TYPESOFSURVEYCONTROLETHEKWINIMUNICIPALITY

M.Seedat,S.Thusi,M.Zaca,N.Ndaba&S.NdlovuSurveying&LandInformationDept

Introduction
SurveyorsfromtheEthekwiniMunicipalityworkingintheSurveyandLandInformationDepartment
havetoonadailybasisundertakevarioustypesofsurveysdependingontheclientrequirements.These
willvaryfromdetailsurveys,monitoringsurveys,settingoutdata,carryoutchecksonsite,asbuilt
surveysetc.Howevereverysurveyorhastostartfromaknownorcoordinatedcontrolpointor
benchmarkinorderfortheirsurveytobeonthenationalcoordinatesystem.Onceasurveyiscarried
outonthissystemitcanbeimportedandaddedtoalmostanyexistingdrawingonthissamesystemin
ordertostartadesignorcomparetoittoprevioussurveys.Acontrolpointisapointonthegroundor
anypermanentstructurewhosehorizontalandverticallocation/positionisknown.Controlpointsare
usedasastartingpointofalltypesofsurveys.
Additionalcontrolpointsorworkingpointsarefixedonsiteifrequiredensuringtheyareaccurateand
alsotieintothenationalgridsystem.Allsurveyorsalsousethissamefundamentalcontrolinorderto
starttheirsurveyandtheywillalsocreatetheirownadditionalcontrolpoints.Ourmainfocuswillbeto
discussthefollowingtypesofsurveycontrolthatareused:
TrigonometricBeacons(TrigBeacons)
MinorControlPoints
TownSurveyMarks(TSMs)
Benchmarks
GPSControl
ReferenceMarks
Inthisarticlewewilldiscusshowthesecontrolpointsareusedandexplaintheirorigin,accuracyand
maintenanceandhowweassurveyorsusetheminordertoundertakeoursurveys.

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TrigonometricalBeacons(TrigBeacons)
Thetrigonometricbeacons(trigbeacons)inSouthAfricaoriginatedfromtheWesternCape,CapeTown
tobeexactandtheywerebasedonstarobservationsandpreciselymeasuredbaselines.Maclear
between1833and1870andSirDavidGillbetween1879and1907whoseinitialgeodeticobjectives
weretoverifythesizeandshapeoftheearthintheSouthernHemisphereandlatertoprovidegeodetic
controlfortopographicmapsandnavigationcharts.Fromthesebeginningsthenetworkwasextended
toeventuallycovertheentirecountryandcomprisesabout29000highlyvisibletrigonometricbeacons
onmountains,highbuildingsandwatertowers.
TrigbeaconsarebuiltandmaintainedbytheChiefDirectorateSurveysandMappingwithknown
coordinatesandelevationspublished.Theyareconstructedonmountaintops,highbuildingsandwater
towersusingconcreteandthestabilityofthesoilinthatareahastobechecked,thisisdonetomake
surethatthetrigbeaconwillnotmovewithtime.

Figure1Figure2Figure3
ThreedifferenttypesofTrigbeacon.Figure1:onamountaintop(CapeTown),figure2:onawater
reservoir,figure3:ontopofabuilding.
Thetrigbeaconswerefixedmainlybyangleobservationsforthehorizontalpositionandtrigheighting
wasusedtodeterminetheheights.Thepositionofthetrigbeaconisatthecentreofthepillarandthe
heightismainlyatthetopofthepillarandtheirheightsarebasedonMeanSeaLevel(MSL).Trig
beaconsaregroupedtogethertoformanetworkoftriangulationandaregroupedtogetheraccordingto
theirpositionsonearthwiththereferencetothedegreesquarese.g.thosethatareindegreesquare
2930willbegroupedtogetherandthoseindegreesquare3030willbegroupedtogether.Thedegree
squaresaredefinedbythelinesofLatitudeandLongitude.
InformationabouttrigbeaconsiskeptbythedepartmentofRuralDevelopmentandLandReform,
NationalMappingOrganizationinMowbrayWesternCape.Itisthisdepartmentthatisresponsiblefor
themaintenanceoftrigbeacons,buteveryonethatusesthetrigbeaconshastheresponsibilityfortheir
wellbeingandalsotoreporttotheChiefdirectorateiftheresatrigbeaconthatisdamagedor
destroyed.

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Thechallengesthatexistwithtrigbeaconsisthatthecommunitysometimesdamagesthemespecially
childrenandsometimesthevanesareremovedforthepurposeofsellingthematthescrapyards.
Sometimesthepillarisdamagedanditshardtosetupabaseplateonitforsurveyingpurposes.
MinorControlPoints
Minorcontrolpointsaretheextensionofthesurveynetworkandarebasedontrigbeaconsandtown
surveymarksorfromanyworkingpointwithasurveyrecordnumber(SR).Asdevelopmenttakeplace,
trigbeaconsaresometimesnotasvisibleasbeforeandthatshowtheideaofminorcontrolpoints
cameabout.

MinorcontrolpointsareusuallysetupbyaregisteredprofessionalLandSurveyorandtheyhavea
knowncoordinate,elevationandsometimeswithnoelevationpublished.Theyareusuallyvaneson
watertowers,cellphoneantennasoranystructurethatiselevatedandvisible.Theyarefixedbyangles
forthepositionandtrigheightingfortheheightsandwiththedevelopmentoftechnologytheyarealso
fixedbyGPS(GlobalPositioningSystem).TheminorcontrolpointsarereferencedwithanSRnumber
thatisreceivedfromtheSurveyorGeneralOfficee.g.SR2004/63.
Portcontroltoweronthe
Bluffattheentranceto
DurbanHarbor

TelkomtowerinOverport,
Durban

InformationaboutminorcontrolpointsiskeptwithSurveyorGeneralOfficeinthatprovince.Ethekwini
Councilhastherecordsoftheonesthatarewithinthemunicipality.Mostoftheminorcontrolpoints
arenotaccessibleandarenoteasilydestroyed.

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TownSurveyMarks(TSMS)
TownSurveyMarksaresurveystationserectedbyorunderthedirectionoftheChiefDirectorate:
NationalGeoSpatialInformation.

Thecoverismadeofa228mmdiametercastironcylindricalboxwhichis200mmlong.TheTownSurvey
Markisa60mmx12mmdiameterbrasspeginsidea915mmx150mmdiameterconcretecolumn.They
arenormallyfoundinthemiddleoftheroads,intersections,sidewalksandroadIslands.
Intermsofsection3A(1)(d)ofLandSurveyAct(Act8of1997),theChiefDirectorate:NationalGeo
spatialInformationismandatedtoEstablishandmaintainanationalcontrolsurveynetwork.
Section42(4)(a)statesthat,Alocalauthorityshallwithinitsareaofjurisdictionberesponsibleforthe
maintenancetothesatisfactionoftheChiefDirector,ofanytownsurveymarkserectedintermsof
thissection,andshouldthelocalauthorityfailtomaintainanytownsurveymarktheChiefSurveyor
Generalmayundertakeanynecessaryworkattheexpenseofthatlocalauthority.

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FunctionsoftheTSMS
AsthesurveyorsinEthekwiniMunicipalityweusetheseTSMstobaseourCadastralsurveys,putup
extracontrolspointsandtoundertakeourengineeringsurveys.TSMSaremoreusefulinsidetheCBD
areasandplaceswithtalltrees.WecannotuseGPSintheseareasbecauseoftheeffecttreesandother
structureshaveonthequalityofthesatellitesignals.
ThepositionalaccuracyofTSMSiswithin10mmandtheheightisaccuratelyleveledtowithin1mm
(0.001m).Thismakesthemmoresuitableforengineeringandcadastralsurvey.
WhatisourresponsibilitywiththeseTSMS?

AstheEthekwiniMunicipality,especiallytheSurveyingandLandInformationDepartment,weare
mandatedbylawtosafeguardandmaintainalltheTSM,Swhicharewithinourboundary.Weare
currentlyundertakinganauditofallTSMsineThekwiniMunicipality.Originallywehad3238TSMs.Out
ofapproximately1000TSMsthathavebeenchecked,200ofthemhavebeendestroyed.
Ofthosedestroyed,90%ofTSMsweredestroyedbyroadconstructionandmaintenance.Asmost
TSMSareconstructedintheroadarea,theyaredestroyedduringroadrehabilitation.Thisisnot
supposedtobehappeningbecauseTSMscanbeeasilyraisedorloweredlikeotherservicesthatcanbe
foundintheroadarea.

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Theother10%ofthosedestroyedordamagedhavebeenvandalizedbythegeneralpublicwhosellthe
steelcovers.

Benchmarks(BM)

ThetermBenchmarkdescribesaninscribed/chiseledhorizontalmarkthatsurveyorsmadeon
stone/concretestructures,intowhichanangleironcouldbeplacedtoformabenchfora
levelingrod/staff,thusastaffcouldbeaccuratelypositionedatthesameplaceinthefuture.
Thesemarkswereusuallyindicatedwithachiseledarrowbelowthehorizontalline.Benchmarks
areusedforleveling.

Fromthefigureabovewealsoobservethenowwidelyusedbenchmarksymbol
Thetermbenchmarkisnowwidelyappliedtoanyitemusedtomarkapointasanelevation
reference.Brassorstainlesssteelpegsaresetinstone/concreteoronrodsdrivendeeplyinto
theearthtoprovideastableelevationpoint.

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TypicalBenchmark

BenchmarkHeights
Thewordsheightandelevationareinterchangeable,butdohavedifferentspecificmeanings.
Heightcommonlyreferstoalocalorrelativedifferenceinvertical,ieheightofabuilding.
Elevationreferstothedifferenceinverticaldistancefromaselected/nominatedreference
surface,iemeansealevel.
Theheightofanybenchmarkiscalculated/derivedrelativetotheheightofnearbybenchmarks
inlevellingnetworksextendingfromthefundamentalbenchmark.Thefundamentalbenchmarkis
apointwithapreciselyknownrelationshiptotheleveldatumofthearea,typicallymeansea
level
Thisisdonebytakingtidalmeasurementstodeterminethemeansealevelandlinkingthemto
primary/fundamentalbenchmarks.Thesearebuiltsixmonthsbeforetheyareleveled,andare
spacedapproximately65kmapartatintersectionsofprimaryorsecondaryroutes.
InDurbanthenearestfundamentalbenchmarkisfoundinbedrockinadisusedquarryin
Umgeniroad.Itissituatedunderacircularsteelmanholecoveranditconsistsofabrassstud
setintherock.Itsheightwascalculatedusingpreciselevelingmethodsandisbasedonmean
sealevelasdeterminedintheearlypartofthelastcentury.

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Sometimesbenchmarksareburiedquitedeepasaresultofchanginggroundlevels.
Thebenchmarkinthepictureaboveisaccessedviaalargecircularmanhole.

TheFundamentalBenchmarkinDurban.Thepointisthebrightobjectinthecentre.Itiscoveredfirstly
byacircularmetalcover,thenasmallsquarecover.Itisaccessedviaamanhole.

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GPSControlPoints
Thesearepointswefixonsiteiftherearenocontrolpointsonorincloseproximitytothesitetobe
surveyed.Also,someoftherequestsfromclientsaretofixcontrolpointsonsitesothatwhen
constructiondoescommencethereisacommonandknowncontrolpointfromwherethesettingoutof
workcanbegin.TheLandSurveyDepartmentuses2methodsoffixingcontrolbyGPSnamely:
PostProcessing
VRS(VirtualReferenceStation)
Thesetypesofsurveyingmethodshavebeendiscussedfurtherindetailinapreviouspublishedarticle:
TypesofGPSTechnology

Figure1Figure2
Figure1showsaGPSbasereceiveronatrigbeaconloggingdataandfigure2showstheGPSroverset
upoveranewpointtobefixed.ThisdataiscombinedandprocessedinasurveyGPSsurveyprogram
eliminatingerrorsandapplyingalladjustmentsinordertoobtainacoordinatevalue.

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Figure3
Figure3showstheVRSTrignetbaseantennasituatedontheCityEngineersmainbuildingwhichfeeds
datacontinuouslytoareceiverinanofficesituatedinTheSurveyingandLandInformationDepartment.
Thisinformationisthenavailableviainternetinrealtimeorsavedandaccessibleonlineforuptoa
monthforsurveyorstodownload.
WhenfixingthesenewGPScontrolpointstheyaremarkedwithyellowpaint,woodenstakesorredand
whitechevrontapeorcombinationsthereofdependingonthetypeofpointfixedandtheareaaroundit
(ie.Sidewalks,grass,pavingetc).WhenwecommencedfixingGPSpointstheyweregiventhesuffixG
(ie.G125,G228etc.),westoppedusingthesuffixGwhenwereachedG999andhavesincemovedto
addingthesuffixL(ie.L099,L201etc).Thesepointsarefixedonsiteinsuchawaythattheyareinter
visiblewithothertrigorminorcontrolpoints.TheseGPSpointscanlaterbeusedwhenrequiredduring
theconstructionphaseprovidedtheyarenotdamagedorremoved.

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TheGPSDatabase
TheSurveydepartmentusestheGPSpostprocessingsurveymethodtofixnewcontrolpointsfor
differentprojectsthroughoutthemunicipality.Thesecoordinatesthenformpartofourdatabaseof
controlpointswhicharethenusedtocarryoutsurveys.
Thedescriptionsofthetypeofpointsfixedare:
16mmsteelpegsintheground
Steelhiltinails
Brassstudsdrilledintoconcrete
Fencestandardknockedintotheground
Steelstudsdrilledintoconcrete

WecurrentlyhaveaMicrosoftAccessformatfilewhichwehavecompiledandthislistsourGPScontrol
pointsthatwerefixedsince2003whenwebeganutilizingGPSinstrumentsandasanewpointisfixedit
isaddedtothisdatabase.Thisisthenavailabletotheothersurveyorsintheofficeaswellasprivate
surveyorswhofindourpointsonsiteandrequiretheirvaluesoverthephone.
Thisdatabaseshowsthepointname,YXZvalues,description,dateitwasfixed,streetname,oursurvey
referencenumber,etc.Therearecurrentlyover2600GPSpointsinourdatabasehowevertheyarenot

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maintainedsuchthatiftheyaredestroyedonsiteordamagedinthefieldwedonotupdatethisonthe
databasenordoweresurveythemunlessundercertaincircumstances.

Wehaveamapbookwhichshowsalloursurveycontrolandalargeindexsheetwhichhelpsidentifythe
relevantsheetinthemapbook.ThisisavailabletobeviewedbyanymemberofthepublicattheLand
SurveyingcounterwithintheSurveying&LandInformationDepartment.

Conclusion
TheSurveyandLandInformationDepartmentwillcontinuetoprovideaccuratesurveysaslongasthere
iswellmaintainedandsufficientsurveycontrolavailable.WewillcontinuetofixaccurateadditionalGPS
controlpointsandmaintainourTSMandBenchmarkrecordssothatthisinformationwillthenbe
availableforusebyallsurveyors.

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