The future’s bright, the future’s surveying

What a difference a year can make! Differing from April 2020 when the UK was in the grips of National Lockdown 1.0; April 2021 has begun and ended with an eclectic array of survey projects for our teams that have stretched from channel survey in Hertfordshire to our continuing gas pipeline surveys across England.

One such project deployed a team to carry out a full 2D and 3D topographic survey of Didsbury Sluice Gate in suburban Manchester. This survey was part of an Environment Agency project to maintain and replace parts of these sluice gates as they are approaching end of life, the main upgrade was to design and build a new roof.

Our trainee surveyor Josh Humphriss was able to put his extensive AutoCAD skills to good work creating 3D models of the structure using Rhino3d software. The models were created by breaking down the survey into individual sections and using the main concrete structure as a baseline on which to build the model. Using outline structures from the survey, Josh then built a solid 3D structure with the correct outline and height dimensions. On completion of the main structure the walls, banks and railings were added to create a complete model. Finally textured surfaces were applied to the 3D panels.

Progress is being made as Storm work towards their May deadline of the next release of their ever-expanding river model preparation software GeoRiver®. Having taken results from recent Linkedin Polls the development team have been able to factor in the requirements of both land surveyors and engineers into the software capabilities. A big thank you to all those surveyors and engineers who took the time to complete the questions, this collaboration is invaluable to the progression of GeoRiver®

During April Storm welcomed another new trainee surveyor Jane, please do take a look at our social media channels to find out more about Jane’s first month with storm. https://twitter.com/JaneE_SG