By: Chris Kirchhoff

The business of surveying has changed completely during the last two decades.

Traditionally, the skills set required to accurately determine geospatial positions was much admired. Theodolites, distance measurement tools and complex global posi- tioning system measuring devices required skilled and experienced users.

Today, technology has reduced the complexity of determining position to the simple use of a cellphone. Society has embraced ‘location-based technology’. Our cellphones and other mobile devices are continually measuring and recording where we are on the earth’s surface and now even on the inside of shopping centres. There is talk of a geospatial revolution. With the ever-increasing accessibility to location-aware mobile devices, interactive Web-based maps and position and mapping tools, there is a proliferation of spatial information.

How are surveyors, geomaticians and the global information system community using these new tools and knowledge? More importantly, how are they responding to the geospatial needs of engineers, built industry practitioners and others? As the ability to collect geospatial information becomes simpler and the data generated increases, how is the survey industry modernising to portray this geospatially enabled data in meaningful, intelligent and useful ways?

I have always suggested that the business of survey- ing is the business of risk mitigation. The clearer, more comprehensive and detailed the geospatial information provided is, the better the risk planning, construction and end-users experience is.

We now talk about four- dimensional and five- dimensional data. Geospatial three-dimensional (3D) data is the cornerstone of these tools and the ability to effectively model both time and costs for projects is dependent on the accuracy and completeness of the 3D data.

In the construction, engineering and mining environments, 3D modelling that combines aerial mapping, terrestrial scanning, building information management, GIS-based data and cadas- tral information is becoming the norm. The ability to integrate engineering and mining design into this information and add the fourth and fifth dimensions of time and costs to the visual representation of the project provides far better coordination between stakeholders, especially between project teams and end-user communities.

In the industrial design and fabrication space, precision, accuracy, complex dimensioning and attention to detail in the meeting of increasingly tight dimen- sional tolerances require tools to recognise dimensional problems before final installation. Industrial surveying and large-volume dimensional metrology are emerging fields, where the use of real-time dimensional quality control can significantly improve both cost efficiencies and the ability to meet ever-tighter deadlines.

One could start a blog on these users focusing on:
• drones, or unmanned air vehicles, their use and the impact they will have on mapping and terrain modelling; and
• building information management – data col- lection and the translation of this into meaningful cost-effective solutions. What are the benefits of building information management? How should surveyors be taking the lead in the 3D modelling process?

Kirchhoff is a land and industrial surveyor - c.kirchhoff@iafrica.com