Engineering Surveying for Construction

the set of technical and economic tests made on a construction area to collect the initial data necessary for the development of the most expedient technical and economic decisions during construction, planning, and the redesigning of buildings and structures. Engineering surveying precedes all types of construction (industrial, housing, civil, hydraulic-engineering, transportation, road, and so on). The nature of engineering surveying depends on the type of construction and extent to which the region under investigation has already been studied.

As a rule, economic studies to select the construction site and provide economic substantiation for the planned construction are conducted before technical surveying. In the case of new industrial construction, for example, in addition to problems of supply of the construction unit, the availability of labor and basic physical resources (raw materials, fuel, and power) for the future enterprises are studied and the opportunities for production cooperation with other enterprises and for the use of existing transportation facilities are determined. The selection of the correct site for construction is made much easier if advance regional planning, whose requirements should be taken into consideration during engineering surveying, has been done in the area.

The program of engineering surveying should provide for preservation of the environment—the productivity, cleanliness, and attractiveness of nature—and ensure that the damage that may be done to nature by the engineering surveying itself or by the subsequent construction is prevented or reduced to a minimum.

The set of technical examinations includes the study of the topographical, geological, hydrological, and meteorological conditions in the construction area; a survey of deposits of local building materials; the collection of raw data for the compilation of the plan for the organization of construction and estimates; and the realization of the necessary reconciliations. Because of the great length of the zone that is studied, engineering surveying for highways, railroads, petroleum and gas pipelines, and communications and power-transmission lines (so-called linear surveying) has a special nature. Engineering surveying is ordinarily done in one stage, which includes the gathering of raw data for the development of the contract design and working drawings. For construction units that are complicated in terms of engineering, the surveying is conducted in two stages on the basis of technical problems, in which the basic composition, level of detail, and order of performance of the engineering surveying are determined. Surveying jobs are usually done by the planning institute working on the unit, with the use of specialized organizations.

The preparatory, field, and office periods are distinguished in surveying work. During the preparatory period the essential data on the object are collected and studied and the assignment to be given to the surveying party is determined precisely. During the period of field work geodetic, topographical, drilling, and other jobs are done. Office processing consists in the systematization of materials collected in the field and the compilation of topographical maps, geological cross sections, and the hydrological and climatic characteristics of the region and the construction site. The use of uniform methodology and the concentration of work in large specialized organizations, which have constantly functioning expeditions and parties, increases the speed of the engineering survey, improves its quality, and lowers its cost.

The rational organization of engineering surveying is very important. In the USSR 0.5 to 1.0 percent of the total volume of capital investments is spent for engineering surveying each year.