The construction trade has a certain character for being a harsh environment in which brute force takes priority over calculated thought; however this image is far from correct. There is a substantial amount of work that goes on behind the scenes of the demolition and construction sector which is firmly rooted in the academic world.

One branch of this unnoticed work is site surveying, or more precisely pre-demolition and post-demolition topographical surveying. This kind of work demands a good balance of specific technical know-how as well as experience of the industry and a natural intuition for the complexities of the job. This article explores the ins and outs of this work.

Topographical Surveys

A topographical survey is a study of the actual features of a given 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. Whilst topography itself can refer to the surface of virtually any object, it is more commonly associated with the surface of the Earth.

Topographical surveys can be carried out on a very broad range of environments, from open countryside to urban developments and across a variety of reliefs and land surfaces. Surveys can be designed to take into account a great many 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 day maps include a great deal of information about the landscape they relate to, including waterways, elevations and ground surface, all of which will have been collected via a topographical survey. This information is also being offered online.

Topographical surveys also have a key role to play in the construction industry. When individuals or organisations are looking to construct any kind of structure they will need to carry out extensive surveys as part of the design stage of the project. These surveys are often an essential part of any application for planning permission as well.

Surveys also 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 prepare their projects, but also to ensure that they can ensure the safety of their workforce on site.

The newly understood health risks of asbestos make asbestos demolition surveys critical for jobs in which older structures are being demolished.

Types of Survey

The arena of topography addresses a large number of physical features so it is beneficial to determine what type of topographical survey is suitable for a particular scenario.

“Lie of the land” Surveys

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

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 terrain and the various gradients that exist. A survey can be customised to specification though.

Building Surveys

Building surveys are more typically concerned with man-made structures on a site, including the surveying of special apparatus and even infrastructure characteristics. This type of study is more commonly associated with the demolition industry since it can give a detailed plan of the structure to be demolished.

A building survey will probably include a measured survey, which entails creating a precise plan of the exterior and internal proportions of a building. Depending on the requirements of the job, a measured survey could provide basic building “footprint” dimensions, or might produce a highly detailed plan of the structure.

Content of a Topographical Site Survey

A survey of a demolition site will almost definitely include the information gathered by the types of boundary and building surveys described above. This information will be required so the demolition firm can plan a demolition that is both satisfactory and safe. Often these surveys will also be legally required.

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

Another aspect of the site study will often be an audit of resources on the site. This type of survey will be a quantity survey of the various kinds of materials that can be located on site, for example, tiles and masonry, concrete that can be utilised as hardcore or even timber. By taking an accurate audit of site materials the construction firm can more accurately determine the need to import building resources, or they can re-use the materials on a different project.

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Importance of Site Surveys

Possibly the most important reason to undertake a topographical site survey is to ensure the safety of the individuals who will be working on the site. The industrial sectors that most frequently call for site surveys are risky enough as it is without having to worry about the condition of the ground on which they are working.

Another important reason to get a proper survey done is to highlight any potential problems that may arise because of the physical properties 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 started. By then it may be too late to resolve these problems, or at best they will be expensive issues to solve.

The inventory of site supplies, as previously stated, can be of great benefit to a demolition or construction organisation working on a project. Not only are construction materials themselves costly, but importing them to the site could be a very expensive task in itself. Any time that material can be reused 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 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 certain 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 phases of a construction project, the apparatus 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 equipment is both expensive and sensitive. It is therefore sensible to move this equipment off-site during demolition.

Once the demolition has occurred and the site has been deemed safe for workers to return to it, the surveying equipment can be restored to its original position on site. This will allow for efficient data collecting to take place for a post-demolition study, and maintains a single point of contact for anyone who needs the topographical survey information.

Project planners must consider secondary provisions like concrete removal whilst arranging various 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 right people. There are different branches of site surveying and each one will have unique qualifications 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?

When an adequate level of information has been gathered by a site survey it needs to be handed out to the appropriate people on-site. Who gets what pieces of information will largely depend on the job roles being performed, but can also rely on the stage that a project is at. There will be less need for materials information midway through construction for example.

Project Planners

Project planners will usually need access to all of the information gathered 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 record before they can plan the construction phase. The more information that can be made available to project planners will aid the smooth running of the project.

Demolition Experts

Demolition organisations will want to know about the internal and external properties of any building or structures that they are arranged to take down. Whilst every project will have individual requirements, demolition workers will generally need to know about the fundamental framework 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 build on a flat surface, so they will use information about the natural lay of the land to calculate what work will be needed to create a stable foundation for any building. They will want this information prior to and during the construction stage of a job.

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