University of Anbar

College of Engineering
Civil Engineering Department

LECTURE NOTE
COURSE CODE- CE 2308
ENGINEERING SURVEYING

Chapter One

By
Dr. Maher Shakir Mahmood Dr. Hameed Aswed
 Engineering Surveying I
This course introduces knowledge about chain surveying, compass surveying, plane table
distance measurements, levelling and traversing.

References:
- Charles D. Ghilani, Paul R. Wolf, Elementary Surveying, Prentice Hall, 12th ed., 2008.
- Chandra, A. M. Surveying Problem Solution with Theory and Objective Type Questions.
New Age International, 2005.
.‫المساحة الهندسية‬, ‫ياسين عبيد‬ -

COURSE TOPICS:
Chapter One: Basic Principle of Surveying
Chapter Two: Distance Measurements Using Tape
Chapter Three: Leveling—Theory and Methods
Chapter Four: Distance Measurements Using Trigonometric & EDM
Chapter Five: Angles, Azimuth, and Bearing
Chapter Six: Traversing

PROGRAM AND COURSE OUTCOMES:

1. Students will obtain knowledge in:
a. Mathematics: Students in this class will use basic mathematical skills in real
world calculations.
b. Science: Scientific procedures in surveying show the student the necessity of
redundant information and methods for determining and evaluating errors.
c. Engineering: Surveying is one of the original and most recognized civil
engineering skills.
2. Expose students to state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice facilities and equipment.
3. Students will learn to use equipment similar in type and quality to those professional
surveyors use in their businesses.

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 Chapter 1 Basic Principle of Surveying

CHAPTER 1
BASIC PRINCIPLE OF SURVEYING

Definition of Surveying:
- Surveying is defined as “taking a general view, by observation and measurement determining
the boundaries, size, position, quantity, condition, value etc. of land, estates, building, farms
mines etc. and finally presenting the survey data in a suitable form”. This covers the work of the
valuation surveyor, the quantity surveyor, the building surveyor, the mining surveyor and so
forth, as well as the land surveyor.
- The art of making measurements of the relative positions of natural and man-made features on
the Earth’s surface, and the presentation of this information either graphically or numerically.

Types of Surveys:
1. Geodetic Surveying: The type of surveying that takes into account the true shape of the
earth. These surveys are of high precision and extend over large areas.
2. Plane Surveying: The type of surveying in which the mean surface of the earth is
considered as a plane, or in which its spheroidal shape is neglected, with regard to
horizontal distances and directions.

History of Surveying
- The oldest historical records in the subject of surveying began in Egypt. Egyptians
divided the land of Egypt into plots for the purpose of taxation and boundaries of annual
floods.
- The first surveying works date back to the antiquity, the Greek provided the first account
of surveying techniques.

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Specialized Types of Surveys:

Many types of surveys are so specialized that a person proficient in a particular discipline may
have little contact with the other areas. Some important classifications are described briefly here.
- Control surveys establish a network of horizontal and vertical monuments that serve as a
reference framework for initiating other surveys.
- Topographic surveys determine locations of natural and artificial features and elevations
used in map making.
- Land, boundary, and cadastral surveys establish property lines and property corner
markers. The term cadastral is now generally applied to surveys of the public lands
systems.
- Hydrographic surveys define shorelines and depths of lakes, streams, oceans, reservoirs,
and other bodies of water.
- Alignment surveys are made to plan, design, and construct highways, railroads,
pipelines, and other linear projects.
- Construction surveys provide line, grade, control elevations, horizontal positions,
dimensions, and configurations for construction operations. They also secure essential
data for computing construction pay quantities.
- As-built surveys document the precise final locations and layouts of engineering works
and record any design changes that may have been incorporated into the construction.
- Mine surveys are performed above and below ground to guide tunneling and other
operations associated with mining. This classification also includes geophysical surveys
for mineral and energy resource exploration.
- Solar surveys map property boundaries, solar easements, obstructions according to sun
angles, and meet other requirements of zoning boards and title insurance companies.
- Optical tooling (also referred to as industrial surveying or optical alignment) is a
method of making extremely accurate measurements for manufacturing processes where
small tolerances are required.
Except for control surveys, most other types described are usually performed using plane-
surveying procedures, but geodetic methods may be employed on the others if a survey
covers an extensive area or requires extreme accuracy.

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Ground, aerial, and satellite surveys are broad classifications sometimes used.
A. Ground surveys utilize measurements made with ground-based equipment such as
automatic levels and total station instruments.
B. Aerial surveys are accomplished using either photogrammetry or remote sensing.
Photogrammetry uses cameras that are carried usually in airplanes to obtain images,
whereas remote sensing employs cameras and other types of sensors that can be
transported in either aircraft or satellites.
C. Satellite surveys include the determination of ground locations from measurements
made to satellites using global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers, or the
use of satellite images for mapping and monitoring large regions of the Earth.

The Role of Surveyors in Civil Engineering Practice

 to maintain the geometric order during the construction process.
 to provide fundamental data for the design and planning process.
 to provide quantity control during the construction process (for example: earthwork
quantities).
 to monitor the structure after the construction (deflection, deformations, etc.).

Basic Measurements and Instruments

Surveying consists of four basic measurements:
1. Horizontal distance – measured by tapes, chains, tacheometers, EDM, pacing,
odometer, etc.
2. Vertical distance – measured by levels, tacheometers.
3. Horizontal angles – measured by theodolites, compasses.
4. Vertical angles – measured by theodolites, clinometers.

Units of Measurement
There are two principal measurements in surveying works:
1. Linear measurements: the basic unit used is the meter. Decimal fractions of the meter
are also used when accuracy is required. Other units include the foot, the inch, the
yard, the mile, etc.

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2. Angular measurements: even though the basic unit is the radian, the degree is used in
surveying field works. For accuracy subdivisions of the degree are available, viz. the
minute and the second. 1 degree (1° ) = 60 minutes
1 minute (1' ) = 60 seconds (")
360 degrees = 400 gons
1 gon = 100 centecimal unit
2π rad = 360 degrees
- Conversions between the British/American and metric systems
1 inch = 25.4 mm 1 foot = 0.3048 m 1 yard = 0.9144 m
1 mile = 1.609344 Km 1 acre = 4046.8564224 m2

Scales
The scale of a map or a plan is the ratio of a distance measured on the plan or map to its
corresponding distance on the ground. Example 1:100, 1:10,000. Scale primarily depends on
the type of the work done (the accuracy with which a distance is to be transferred from the
map or the plan). In general, scales may be categorized as follows: For maps
a. Large scales < 1:200
b. Intermediate scales 1:2000 to 1:10,000
c. Small scales 1:10,000 to 1:100,000,000 For plans
d. Site plans 1:50 to 1:500
e. Detail plans 1:1 to 1:20
A scale bar or a graphical scale is another form of indicating the scale of a drawing. It usually
appears with numerical scales on the drawing sheet.

Plan and Map

The difference between a map and a plan is that on a map the scale is too small to allow every
feature to be properly represented to scale. Thus, conventional symbols are used to represent
features that would otherwise be too small to be recognized. A plan, on the other hand, shows all
features on the ground correctly to scale.

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Theory of Errors
Measurement is an observation carried out to determine the values of quantities (distances,
angles, directions, temperature …) the process of taking measurements involves physical
operations like setting up, calibrating, pointing matching comparing etc of the instrument.
The fundamental principle of measurement of surveying is that no measurement is exact and
the true value of quantity being measured is never known. No matter how a sophisticated
instrument used and all necessary cares are taken the result of a survey measurement will
contain some error. This is due to:
- Lack of perfection by the surveyor in his senses of seeing touching, hearing.
- Imperfection by the instruments and methods (in construction and adjustments and
environmental factors in their operation and approximations etc).
Therefore, it is theoretically impossible to get the ”exact” value or ”true” value of any
measured quantity as all of our measurements will contain some error and as the “ exact”
value should contain infinite significant digits (Which is practically impossible). Hence one
may ask why so measuring, as we cannot get the “exact “value of a measured quantity? In
surveying and generally in any scientific measurements what is important is not the “exact’’
value rather the possibility of carrying out the measurement to the degree of accuracy
sufficient to the desired purpose. Hence, as long as the desired accuracy is achieved our
measurements can be used as an equivalent to the “true “value.
Measures of quality
- Accuracy: is a parameter indicating the closeness of measured value to the “true’’ or
‘’exact” value of a quantity. It indicates the degree of perfection obtained in
measurements. The further a measured value from the its “true” value the less accurate it
is.
- Precision: is the degree of refinement with which a given quantity is measured. In other
words, it is the closeness of the measured values to one another regardless of their
closeness to the true value.

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It is possible for surveyors to obtain both accuracy and precision by exercising care, and
using good instruments and procedures.
In measuring distance, precision is defined as the ration of the error of the measurement
to the distance measured. Note a measurement can be accurate but not precise; precise
but not accurate; precise and accurate; and neither precise nor accurate as shown in
figure.

Error
Error is generally defined, as the deviation of the measured value from the “exact” value of a
quantity. The study of errors is important in surveying as it helps the surveyor understand the
sources and exercise the necessary care and apply correction to minimize their effect so that an
acceptable accuracy is achieved.

Error Sources
Generally the errors in surveying measurements are classified as:
a. Personal: the error that occurs due to lack of perfection in the surveyor’s sense of
sight, touch, hearing etc. during survey activity. Also mistakes due to carelessness
or fatigue of the surveyor are classed under this category. This type of error can
be minimized with care and vigilance by the part of the surveyor.
b. Instrumental: it is the error type that occurs due to imperfection of the
instruments in manufacture and during adjustments and due to wear and tear by
usage. Also included are mistakes due to failure or damage of the instrument. This
type of error can be minimized with careful handling, maintenance and
adjustment and calibration of instruments and by applying corrections.

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c. Natural: included under this are errors due to effect of temp, pressure, humidity,
magnetic variation etc. This type of error can be minimized by applying
correction and by carrying out the survey when their effect is minimal.
Error Types
Classically errors are classified in to three; these are Mistakes, Systematic errors and
Random errors.
1. Mistakes: These actually are not error because they usually are so gross in
magnitude compared to the other two types. These are rather blunder made by
surveyor or his equipment and can occur at any stage of the survey (during
reading, recording computing and plotting).
Source: May be due to one of the following:
- Carelessness or fatigue by surveyor
- Failure of equipment
Examples are:
Reading wrong scale
 Transposing figure in recording ex 56 instead of 65 or reading 6 instead of
9.
 Omitting digits during recording ex 200 instead of 2000
Sighting towards wrong target etc.
2. Systematic errors: These are error types with relatively small magnitude
compared to mistakes, and are result of some systems whose effect can be
expressed in mathematical relations; hence their magnitude and sign can be
estimated (determined). In most cases, the system causing the systematic error
can be personal, instrumental or physical and environmental conditions or
may be result of choice of geometric or mathematical model used. Systematic
/ cumulative errors are those which for constant conditions remain the same as
to sign and magnitude: hence mare repetition will not help in detection and
elimination. As their values can be determined correction can be applied to
improve the data. In addition, proper calibration and adjustment of
instruments also contribute to minimizing their effect.

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