An engineering survey forms the first of a chain of activities that will ultimately lead to a completed structure of some kind, such as a building, a bridge, or a highway. An engineering survey is usually subdivided into a DESIGN-DATA SURVEY and a CONSTRUCTION SURVEY.

This section discusses the basic engineering surveys commonly performed by an EA survey party in support of military construction activities. In addition, various types of occupational hazards relating to specific surveying operation are also presented in this section together with the precautions or applicable abatement procedures that must be carried out to deter injury to the survey crew and/or damage to surveying equip-ment or material.

Surveys for roads and streets involve both field work and office work. The extent of each type of work depends on the magnitude and complexity of the job. Some phases of the work may be done either in the field or in the office, and the decision as to the exact procedures to be followed will be influenced by the number of personnel available and by the experience and capabilities of the individuals involved.

This type of survey is conducted for the purpose of obtaining information that is essential for planning an engineering project or development and estimating its cost. A typical design-data survey, for example, is a route survey required in the design and construction of a particular road or highway. The initial activities included in a route survey are as follows: reconnaissance survey, preliminary-location survey, and final-location survey.

On the other hand, a long established Navy base might already have well-marked horizontal and vertical control networks and up-to-date topographic maps available. Then perhaps neither a reconnaissance nor a preliminary survey would be required. The road could probably be designed by using the existing design data, and the fieldwork would begin with making the final location survey. In summary, the extent to which data is already available is an important factor in determining what field operations have to be performed.