Surveying Applications in the Demolition Industry

The demolition trade has a particular reputation for being a tough environment in which brute force takes priority over calculated thought; however this impression is far from appropriate. There is a huge amount of work that happens behind the scenes of the demolition and construction sector which is firmly grounded in the academic arena.

One part of this unnoticed work is site surveying, or more precisely pre-demolition and post-demolition topographical surveying. This type of work demands a great balance of specific technical knowledge as well as experience of the industry and a genuine 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 physical features of a given plot of land. The aim of a topographical survey is to map the naturally occurring and man-made traits 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 areas 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. A few of the more common uses are discussed below.

Common Applications for Topographical Surveys

Perhaps the most extensively used, and most generally recognised application for topographical surveys is cartography, or map making. Modern day maps include a great amount of detail 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 provided online.

Topographical surveys also have a key role to play in the construction business. When people or organisations are looking to build any kind of structure they will need to undertake extensive surveys as part of the design phase of the project.

Surveys definitely play a key safety part in primary industries such as mining, or in other industrial sectors that interact with the land, such as demolition and infrastructure. Companies in these industries will use surveys to prepare their projects, but also to ensure that they can ensure the safety of their staff on site.

Under modern regulatory control, the experts who perform demolition surveys should always be well qualified to ensure the trustworthiness of the survey findings.

Types of Survey

The world of topography covers a large number of physical features so it is beneficial to identify what form of topographical survey is suitable for a particular situation.

“Lie of the land” Surveys

These types of topographical surveys are designed to create an overview of the physical properties of any given plot of land. Although the data collected by the survey will be very accurate, and might be very extensive, the objective of these surveys is to give a site summary.

These surveys will generally include a boundary survey that sets out to define 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 land and the numerous 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 study is more regularly associated with the demolition sector because it can give a detailed plan of the building to be demolished. It may be used for other projects as well.

A building survey will almost certainly include a measured survey, which involves creating a comprehensive plan of the external and internal dimensions of a building. Depending on the requirements of the project, a measured survey could provide simple building “footprint” dimensions, or might produce a very 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 that the demolition company can plan a demolition that is both adequate and safe. Often these surveys will also be legally requested.

Surveys will often include information about the power services that are present on a site before any demolition or construction work happens. This is an important safety factor since any unmonitored destruction to pipes and cables carrying water, gas and electricity might be very dangerous. The information might also be used to plan new structures, based upon the existing availability of these ammenities.

Another aspect of the site study will often be an audit 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 utilised as hardcore or even timber. 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 job. These surveys could be made pre-demolition and post-demolition.

One company with many years experience in the demolition business is East Midlands Demolition who bring experience as well as expertise to demolition projects.

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 frequently call for site surveys are dangerous enough as it is without having to worry about the condition of the ground on which they are working. Taking a comprehensive topographical survey can help to eliminate safety risks of this nature.

Another critical reason to get a proper survey done is to highlight any potential problems that may arise because of the physical characteristics of the area. Particular things may not be evident on the surface of the site and will only be uncovered once digging or demolition has started. By then it may be too late to deal with these problems, or at best they will be expensive problems to solve.

The inventory of site materials, as previously mentioned, can be of great value to a demolition or construction company working on a project. Not only are construction 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 offers an opportunity to save development time and money. Only by taking an exact audit of these supplies can a company correctly plan its imported material needs.

Topographical surveys can also highlight other areas that will be of use to the project managers. For example, if the gradients on a site would be prohibitive to specific vehicles or equipment then a new access route or alternative machinery 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 building 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 clearly a problem when it comes to the demolition phase of a project since the machinery is both costly and sensitive.

Once the demolition has occurred and the site has been deemed safe for personnel to return to it, the surveying equipment can be restored to its original position on site. This will allow for efficient data gathering to take place for a post-demolition study, and retains a single point of contact for anybody who requires the topographical survey information. Most surveying firms will oversee this redeployment.

Project managers must think about secondary services such as concrete removal when arranging several businesses to perform work on a building project.

Who can Perform Site Surveys?

Because topographical site surveys can play such a crucial role in the success or failure of a construction or demolition project it is vital that they are carried out thoroughly by the right people. There are different branches of site surveying and each one will have unique certificates associated with it.

When choosing a company to undertake the surveying work required for your project it will be sensible to choose a business with a good reputation and a proven track record. Ask to see examples of their previous work and try to get feedback about their overall performance on previous projects. It may also be worth considering how a company can deliver their survey information, i.e. in 3-D models or CAD ready formats, for ease of integration with other members of the project staff.

Who will use the Survey Information?

When an adequate level of information has been gathered by a site survey it must be passed out to the appropriate people on-site. Who gets what pieces of information will mostly depend on the job roles being executed, 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 require access to all of the information collected by a topographical survey, although they will particularly need to use information regarding the physical relief of a site before the design phase, and a site materials record before they can plan the construction phase.

Demolition Experts

Demolition organisations will want to know about the interior and exterior characteristics of any building or structures that they are arranged to take down. Whilst every job will have different requirements, demolition experts will typically need to know about the fundamental structure 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 mainly interested in the survey data about the relief and topography of the terrain. It is normally the case that they will want 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 foundation for any building. They will want this information before and during the construction stage of a job.