300738 Surveying for Engineers (Spring 2013)

Information for Practicals

As shown on the following pages, there are Workplace Health & Safety (WH&S) issues
relating to the field practicals. The fieldwork is conducted on the Kingswood site of the
UWS Penrith campus.
All students must complete online WH&S induction before they start their field work.
Students who do not complete online induction will not be allowed to take part in the
practicals. More information regarding online WH&S induction can be found on students
vUWS site.
Equipment is issued to groups from the Survey Equipment store in the south-east corner
of Building Z. Each teams leader is required to hand over his/her ID card at issue time.
The ID card is returned when all of the teams equipment has been checked back in.
The equipment is to be transported carefully on foot using the path shown in the OH&S
data below. You will proceed to the lot appointed to you and start the practical. No later
than 15 minutes before the scheduled end of the 3-hour session, no matter how much your
group has completed, your group will pack up your equipment and return it to the Survey
Equipment store, using the path shown.
Practical 1 OH&S induction; forming groups of 3 (maximum), introduction to automatic
levels, setting-up instrument and reading the staff.
Practical 2: Levelling Block traversing.
Practical 3: Building set-out survey, which include surveying of the allocated block of land.
Determine the internal angles of the four corners. From which work out bearings for all four
sides
Practical 4: Contour drawing using theodolite and stadia.
Practical 5 Setting out horizontal and vertical curves.
In the case of rain: students should still attend the practical session. If rain persists then
time will be spent in the designated practical classroom where a tutorial will be conducted.
The above 5 practical sessions are scheduled on alternative weeks in the first 11 weeks of
the session. More details on the schedule of tutorials and practicals can be found in the
Learning Guide.

Practical 1.docx

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Induction completed by the Tutor:

Date: 6 August 2013

Unit: 300738 Surveying for Engineers

Description of Laboratory (Field-work)
This form covers Laboratory (Field-work) undertaken by students and executed on the Kingswood site of UWS (See map attached).
Equipment is collected by students from the Survey Equipment store in Z building and carried to the site.

Equipment Required
Tripod
Staff telescopic
Gymbal (sighting tripod)
Chain or 30-m tape
Plumb-bob (pointed
weight)
Level
Theodolite/ Total Station
Abney level

Hazard Assessment

Safety Procedures Applied

Safe procedure of setting up shown in video, keeping legs on the
ground and extending them as the user stands.

Sharp points on bottom of legs

Potential jamming of fingers when pressing
section release buttons to shorten
Sharp point on top could be hazard when
transporting
Potential tripping hazard when laid out to
measure site
Sharp point could penetrate clothing or shoes if
dropped
Minimal
Minimal, although could be heavy if falls on feet
if not set up properly
Fragile NOT TO BE DROPPED
Hazard Categorisation

Hazard explained to students and caution urged when using.

Safe method of transporting - holding near vertical against shoulder
demonstrated on first use.
Correct procedures to be followed as instructed.
Care urged when using possibility of not distributing until students
are on the site to be surveyed by them.
Correct setting-up and use shown in video available on DVD.
Transporting to be when the level is in its carrying case.
Correct setting-up and use shown in video available on DVD.
Transporting to be when theodolite in carrying case.
Instrument to be PLACED on the ground when not in use.
H=High M=Medium L=Low N/A=Not Applicable

Traffic

Uneven ground

Entanglement

Sight

Crushing

Laceration

Burns (sunburn)

Abrasion

Respiratory (Asthma)

Practical 1.docx

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Electric Shock

N/A

Hearing

N/A

Flying Objects

N/A

Falling

N/A

Chemical

N/A

1/08/2013

SR= Strongly Recommended

SR Adequate amounts of water for
SR
drinking
Hat / Cap
Y Close Fitting Clothing
SR
Eye Protection
SR
Control Measures Identified
(ie eliminate, substitution, administrative, procedural, engineering)
Procedural Information provided through online WH&S module and the information provided during the first practical class
Equipment: Appropriate handling of equipment especially those which are heavy and have sharp pointed edges.
Procedural - Access from Z to site to be via footpaths only follow red line on map below.
Overall Risk Assessment Level (High/Medium/Low)
Medium
Personal Protective Equipment Required
Covered Footware
Y Sunscreen

Y=Yes

Aerial photo showing

approximate positions of
pegs and relationship of
site to Building Z.

Surveyors on
Road signs to
be placed here
and here during
prac sessions.

X- Place to meet
before practicals

Practical 1.docx

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1/08/2013

Surveying for Engineers, 2013

Practicals detail
Practical 1
Dress code:
Fully covered shoes.
Must wear a hat/ cap.
OH&S Induction for Practicals
All students must complete the online WH&S induction module on vUWS.
Explain OH&S issues related to all practical exercises
Explain risk assessment form.
Students sign risk assessment form.
Students sign fieldwork assessment form.
Form practical groups of 3 members each for all practical classes.
Exercise:
Practical group are restricted to a maximum of 3 students. No groups of more than 3 are
allowed. Each group will be allocated the following equipment:
1 tripod
1 automatic level
1 staff
1 levelling bubble
Main activities.

Setting up the automatic level

Entering readings from the staff
Making entries into the booking sheet using rise and fall method at random points
(15 points) including a mix of backsights (BS), foresights (FS) and intermediate
sights (IS). Include at least two change points (CP).
Example of traverse is given in Figure 1. The levelling is from TBM1 to TBM2.

Figure 1 Example traverse

Know RL of the benchmark:
Name
SSM154470

Location
On the Northern roundabout

300738 Surveying for Engineers; Session: Spring 2012

RL
51.094
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Distribution of levelling exercise:

3 groups work from SSM154470 towards SM1000 located on the Southern
roundabout.
3 groups work from SSM15440 towards TBM located on top of the hill.
5 groups from TBM towards SSM15440
Comment on most common errors in levelling:
- Error due to not holding the staff vertically
- Line of collimation not being horizontal
Also, explain the impact of these errors on the accuracy of levelling and how these errors
can be minimised.
Your calculations will be checked with known RL values.
Report
The report must be written in the third person and past tense.
The report must include:
i)

ii)

iii)

Description (1.5/6.0):
Describe WH&S procedure that needs to be followed.
Description of the equipment (including the details of company that manufactured
the equipment, year of manufacture (if available), etc.)
Identify alternative instrument that could be used to carry out the surveying work.
Particularly, identify and describe the advanced equipment that is available in the
market.
Detailed description of the procedure adopted for surveying including the procedure
used to calculate the errors.
Ensure the report includes original hand-written observation sheet(s) in the
Appendix.
Calculations, discussions and error description (3.0/6.0):
Present the data gathered and the results of calculations.
Calculate RLs for all the points.
Discuss the results obtained and provide conclusions. Results must include the
reduced levels (RL) for all the points surveyed during the practicals including the
unknown benchmarks. You may use rise and fall method to calculate the RLS.
Carryout all the checks.
Estimate the allowable error using mn.
Discuss observed results.
Briefly explain the precision of levelling.
Identify and explain the sources of error and describe how these errors can be
minimised in practice.
Presentation proper Engineering Report (1.5/6.0)

300738 Surveying for Engineers; Session: Spring 2012

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 Report is properly formatted and includes, title page, table of contents, figures and
tables, references and appendices (if applicable).
The report is of maximum length of 10 pages excluding title page, table of contents,
figures and tables, references and appendices. You may use the following
formatting: A4 page, 1.5 cm margin all around, Arial 11 pt font and single spacing.
Include appropriate headings and subheadings.
Report must be written in 3rd person using past tense.
Standard referencing (including in-text referencing) and report formatting must be
followed (see the Learning Guide).

The report must be an Engineering Report. You must include appropriate headings
and subheadings. For report structure, you can refer to report writing style guide for
Engineers from University SA (Winckel & Hart, 2002 see the library reading list).
Also you should refer to other Student Learning Unit resources:
http://tdu.uws.edu.au/languagelearning/sections/repowrit/

References must be quoted and listed as per the Schools requirement. The
Schools referencing requirement is Harvard (Author, Date) Style. A UWS Harvard
Referencing Style Guide has been produced by the library:
http://library.uws.edu.au/FILES/cite_Harvard.pdf.

Marking Criteria
Description (2.0/6)

Presentation (1.0/6)

Mark
0
0.2

Mark
0
0.1

Criteria
No idea
No structure to the
report.

0.2

No proper headings
and subheadings.

0.4

Provided limited
references

0.6

Well referenced and

good structure.

0.8

Included in-text
referencing and good
structure.

0.9

Closed to well
structure report.

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

1.8

Calculation and error

description (3.0/6)
Criteria
Mark
Criteria
No idea
0
No idea
Only a basic procedure 0.3
Some observations
is given.
are given which
are inaccurate.
Lacks description in
0.6
Some observations
terms of equipment
are given and are
and procedure.
accurate.
Some basic
1.2
All observations
information is
are given but are
provided. But no
reduced
details.
completely
incorrectly.
All the sections are
1.8
The observations
covered fairly well.
are correctly
reduced.
Report demonstrated
2.4
Error calculations
good research skills of
are correct and
students in finding the
relevant
information.
Made original
2.7
Presented good
contribution towards
discussions on
the writing of the
results and errors/
procedure and
accuracy.
equipment details.
Good description of
WH&S issues.

300738 Surveying for Engineers; Session: Spring 2012

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Covered all the

sections very well.

2.0

Demonstrated an
excellent
understanding on the
topic.

3.0

Demonstrated
excellent
understanding of
the practical 1
tasks and through
in discussions.

1.0

It is a well structured
excellent
engineering report.
Followed the standard
format very well.

Include actual booking sheets or any other information collected during the surveying in
the Appendix. Keep the booking sheets neat!! Do not rub out errors just put a single line
through the error and write the revised reading above it.
Each member of the group must contribute towards the writing of the report. Clearly
explain the role of each member both on the field and while report writing in the
introduction chapter of the report.
This report needs to be submitted via Turnitin by 12.00 noon Friday 16/08/2012. The
Turnitin link is provided under the assessment menu of the units vUWS site. Please note
that if you wish to get Turnitin feedback, you need to submit your report at least 24 hour
before.
It must be attached to a Surveying Practical Cover Sheet (see the Learning Guide)
digitally signed by all group members and acknowledge that they have all equally
contributed to the practicals and to the preparation of the report.
Reference:
Uren and Price (2010). Surveying for Engineers. 5th Edition. Chapters 2 & 9, pp 27-57;
347-384.

300738 Surveying for Engineers; Session: Spring 2012

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Levelling Observation Booking Sheet (record all readings to 3 decimal points)

Staff
Point
1

B.S.

I.S.

F.S

Rise

Fall

Reduced
Level

Comments

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

300738 Surveying for Engineers; Session: Spring 2012

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