INTRODUCTION TO

SURVEYING
1. Definition of Surveying
2. Types of Surveys
3. Surveying Instruments
4. Surveying Measurements
5. Surveying Fieldnotes
6. Field Surveying Party
SURVEYING
• One of the oldest arts practiced by man is surveying. From the earliest times
it has always been necessary to mark boundaries and divide tracts of land.
Through the centuries, the uses of surveying have expanded such that today
it is difficult to undertake any type of engineering construction that does not
involve some type of surveying.
• Surveys cover a wide range in scope and complexity from the staking out of
simple structures of the surveying of small parcels of land to the extensive
and difficult surveys required in the different constructions. Surveying is also
required for the laying out industrial equipment, preparing forestry and
geological maps, positioning massive and complex machinery, in the
construction of ships and airplanes, as well as in the survey and exploration
of extra-terrestrial bodies such as the moon and the planets.
DEFINITION OF SURVEYING
All surveying operations have the same characteristics – that of delineating a portion of
the earth’s surface or substance of establishing the position or boundaries of some object
upon it. A host of definitions have been made by different authors, and the following
listed:

1. “Surveying is the art of determining the positions of points on or near the earth’s
surface by means of measurements in the three elements of space; namely, distance,
direction and elevation.” – Rayner and Schmidt.
2. “Surveying is the art of measuring horizontal; and vertical distances between objects,
of measuring angles between lines, and of establishing points by predetermined
angular and linear measurements.” – Davis, Foote, Anderson and Mikhail.
3. “Surveying is the art of making such measurement of the relative positions of points on
the surface of the earth that, on drawing them to scale, natural and artificial features
may be exhibited in their correct horizontal or vertical relationships,” – Clarke.
4. “Surveying is that branch of applied mathematics which teaches the art of
determining the area of any portion of the earth’s surface. The length and
direction of the boundary lines, the contour of the surface, and on accurately
delineating the whole on the paper.” – Webster.
5. “Surveying is the science of art of making such measurements as are necessary
to determine the relative positions of points above, on or beneath the surface of
the earth, or to establish such points.” – Breed, Hosmer and Bone.
6. “Surveying is the science and art of determining relative positions of points
above, on or beneath the surface of the earth, or establishing such points.” –
Brinker and Wolf.

From the different definitions given above, it is obvious that surveying activities
during the earlier part of the decade have only been limited to surveys on or near
the surface of the earth. Times, however, have changed and modern surveying
techniques are now applied to space exploration and in the mapping of extra-
terrestrial bodies such as the moon, mars and in the near future the other planets,
stars, and other heavenly bodies in the universe.
BRIEF HISTORY OF SURVEYING
OBJECTIVE
• The main objective of surveying is to form the map of the site.

• This map should provide following information:

1. Distance between different features on the site.

2. Direction of the feature.
3. Difference of level between different features
OBJECTIVE
• It also involves marking of lines and grades needed for the
construction of building, roads, dams and other engineering
structures.
• Surveying has many industrial applications as well like; setting
equipment, laying our assembly lines, and so on.
 SURVEYING
1.PLANE SURVEY

2.GEODETIC SURVEY
PLANE SURVEYING
• Plane Surveying – is the type of surveying on which the earth is
considered to be a flat surface and when distances and areas involved
are of limited extent that exact shape of the earth is disregarded.
• With regards to horizontal distances and directions, a level line is
considered as mathematically straight, the direction of the plumb line
is assumed to be same at all points within the limits of the survey, and
all angles are considered to be plane angles.
• Survey of farm, subdivisions, buildings etc., in fact most constructed
works are plane surveys
GEODETIC SURVEYING
• Geodetic Surveying – are surveys of wide extent which take into
account the spheroidal shape of the earth.
• Geodetic surveying is also called TRIGONOMENTRIC SURVEYING.
• These surveys employ principles of geodesy, are of high precision and
the related calculations involve the solving of equations derived from
advance mathematics particularly spherical trigonometry, calculus,
and some applications of the theory of least squares.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GEODETIC AND PLANE SURVEYING
BASIC PRINCIPLE OF SURVEYING
The ruling principle of surveying is to work from the whole to a part
and not from part to whole.
The ruling principle of surveying is to work from the whole to a part
and not from part to whole.
CLASSIFICATION OF SURVEY
A.Based on Instruments
B.Based on Methods
C.Based on Objects
D.Based on Nature of field
Classification a. Chain Surveying
of Survey b. Compass Surveying
c. Plane Table Surveying
d. Theodolite Surveying
A. e. Tacheometric Surveying
Based on f. Photograpic Surveying
Instruments
Classification
of Survey a. Triangulation Surveying

b. Traverse Surveying
B.
Based on
Methods
Classification a. Geological Surveying
of Survey
b. Mine Surveying

C. c. Archaeological Surveying
BASED ON
OBJECTIVE d. Military Surveying
Classification a. Land Surveying
of Survey i. Topographical Survey
ii. Cadastral Survey
iii. City Survey
D. iv. Engineering Survey
BASED ON b. Marine Survey
NATURE OF c. Astronomical Surveying
FIELD
TYPES OF SURVEYS
Of the different types of surveys, the following are the more commonly
used:
1. Cadastral Surveys – are usually closed surveys which are
undertaken in urban and rural locations for the purpose of
determining and defining property lines and boundaries, corners,
and areas. These surveys are also made to fix the boundaries of
municipalities, towns, and provincial jurisdictions.
2. City Surveys – are surveys of the areas in and near the city for the
purpose of planning expansions or improvements, locating property
lines, fixing reference monuments, determining the physical
features and configuration of the land, and preparing maps.
CADASTRAL SHEET
CITY SURVEY
TYPES OF SURVEYS
3. Construction Surveys - these are surveys which are undertaken at a
construction site to provide data regarding grades, reference lines,
dimensions, ground configuration, and the location and elevation of
structures which are of concern to engineers, architects and
builders.
4. Forestry Surveys – a type of survey executed in connection with
forest management and mensuration, and the production and
conservation of forests lands.
5. Hydrographic Surveys – refers to surveying streams, lakes,
reservoirs, harbors, oceans, and other bodies of water. These
surveys are made to map shore lines, chart the shape of areas
underlying water surfaces, and measure the flow of streams.
CONSTRUCTION SURVEY
FOREST SURVEY
HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY
TYPES OF SURVEYS
6. Industrial Surveys – sometimes known as optical tooling. It refers to the
use of surveying techniques in ship building, construction and assembly
of aircraft, layout and installation of heavy and complex machinery, and in
other industries where very accurate dimensional layouts are required.
7. Mine Surveys - are surveys which are performed to determine the
position of all ground excavations and surface mine structures, to fix
surface boundaries of mining claims, determine geological formations, to
calculate excavated volumes, and establish lines and grades for other
related mining work.
8. Photogrammetric Surveys – a type of surveys which makes use of
photographs taken with specially designed cameras either from airplanes
or ground stations.
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY
MINE SURVEY
PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY
TYPES OF SURVEYS
9. Route Surveys – involves the determination of alignment grades,
earthwork quantities, location of natural and artificial objects in
connection with the planning, design and construction of highways,
railroads, pipelines, canals, transmission lines, and other linear
projects.
10. Topographic Surveys – are those surveys made for determining the
shape of the ground, and the location and elevation of the natural
and artificial features upon it. The features shown include such
natural objects as hills, mountains, rivers, lakes, relief of the ground
surface, etc; and works of man, such as roads, buildings, ports,
towns, municipalities and bridges.
ROUTE SURVEY
TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY
DEVELOPMENT OF SURVEYING
INSTRUMENTS
 Surveying instruments were developed gradually. It will be noted that
many surveying instruments and devices evolved from those which
were earlier used in astronomy. The following instruments were the
early fore- runners of our present-day surveying instruments.
1. Astrolabe – The astrolabe of Hipparchus is considered to be one of
the best known of the measuring instruments that have come
down, from ancient times.
2. Telescope – The invention of the telescope in 1609 is generally
accredited to Lippershey. In 1609, Galileo constructed a refracting
telescope for astronomical observations. However, it was only when
cross hairs for fixing the line of sight were introduced, that the
telescope was used in early surveying instruments.
ASTROLOBE
TELSESCOPE
DEVELOPMENT OF SURVEYING
INSTRUMENTS
3. Transit – The invention is credited to Young and Draper who worked
independently from each other sometime in 1830. Both men were
able to put together in one instrument the essential parts of what
had long been known as the universal surveying instrument.
4. Semicircumferentor – an early surveying instrument which was used
to measure and lay off angles and establish lines of sight by
employing peep sights.
5. Plane Table – One of the oldest types of surveying instruments used
in field mapping. It consists of a board attached to a tripod in such a
way that it can be leveled or rotated in any direction.
6. Dioptra – The dioptra which was perfected by Heron of Alexandria,
was used in leveling and for measuring horizontal and vertical angles.
TRANSIT
SEMICIRCUMFERENTOR
PLANE TABLE
DIOPATRA
DEVELOPMENT OF SURVEYING
INSTRUMENTS
7. Roman Groma – The Roman surveyors used the groma as an
instrument for aligning or sighting points.
8. Libella – This instrument has an A-frame with a plumb line
suspending from its pex and was used to determine the horizontal.
9. Vernier – The vernier is a short auxillary scale placed alongside the
graduated scale of an instrument, by means of which fractional
parts of the smallest or least division of the main scale can be
determined precisely without having to interpolate.
10. Compass – The magnetic compass came into wide use during the
13th century for determining the direction of lines and in calculating
angles between lines.
ROMAN GROMA
LIBELLA
VERNIER
COMPASS
DEVELOPMENT OF SURVEYING
INSTRUMENTS
11. Gunter’s Chain - The Gunter’s Chain which was invented by Sir
Edmund Gunter in 1620, was the forerunner of instruments used in
taping distances.
12. Chorobates – This instrument was designed for leveling work. It
consisted of a horizontal straight edge about 6 meters long with
supporting legs, and a groove 2.5cm deep and 1.5m long on top.
Water is poured into the groove and when the bar is leveled so that
water stood evenly in the groove without spilling, a horizontal line is
established.
13. Merchet – The merchet was a device for measuring time and
meridian. By sighting through the slot and past the plumb bob
string, a straight line could be projected.
GUNTER CHAIN
CHOROBATES
MERCHET
SURVEYING MEASUREMENTS
 A measurement is the process of determining the extent, size, or
dimension of a particular quantity in comparison to a given standard.
In surveying, measurements are usually concentrated on angles,
elevations, times, lines, areas and volumes.

 The first thing a student of surveying must learn about measurement

is that no exact or true measured quantity is never known.
Measurements are never exact and they will always be imperfect no
matter how carefully made.
SURVEYING MEASUREMENTS
 In surveying, measurements may be made directly or indirectly.

1. Direct Measurements – comparison of the measured quantity with

a standard measuring unit or units employed for measuring a
quantity of the kind.
2. Indirect Measurements – When it is not possible to apply a
measuring instrument directly to a quantity to be measured, an
indirect measurement is made. In this type of measurement, the
observed value is determined by its relationship to some other
known values
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
 The usual surveying type of measurement entail both angular and
linear measurements. When using SI, all linear measurements are
based upon the meter.
 The following more commonly used prefixes are added to basic
names:
 Linear, Area, and Volume Measurements

 Angular Measurements
The SI unit for the plane is the radian. The radian is defined as an angle
subtended by an arc of a circle having a length equal to the radius of
the circle. Obviously, 2π rad = 360 deg, 1 rad = 57 deg 17 min 44.8 sec
or 27.2958 deg, and 0.01745 rad = 1 deg. The relationship may also be
expressed as follows: 1 deg (3.1416/180) rad, 1 min = (3.1416/10800)
rad, and 1 sec = (3.1416/648000) rad
SURVEYING FIELD NOTES
 Surveying field notes constitute the only reliable and permanent record of actual
work done in the field. These notes are then always kept for future references.
TYPES OF NOTES
 Sketches. A good sketch will help to convey a correct impression. Sketches are
rarely made to exact scale, but in most cases they are made approximately to scale.
 Tabulations. A series of numerical values observed in the field are best shown in a
tabulated format.
 Explanatory Notes. Explanatory notes provide a written description of what has
been done in the field.
 Computations. Calculations or one kind or another form a large part of the work of
surveying.
 Combination Of The Above. The practice used in most extensive surveys is a
combination of the above types of notes.
INFORMATION FOUND IN FIELD
NOTEBOOKS
 Title of the Field Work or Name of Project
 Time of Day and Date – These entries are necessary to document the notes and
furnish the timetable, as well as to correlate different surveys.
 Weather Conditions – Temperature, weather, velocity and other weather
conditions have a decided effect upon accuracy in survey operations. An
instrumentman making precise observations is unlikely to perform the best
possible work during extremes in temperature conditions. It is for these reasons
that the details related to the weather play an important part when reviewing field
notes.
 Names of Group Members and their Designations – From this information, duties
and responsibilities can easily be pinpointed among the survey party members.
 List of Equipment – All survey equipment used must be listed, including its make,
brand and serial number. The type of instrument used, and its adjustment, all have
a definite effect on the accuracy of a survey. Proper identification of the particular
equipment used aids in isolating errors in some cases.
THE FIELD SURVEY PARTY
 Chief of Party – the person who is responsible for the overall direction, supervision,
and operational control of the survey party.
 Instrumentman – the person whose duty is to set up, level, and operate surveying
instruments.
 Technician – the person who is responsible for use and operation of all electronic
instruments.
 Computer – the person whose duty is to perform all computations of survey data
and works out necessary computational checks required in the field work operation.
 Recorder – the person whose duty is to keep a record of all sketches, drawings,
measurements, and all observations taken and needed for a field work operation.
 Head Tapeman – the person responsible for the accuracy and speed of all linear
measurements with tape.
 Rear Tapeman – the person whose duty is to assists the Head Tapeman during taping
operations and in other related work
THE FIELD SURVEY PARTY
 Flagsman – the person whose duty ids to hold the flagpole or range pole at
selected points as directed by the instrumentman.
 Rodman – the person whose primary duty is to hold the stadia or leveling rod when
sights are to be taken on it.
 Pacer – the person whose duty is to check all linear measurements made by the
tapeman.
 Axeman/Lineman – the person whose duty is to clear the line of sight of trees,
brush and other obstructions in wooden country.
 Aidman – the person whose duty is to render first aid treatment to members of the
survey party who are involved in snake bites, accidents and other cases involving
their health, safety and well being.
 Utilitymen – the person whose duties are to render other forms of assistance
needed by the survey party as directed by the chief of party.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4omEv8kLjA&ab_channel=Engr.Dacs
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