• The engineer is, in the main, more concerned with the relative height

of one point above or below another, in order to ascertain the

difference in height of the two points, rather than any relationship to
MSL. It is not unusual, therefore, on small local schemes, to adopt a
purely arbitrary reference datum.
• This could take the form of a permanent, stable position or mark,
allocated such a value that the level of any point on the site would not
be negative. For example, if the reference mark was allocated a value
of 0.000 m, then a ground point 10 m lower would have a negative
value of 10.000 m. However, if the reference value was 100.000 m,
then the level of the ground point in question would be 90.000 m.
• As minus signs in front of a number can be misinterpreted, erased or
simply forgotten about, they should, wherever possible, be avoided.
• The vertical heights of points above or below a reference datum are
referred to as the reduced level or simply the level of a point.
Reduced levels are used in practically all aspects of construction: to
produce ground contours on the plan; to enable the optimum design
of road, railway or canal gradients;
• to facilitate ground modelling for accurate volumetric calculations.
Indeed, there is scarcely any aspect of construction that is not
dependent on the relative levels of ground points.
2.2 LEVELLING

• Levelling is the most widely used method of obtaining the elevations

of ground points relative to a reference datum and is usually carried
out as a separate procedure to those used in fixing planimetric
position.
• The basic concept of levelling involves the measurement of vertical
distance relative to a horizontal line of sight. Hence it requires a
graduated staff for the vertical measurements and an instrument that
will provide a horizontal line of sight.
Types of levelling
1.Differential levelling
2.Profile levelling
4.Cross sectional levelling
5.Trignometric levelling
6. Reciprocal levelling
7.Fly levelling
PRINCIPLE OF LEVELLING
• The instrument is set up and correctly levelled in order to make the
line of sight through the telescope horizontal.
Methods of booking

(1) Rise-and-fall
• The following extract of booking is largely self-explanatory. Students
should note:
(a) Each reading is booked on a separate line except for the BS and FS at
change points. The BS is booked on the same line as the FS because it
refers to the same point. As each line refers to a specific point it should
be noted in the remarks column.
• (b) Each reading is subtracted from the previous one, i.e. 2A from 1A,
then 3A from 2A, 4A from 3A and stop; the procedure recommencing
for the next instrument station, 2B from 1B and so on.
• Three very important checks must be applied to the above reductions,
namely:
The sum of BS – the sum of FS = sum of rises – sum of falls
= last reduced level – first reduced level
• These checks are shown in the above table. It should be emphasized
that they are nothing more than checks on the arithmetic of reducing
the levelling results, they are in no way indicative of the accuracy of
fieldwork.
(2) Height of collimation
• This is the name given to an alternative method of booking. The
reduced levels are found simply by subtracting the staff readings from
the reduced level of the line of sight (plane of collimation for instance,
the height of the plane of collimation (HPC) at A is obviously (60.5 +
1.5) = 62.0; now 2A is 2.5 below this plane, so its level must be (62.0 –
2.5) = 59.5; similarly for 3A and 4A to give 58.0 and 60.0 respectively.
Now the procedure is repeated for B.
• The tabulated form shows how simple this process is:
CHECKING PROCEDURE
• sum of BS – sum of FS = last RL – first RL.
• The above two checks are not complete; for instance, if when taking
2.5 from 62.0 to get RL of 59.5, one wrote it as 69.5, this error of 10
would remain undetected. Thus the intermediate sights are not
checked by those procedures in (d) above and the following
cumbersome check must be carried out:
• sum of all the RL except the first = (sum of each HPC multiplied by the
number of IS or FS taken from it) – (sum of IS and FS).
• e.g. 362.0 = [(62.0 × 3.0) + (63.0 × 2.0) + (68.0 × 1.0)] – [12.0 + 6.0] =
362.0
Inverted sights
• inverted sights at B, C and D to the underside of a structure. It is
obvious from the drawing that the levels of these points are obtained
by simply adding the staff readings to the HPC to give B = 65.0, C =
63.0 and D = 65.0; E is obtained in the usual way and equals 59.5.
However, the problem of inverted sights is completely eliminated if
one simply treats them as negative quantities and proceeds in the
usual way:
checks