An Introduction to Survey Methods and Technique

An Introduction to Survey Methods and Techniques 3 hour PDH online course is a part of the Land Surveying category courses. This course provides an overview of the past and present instruments and methods used to perform topographic surveys of sites, facilities, or infrastructure. Prior to the advent of total stations, GPS, LIDAR, and data collector systems, transit and plane table topographic surveying methods and instruments were once standard. They are rarely used today, other than perhaps for small surveys when a total station or RTK system is not available. However, the basic field considerations regarding detail and accuracy have not changed, and field observing methods with total stations or RTK are not significantly different from the older survey techniques briefly described in the following sections.

This course is intended for civil engineers and professional land surveyors wanting to learn about methods and techniques for land surveys.

Learning Objectives

This online PDH course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• Learn about transit tape topographic surveys;
• Find out how to approach transit-stadia topographic surveys;
• Learn when to employ transit/theodolite. electronic distance measurement (EDM) instruments;
• Learn the history of plane table surveying and how it is used today;
• Learn about the development of total stations and how they are used; and
• See how real-time kinematic GPS systems are used today.