Site surveys are
inspections
An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity ...
of an area where work is proposed, to gather information for a design or an estimate to complete the initial tasks required for an outdoor activity. It can determine a precise location, access, best orientation for the site and the location of obstacles. The type of site survey and the best practices required depend on the nature of the project. Examples of projects requiring a preliminary site survey include urban construction, specialized construction (such as the location for a telescope) and
wireless network
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes.
Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and business installations avoid the costly process of introducing ...
design.
In
hydrocarbon exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
Vis ...
, for example, site surveys are run over the proposed locations of offshore exploration or appraisal wells.
They consist typically of a tight grid of high resolution (high frequency)
reflection seismology profiles to look for possible gas hazards in the shallow section beneath the seabed and detailed
bathymetric
Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water d ...
data to look for possible obstacles on the seafloor (e.g. shipwrecks, existing pipelines) using
multibeam echosounder
A multibeam echosounder (MBES) is a type of sonar that is used to map the seabed. It emits acoustic waves in a fan shape beneath its transceiver. The time it takes for the sound waves to reflect off the seabed and return to the receiver is used ...
s.
See also
*
Wireless site survey
A wireless site survey, sometimes called an RF (Radio Frequency) site survey or wireless survey, is the process of planning and designing a wireless network, to provide a wireless solution that will deliver the required wireless coverage, data rate ...
*
Site analysis
Site analysis is a preliminary phase of architectural and urban design processes dedicated to the study of the climatic, geographical, historical, legal, and infrastructural context of a specific site.
The result of this analytic process is a sum ...
*
Survey
Survey may refer to:
Statistics and human research
* Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population
* Survey (human research), including opinion polls
Spatial measurement
* Surveying, the techniq ...
References
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Construction management
Field surveys