREE FURTHER SUBDIVIONS FOR ENGINEERING
SURVEYING
 Reconnaissance Surveys ---> This is used for
exploratory nature
 Preliminary surveys ---> This is for collection of
adequate data for design purposes
 Location Surveys ---> This is for setting – out
work on the ground.
 RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS
 Reconnaissance is defined as the field inspection
of the entire area to be covered.
The activities involved in reconnaissance it
depends on the type of the engineering
tasks/designs to be performed.
For example , reconnaissance surveys for
traversing involves the following tasks;
i. Selection of suitable positions for traverse
stations
ii. Insuring the intervisibility of the traverse stations
 RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS CONT..

iii. Deciding method of traversing and

instruments to be employed.
iv.Collection of miscellaneous information
related to traversing such as:-
Transport facilities
Availability of food and water for survey party
Camping ground or stay arrangements
Availability of labour
 RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS CONT..

 Reconnaissance surveys for construction

works/jobs consists of :-
i. Examination of the area to be constructed
ii. Collection of miscellaneous information related
to the type of construction such as:-
 Number of natural and artificial features
 Nature of terrain
 The availability of nearby benchmarks/control
points
 RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS CONT..

• Reconnaissance surveys for topographic

surveys consists of :-
i. Checking the availability of control points
with data.
ii. Examine the area by looking the nature of
the terrain
iii. The availability of number of natural and
artificial features
iv. Decide the type of instruments to be used
 RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS CONT..

Reconnaissance surveys for route surveying

consists of :-
i. Collection of available map and aerial
photographs of the area.
 Various possible routes are marked on the map
keeping the general topography of the area in
the mind.
ii. Approximate elevation and distances are
measured
 RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS CONT..

 The elevations are determined by an altimeter or a

clinometer.
 The distances are found by pacing
 The directions and angles are measured by a
magnetic compass.
 From all these measurements , the possible
gradients and probable necessary lengths are
determined for alternative route.The relative costs of
the various routes are worked out, and the best
route is selected for the more accurate preliminary
survey.
 RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS CONT..

 The reconnaissance also includes the collection

of information about the type of soil,
geological structures , drainage patterns ,
ecology , land usage , etc.. These information
help in selecting the best possible route as
they provide a general impression of the
terrain.
 At the end , a reconnaissance report is
prepared
 Preliminary surveys
Preliminary surveys consists of the collections of the
adequate data to prepare plan/map of the area to be
used for planning and design.
 For example , the preliminary surveys for route
surveying consists of :-
i. Traversing by using an appropriate instruments
along the selected routes , and the distances ,
heights and angles between the traverse stations
are measured accurately in order to prepare a
topographic map of the selected narrow strip.
ii. The longitudinal section and cross-sections
are also run along the strip.The preliminary
survey should be quite accurate so that the
selection of the final alignment can be made.
 Preliminary surveys cont…
The preliminary surveys for construction
works/jobs consists of :-
i. Conducting topographic surveying for
preparation of the topographic plan/map to
be used for design purposes.
ii. Creating or establishing control points and
benchmarks if not available.These will help
during location surveys
 Location Surveys …
Location Surveying is performed by the
establishment on the ground of points and
lines in positions which have been determined
previously by either computation , graphical
methods , or by description obtained from
data supplied by documents of records , such
as deeds , plans , maps or other sources.
 Location Surveys cont…
• For example , location survey for route survey
is carried out in two stages:-
i. Office location , and ii. Field location
(a) Office location ---> It involves marking of the
selecte final alignment including the horizontal
curves at the desired locations on the map of
the selected strip , this is known as
 Location Surveys cont…
(a) Office location
---> The final alignment may be anywhere in the
strip and in most favourable position.The
longitudinal section or profile is drawn for the
final alignment from the contours on map , and
the grade line is marked on the profile in pencil.
 Location Surveys cont…
(b) Field location ---> Is the process of
transferring the paper location of the final
alignment of a route to the ground i.e ., it is
setting-out the paper location on the ground.
Sometimes, minor changes in the alignment are
made in the field location , if necessary.
 Location Surveys cont…
location survey for construction works/jobs is
carried out in the following manner:-
i. Location of salient points , e.g.. Corners of the
structure on the ground.In this task , some of
the commonly employed techiniques are:-
 Offsets from the existing details
 Offsets from the site grid
 Offsets from the base line