How Surveyors Keep Us Safe

By Carey Bourdier


You might not realize just how important the profession of surveying is in our daily lives. You also might think it has more to do with making maps than anything else, but actually surveying is a crucial task that is needed to make sure that we have built roads and building and bridges properly.

Certainly, it is a common enough site to see someone standing with a construction vest and hard hat in the middle of the road looking through a telescope-like device set up on a tripod. This is a surveyor, the device is called a theodolite, and it's much more than a simple telescope. It actually measures angles in horizontal plane as well as the vertical plane. Theodolites are used for many different types of surveying, and these professionals also learn how to use inclinometers, GPS receivers, digital levels and devices called total stations.

These tools help surveyors accomplish many tasks that are essential in many industries. For instance, surveyors are needed for every type of construction. Surveyors ensure that roads are constructed safely by making sure that slope and grade of the road is safe and easy for many types of vehicles to navigate. In addition, surveyors are used to help build bridges that are level and will support large amounts of traffic and they also inspect our current bridges to check for damage and movement.

In the past, surveyors were used to establish boundary lines, and this is still a very important job. When new communities are developed or new houses are built, surveyors need to come in and set the boundary lines. Surveyors also are called in when there is a dispute regarding boundaries.

While boundaries are important, surveyors also are needed on all construction sites to make sure that buildings and homes are built safely. This is known as construction surveying, and the people who complete these tasks are quite important. They inspect foundations to make sure they are level and are on hand throughout the entire production process.

Surveyors also are used for many mapping purposes both on land and on water. This is helpful information for our naval vessels as well as commercial shipping vessels and mining operations. Surveyors also are needed to create maps of underground mines and to ensure that mines are built safely. Many mining operations employ full-time surveyors to continually monitor the mines.




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