Total Station

Land Surveying is one of the oldest professions in the world. The first land surveys date back to nearly 3,000 years ago, when Egyptian Surveyors subdivided the fertile land around the Nile River and worked on re-marking the land after the annual flooding of the Nile River.

The early settlement of Australia also required help from Land Surveyors. The majority of famous early explorers including Burke and Wills had a Surveying background and their work allowed the land to be settled, by defining property boundaries in the city and the country. Back then Surveyors used primitive technology including chains and steel bands, which made their measurements difficult to record and often required the use of logarithmic tables and slide rulers.

We depend on Surveying to ensure order in the physical world around us. Surveyors play an integral role in land development, from the planning and design of land subdivisions through to the final construction of roads, utilities and landscaping.

Surveyors are among good company, working closely with their peers in the fields of engineering, architecture, geology and planning. Their role underpins these industries; Surveyors are the first people on any construction site, measuring and mapping the land. These primary measurements are then used by architects to understand and make the most of the unique landscape when designing and engineers to plan structures accurately and safely, ensuring buildings not only fit with the landscape but are able to be constructed.

Most modern total station instruments measure angles by means of electro-optical scanning of extremely precise digital bar-codes etched on rotating glass cylinders or discs within the instrument. The best quality total stations are capable of measuring angles to 0.5 arc-second. Inexpensive "construction grade" total stations can generally measure angles to 5 or 10 arc-seconds.

Measurement of distance is accomplished with a modulated infrared carrier signal, generated by a small solid-state emitter within the instrument's optical path, and reflected by a prism reflector or the object under survey. The modulation pattern in the returning signal is read and interpreted by the computer in the total station. The distance is determined by emitting and receiving multiple frequencies, and determining the integer number of wavelengths to the target for each frequency. Most total stations use purpose-built glass corner cube prism reflectors for the EDM signal. A typical total station can measure distances with an accuracy of about 1.5 millimeters (0.0049 ft) + 2 parts per million over a distance of up to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft).

Land surveying

Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is called a land surveyor.

Land surveyors work in the office and in the field – from suits to boots. Out in the field, they use the latest technology such as high order GPS, Robotic Total Stations (Theodolites), and aerial and terrestrial scanners to map an area, making computations and taking photos as evidence.

In the office, Surveyors then use sophisticated software, such as Auto-cad to draft plans and map the onsite measurements. Surveyors work on a diverse variety of projects from land subdivision and mining exploration, to tunnel building and major construction, which means no two days are the same. They are experts in determining land size and measurement. They also give advice and provide information to guide the work of engineers, architects and developers.

Surveying is related to the broad areas of Spatial Science or Geospatial Science. Spatial means “the relative place or location of something”. Spatial Science helps to understand the relationship between the community and the environment to help predict trends and patterns. Surveying is first done to establish the boundaries, and Spatial Technologies are used to interpret and report on the data.

This data is used whenever we search on Google Maps or track a location on a GPS unit. Other Spatial professionals will use the data to help establish trends or predict changes to the environment such as the spread of the Queensland Floods in 2011.

The main types of Surveying specialisations are Land, Mining, Engineering, Hydrographic. Other Spatial Science fields include Geodesy, Topographic Surveying, Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

D.A.E. in Civil Engineering

D.A.E. in Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is an engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of physical and naturally built environment. Civil engineering includes the construction of bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings. After military engineering, civil engineering is the next oldest engineering discipline. It has several sub divisions like environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, municipal or urban engineering, water resource engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering, surveying and construction engineering. Civil engineering takes place public sector and private sector. It can be considered as an application of physical and scientific principles. Civil engineering is greatly related to knowledge of structures, material science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics and other fields. Surveying is the most important sub discipline of civil engineering. The branch of civil engineering dealing with municipal infrastructure is known as municipal engineering.

Civil engineer

A person who performs civil engineering is known as a civil engineer. They usually practice in a particular area of expertise like construction engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, land development, transportation engineering, hydraulic engineering or environmental engineering. Civil engineers have no special career path. An experienced civil engineer can do more complex analysis or design work or management of more complex design projects. He will be specialized in management of other engineers or into specialized consulting including forensic engineering. Civil engineers work with surveyors and specialized civil engineers. Civil engineering is also referred as site engineering. Site engineering primarily focuses on converting a tract of land for various usages. Civil engineers possess academic degree with civil engineering as major subject.