The demolition trade has a particular character for being a harsh atmosphere in which brute force takes precedence over calculated thought; however this impression is far from appropriate. There is a substantial amount of work that goes on behind the scenes of the demolition and construction sector that is firmly rooted in the academic arena.
One branch of this unnoticed work is site surveying, or more precisely pre-demolition and post-demolition topographical surveying. This sort of work demands a good balance of specific technical know-how as well as experience of the industry and a natural intuition for the intricacies of the job. This article explores the ins and outs of this work.
Topographical Surveys
A topographical survey is a study of the physical features of a particular plot of land. The purpose of a topographical survey is to map the naturally occurring and man-made features of a particular landscape to a high degree of accuracy.
Topographical surveys could 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 number of factors, such as ground variables or vegetation, and as such can be used for a number of tasks.
Common Applications for Topographical Surveys
Probably the most extensively used, and most commonly recognised application for topographical surveys is cartography, or map making. Modern maps include a great deal of information about the landscape they relate to, including waterways, reliefs and ground surface, all of which will have been obtained via a topographical survey.
Topographical surveys also have a major role to play in the construction business. When people or companies are looking to build any kind of structure they will need to perform extensive surveys as part of the design phase of the project. These surveys are often an important part of any application for planning permission as well.
Surveys definitely play a key safety part in primary industries such as mining, or in other industries that interact with the terrain, such as demolition and infrastructure. Businesses in these industries will use surveys to prepare their projects, but also to be sure that they can guarantee the safety of their staff on site. As such, topographical surveys are often a legal requirement for these types of projects.
The newly understood health risks of asbestos make asbestos demolition surveys critical to projects where older structures are being destroyed.
Types of Survey
The world of topography covers a large number of physical features so it is beneficial to identify what type of topographical survey is appropriate for a particular situation.
“Lie of the land” Surveys
These types of topographical surveys are fashioned to create a summary of the physical characteristics of any given plot of land. Whilst the data collected by the survey will be very accurate, and might be very extensive, the purpose of these surveys is to provide a site summary.
These surveys will usually incorporate a boundary survey that sets out to determine the extent of the site and highlight any specific restraints that are determined by the geography of the site. They may also include a level survey that will plot the elevation of the terrain and the various gradients that exist.
Building Surveys
Building surveys are more generally concerned with man-made constructions on a site, including the surveying of special equipment and even infrastructure characteristics. This type of survey is more regularly associated with the demolition sector since it can give a detailed plan of the building to be demolished.
A building survey will probably include a measured survey, which involves creating a precise plan of the external and internal dimensions of a building. Depending on the requirements of the project, a measured survey might provide simple building “footprint” measurements, or might produce a very detailed plan of the structure. This information can be used to create interior floor plans and even roof plans.
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 needed so that the demolition company can plan a demolition that is both adequate and safe.
Surveys will often include information about the utility services that are present on a site prior to any demolition or construction work happens. This is an essential safety factor because any unmonitored destruction to pipes and cables carrying water, gas and electricity could be very dangerous. The information can also be used to plan new buildings, based upon the existing availability of these utilities.
Another aspect of the site survey will often be an inventory of materials on the site. This type of study will be a quantity survey of the various types of materials that can be located on site, for example, tiles and masonry, concrete that can be used as hardcore or even wood. By getting an accurate audit of site materials the construction company can more precisely determine the need to import building materials, or they can re-use the materials on a different project. These surveys could be made pre-demolition as well as post-demolition.
Project planners may uncover financial benefits after topographical demolition surveys collect supplies levels available on-site that can be recycled.
Importance of Site Surveys
Possibly the most significant reason to perform a topographical site survey is to ensure the health and safety of the people who will be doing work on the site. The industrial sectors that most commonly 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. Taking a detailed topographical survey can help to eliminate safety risks of this nature.
Another important reason to get a proper survey done is to highlight any potential difficulties that may arise because of the physical properties of the region. Certain things will not be evident on the surface of the site and will only be discovered once digging or demolition has begun. 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 enterprise working on a project. Not only are building materials themselves costly, but importing them to the site may 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 materials can a company properly plan its imported material requirements.
Topographical surveys can also identify other areas that will be of use to the project managers. For example, if the gradients on a site would be prohibitive to particular vehicles or machinery then a new entry route or alternative equipment will have to be found. Equally, an appropriate site will need to be found for the base of management 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 equipment required for the physical surveying of the site and control of the survey data will often be stored on-site. This is clearly a problem when it comes to the demolition stage of a project since the machinery is both expensive and sensitive.
Once the demolition has taken place 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 effective data gathering to take place for a post-demolition study, and retains a single point of contact for anyone who requires the topographical survey information.
One of the more technical areas of industrial demolition concerns the removal of dangerous substances that may be harmful to the natural environment.
Who can Perform Site Surveys?
Because topographical site surveys can play such a critical role in the success or failure of a building or demolition venture it is vital that they are carried out carefully by the correct people. There are different branches of site surveying and each one will have specific qualifications associated with it.
When selecting a company to undertake the surveying work necessary for your project it will be sensible to choose a company with a good reputation and a proven track record. Ask to see reviews of their previous work and try to obtain feedback about their performance on past projects.
Who will use the Survey Information?
Once an adequate level of details has been accumulated by a site survey it must be handed out to the appropriate people on-site. Who gets which pieces of information will mostly 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 half way through construction for example.
Project Planners
Project planners will usually need access to all of the information gathered by a topographical survey, though they will particularly need to use information concerning the physical relief of a site before the design phase, and a site materials inventory before they can plan the construction phase. The more data that can be made available to project planners will help the smooth running of the project.
Demolition Experts
Demolition organisations will want to know about the interior and external characteristics of any building or structures that they are arranged to take down. Whilst every job will have different requirements, demolition experts will generally need to know about the fundamental framework of a building and the materials it is made out of. They will need this information before demolition can take place.
Site Engineers
Construction engineers on-site will be particularly interested in the survey information about the relief and topography of the site. It is normally the case that they will need to assemble on a flat surface, so they will use details about the natural lay of the land to calculate what work will be needed to create a steady footing for any structure.
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