Module 1: Introduction to Surveying

Why Is Surveying Important?

Surveying has been essential for thousands of years. Originally, it helped people mark and divide land so everyone knew exactly where their property began and ended. Today, surveying does much more and supports many fields of science, engineering, and environmental management.

Early Uses of Surveying

• Marking boundaries and dividing land to avoid disputes over property.

Modern Applications of Surveying

• Mapping the Earth above and below sea level.
• Creating navigational charts for airplanes, ships, and land vehicles.
• Establishing property boundaries for private and public lands.
• Building data banks of land use and natural resource information to manage our environment.
• Preparing charts of the Moon, Mars, and other planets for space exploration.

Surveying’s Role in Engineering

Surveying supports almost every branch of engineering. Engineers need survey data to plan, build, and maintain roads, bridges, tunnels, pipelines, and more.

• Highways, railroads, and transit systems.
• Buildings, bridges, dams, and drainage works.
• Urban land subdivisions and utility networks.
• Industrial assembly lines and large equipment fabrication.

Precision and Professional Skills

Unlike many engineering tasks that allow safety factors, surveying demands very small errors—there is no “factor of safety” to cover mistakes. Surveyors and engineers must:

• Understand and limit measurement errors using proper instruments.
• Know when to record data to the nearest foot, tenth, or hundredth of a foot.
• Keep neat field notes and sketches to ensure accurate office computations.
• Arrange calculations cleanly and follow significant-figure rules.