3D Laser Scanning

Laser scanning allows us to survey complex structures with a maximum level of detail accurately and fast using the Trimble TX5 scanner and Realworks software.

The TX5 uses a time-of-flight laser to collect a 3D position for anything it comes into contact with creating a “point cloud” for all features around the instrument position. This is a non-contact procedure and is therefore ideal for inaccessible or hazardous areas. From this 3D model we can create detailed AutoCAD drawings from any view including cross sections, elevations and floor plans or 3D models via Revit.

This type of survey is particularly suited to buildings with a high level of intricate details such as listed properties or where a detailed record of the exact layout and design of the property is required for future reference. Because the data is stored electronically it can be accessed at any future time if new or more accurate drawings are needed.

The TX5 can also be used to survey:

Roads
Tunnels
Bridges
Street scenes
As-built construction details
Sea/River defence & control structures
Archaeological/heritage sites
Quarries & Mines
Accident/incident scenes

We are always happy to give demonstrations of the scanner to potential customers please contact us.

Watercourse Surveys

We carry out a large number of watercourse surveys each year for the purposes of flood modelling and siltation assessment. Our main client for these projects is the Environment Agency but we also work for a number of consulting engineers and flood risk assessors. The surveys might be of anything from a dry ditch to the river Thames.

A recent project was the River Fynn here in Suffolk, a 12km long section of the watercourse from the village of Witnesham to the tidal Martlesham Creek on the river Deben. The survey requirement was to produce profiles of the watercourse at 100m intervals, profiles of all structures, a long section and digital data in ISIS and EACSD formats.

Coastal Surveying

EDI Surveys has been involved with the Environment Agency’s coastal monitoring programme since 1991 and we are currently the holders of a 5 year contract to survey profile and grid surveys on the foreshore from Grimsby to Southend-on-Sea, approximately 400km of coastline.

The majority of the work involves the survey of level profiles along fixed transect lines from low water level to a point inland of the sea defence / cliff top or dune line, with these transects being spaced at intervals between 100m and 500m.

Using RTK GNSS survey units we take recordings of the locations position, height and ground covering type (i.e. grass, mud, sand etc) every few paces. Once back in the office the collected data is processed by software to create cross sections of the coast line. When this new data is laid over cross sections of the same coast line collected from previous years we can see a graphical representation of how our coastline is changing over time. This valuable information gives the Environment Agency data to create the defence polices needed to protect us from the risk of flooding and erosion.

Topographic Survey – The Cornhill, Ipswich

Description: Our brief was to survey the Cornhill, the current market place in Ipswich and the focal point of the town center, prior to a proposed regeneration of the area.

Survey type: Topographical survey of the square with special emphasis on the position and level of the surround building footprints.

Survey equipment: Leica reflectorless total station theodolite and Leica GNSS with Smartnet network RTK in order to provide control to Ordnance Survey national grid and level datum.

Completion time: 1 week.

Equipment

Trimble TX5 Laser Scanner