3d scanning in tunneling - trimble...a publication for surveying and mapping professionals issue...

A Publication for Surveying and Mapping Professionals

Issue 2009-1

3D Scanning in TunnelingEngineers Without Borders

China Earthquake Recovery

Satellites, Dams and Earthquakes

INSIDE:Welcome to the latest issue of

Technology&more!

Trimble Engineering & Construction5475 Kellenburger Rd.Dayton, OH, 45424-1099Phone: 1-937-233-8921 Fax: 1-937-245-5145Email: T&[email protected]

Published by: Editor-in-Chief: Omar SoubraEditorial Team: Angie Vlasaty, Lea Ann McNabb; Heather Silvestri; Eric Harris; Susanne Preiser;Stefan Schiepe; Emmanuelle Tarquis;Grainne Woods; Christiane Gagel;Lin Lin Ho; Bai Lu; Maribel Aguinaldo;Masako Hirayama; Stephanie Kirtland, Survey Technical Marketing TeamVisual Designer: Tom Pipinou

Dear Readers,

We are always impressed with the unique and exciting projects our customers are involved in around the world today. Each of these projects—and many others—demonstrates the maximum efficiency and productivity gained through the use of Trimble® technology. In this issue of Technology&more you’ll read about some of them: a mission to provide clean water turns into a cadastral adventure in the jungles of Peru; a huge dam project in Australia uses 3D scanning and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology to revolutionize its survey work; Trimble technology helps build the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium in the U.S.; and GNSS infrastructure technology enables a fast start to China’s earthquake recovery.

In addition you’ll read about the advantages that 3D scanning can bring to tunneling projects, as well as Trimble Access™ Soft-ware, the new field and office solution that improves workflow, collaboration and control through constant connectivity.

I would also like to take the opportunity to introduce you to Chris Gibson, who will be managing Trimble’s Survey Division. I have transitioned to a new role within the Company and will be serving as vice president of strategy and business devel-opment. Chris has been with Trimble

for 10 years in a variety of leadership roles including European finance and operations director, European managing director, division vice president for worldwide sales, and most recently general manager for Global Services. Please join me in extending him a warm welcome. You’ll be hearing from Chris in the next issue.

And finally, if you have an innovative project you’d like to share, we’d like to hear about it: just email [email protected]. We’ll even write the article for you!

We hope you enjoy reading this issue of Technology&more.

Jürgen Kliem

© 2009, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo, GeoExplorer, NetRS, Recon and TSC2are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries, registered in United States Patent and Trademark Office. Access, AccessSync, Geomatics Office, GeoXH, GPSNet, GX, Integrated Surveying, Integrity Manager, Juno, NetR3, Nomad, ProXH, RealWorks Survey, RTKNet, Survey Controller, Terramodel, VISION, VRS, VX and Zephyr Geodetic are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Chris Gibson: General Manager, Survey Division Jürgen Kliem VP, Strategy & Business Development

Peru

Australia

Pg. 2

Pg. 6

China Pg. 12

U. S. Pg. 10

-1- Technology&more; 2009-1

Peter Kiewit Sons is no newcomer to building cable-stay bridges, but the unique construction and high-profile nature of the new cable-stay Pitt

River Bridge in British Columbia, Canada, has added some extra challenges for exactness for its survey crew.

The CAD$198 million (approx. US$167 million) seven-lane structure, taking form about 45 km (28 mi) east of Vancouver, is scheduled to open to traffic in the fall of 2009. The bridge will connect the cities of Pitt Meadows and Port Coquitlam and will support more than 80,000 vehicles a day, provide paths for cyclists and pedestrians and supply up to 16 m (52 ft) of verti-cal marine clearance.

The Pitt River project would require Kiewit to: position 96 cable anchors to a tolerance of +/- 10 mm (0.03 ft) in position and elevation, and 0.4 degree rotation along six 60-m-high (196-ft) concrete pylon towers; stake out 189 stone reinforcement columns in the river; monitor ground movement; and raise and set the harp-like cable-stay bridge deck in between the two existing swing bridges still open to traffic. Additionally, the new foundation columns would need to be set much deeper than the existing supports.

Those unique construction requirements have not only added a touch more pressure for exactness on Kiewit’s survey crew, they have also redefined the traditional meaning of “monitoring” to include movement—both on the ground and structurally.

Using three Trimble 5800 RTK GPS and two Trimble R8 GPS receivers, surveyors established a static con-trol baseline to allow them to easily set up and collect

measurements for known points around the site. Kiewit used high-precision Trimble S6 and Trimble S8 total stations to help them monitor the integrity of the existing Pitt River structure daily to an accuracy of +/- 3 mm (0.12 in.) while crews drove 26 foundation piles down 100 m (330 ft). Both instruments, along with the Trimble 5800 GPS Receiver, were then used to automatically monitor and to measure ground deflection on 6-m-high (20-ft) sand surcharge piles for a new road interchange.

Using a combination of Trimble’s VRS™ technology, a Trimble 5700 GPS Receiver and Trimble’s Terramodel™ Survey Software, one crane operator was able to po-sition and install 189 stone support columns in the water. And when crews began lifting the new bridge deck last September, the Trimble S8 helped surveyors both position the bridge elements and monitor the typical sway of the towers and the bridge in real time as each new girder was placed. When stressing the “harp-like” stays, the designer required girder elevation accuracies of +/- 3mm. To achieve this, Kiewit used a Trimble S8 with the Trimble Survey Controller™ Software Engineering Module to accurately position permanently mounted prisms on each girder.

Thanks in large part to modern measurement tech-nology, crews more efficiently and accurately perform surveying and construction tasks while maintaining data integrity. Kiewit is on target to have all lanes open to traffic in the fall of 2009 as scheduled.

See feature article in POB’s January issue: www.pobonline.com


Backwoods Boundary

According to the World Health Organiza-tion, more than 1 billion people on Earth do not have safe drinking water. A group of

surveyors and engineers from Colorado is working to make that number smaller. And in the process, they are cleaning up a boundary dispute.

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a global, non-profit humanitarian organization that part-ners with developing communities to improve their quality of life. The Fort Collins, Colorado, chapter of EWB “adopted” the Peruvian village of Santa Rosa de Dinamarca, offering assistance and expertise. Helping Santa Rosa de Dinamarca is a long-term project, expected to take three years or more.

Santa Rosa de Dinamarca lies in the flatlands of eastern Peru. It’s only about 40 km (25 mi) in a straight line from the provincial capital of Pucallpa, but traveling to the village requires a six-hour boat trip on the Ucayali River. There are about 200 families living in the village. Water for the residents comes from a few wells, and many residents must carry it in buckets more than 1 km (0.6 mi) to their wood and thatch huts. There is no sanitation system, and the wells are infested with e-coli bacteria. As a result the vil-lagers are often ill from drinking contaminated water. Intermittent electricity comes from a 5Kw diesel-powered generator in the center of the village.

After researching the village, the EWB team developed plans to drill a new well and install solar-powered pumps, filters and tanks to pro-vide clean water for the village. TST Consulting Engineers’ Surveyor John Von Nieda, LS, is one of a small team of EWB members who volunteered on the project. He enlisted assistance from Bryan Baker of Frontier Precision, Inc., who agreed to supply Trimble hardware and software as well as technical expertise for the project.

A Mission to Provide Clean Water Turns into a Cadastral Adventure in the Jungles of Peru


The team first visited the village in July 2007. They planned to map the existing facilities and develop details for the water system. However, the villagers had a new and different priority that radically changed the scope of the EWB visit.

Santa Rosa de Dinamarca is home to the indig-enous Shipibo people, whose lands and culture are protected by the Peruvian government. While ownership of their land is guaranteed, boundary lines exist only on rudimentary maps and draw-ings. There were no monuments in the field, and non-Shipibo people from the north were encroaching into Shipibo land. When the Dina-marcans learned that the EWB team included surveyors, they asked them to also solve the boundary dispute.

“We were asked to establish the boundary for a 100 km2 (39 mi2) parcel covered by thick jungle and swamps,” said Von Nieda. “They handed us a survey map from the 1991 government grant to the Shipibo that described the parcel. But getting that boundary tied to the ground was a major challenge.”

The team checked the boundary using Trimble Terramodel Software and tied the data to WGS84 coordinates on the map. On the river trip to the village, they had plotted the river’s location using a Trimble Juno™ ST Handheld GPS Receiver. From that data, it was clear that the Ucayali River had wandered from its location on the boundary maps and that the riparian boundary data was useless. To mark the boundary on the ground, they had to rely on the Trimble GPS equipment, information from the local residents and their own skill.

Von Nieda and Baker had brought with them a multipurpose set of Trimble equipment. For GPS surveying, they had two Trimble R8 GNSS receivers and a Trimble TSC2® Controller. Baker added a Trimble Juno ST Handheld GPS Receiver for use in Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping and data collection.

To establish a reference station, the team placed a Trimble R8 GNSS Receiver atop a 5 m (15 ft) pole in the village. They completed RTK measure-ments to locate wells and develop topographic data needed to design the water system. All work in the village with their modern equipment was done with an audience of curious onlookers.


The boundary work was not as pleasant. Accompanied by machete-wielding villag-ers, the EWB surveyors went into the jungle to locate the north boundary of the Shipibo land. Using the Trimble Juno ST handheld, the team navigated to a spot approximately on the boundary line. The EWB team finished their topo and planning surveys, then met with neighboring villages to discuss boundary lines. They also collected GPS positions at river junc-tions and other sites that could be used to tie the boundary descriptions to the ground. The team returned to the U.S. at the end of July and began processing the data.

Over the winter, the surveyors completed extensive research and calculations. An aerial photo, taken as part of the 1991 grants, pro-vided the key they needed to finally develop a good model for the boundary.

In June 2008, the EWB team again visited Peru. Their first stop was Pucallpa, where they met with government officials to review Von Nieda’s work. After detailed discussions, the officials accepted the boundary and agreed to send a representative to the village to approve the location on the ground. The officials were surprised by the extent of incursions into Shipibo lands and promised to stop further encroachment.

To detail the encroachments, Baker conducted an aerial inventory of the area surrounding the village using a Trimble Nomad™ Handheld Field Computer and Trimble ProXH™ GPS Receiver.He mounted digital still and video cameras to the side of a small airplane and connected

them to his laptop to record the images. Using the GPS to navigate the plane, the team flew along the Shipibo boundary collecting photos and video. Baker then correlated the images with positions from the Trimble GPS. The char-acteristics and locations of the encroachments were now documented. Finally, it was time to mark the boundary on the ground. Once more, the team made the river trip to Santa Rosa de Dinamarca.

Again accompanied by an army of machete specialists and a government official, Von Nieda and Baker used the Trimble GPS system to locate the approved boundary they had calculated over the winter. The villagers are working on installing monuments and blazing lines along the northern boundary. At last, the Shipibo communal lands are on the way to being permanently marked on the ground.

Work continued on the original water system project as well. As an interim step, the villagers will purify drinking water by using simple bucket type filtration systems in their homes. While work on the boundary survey was underway, other EWB members installed 150 of the filtration devices and trained the villagers on their use.

There is more work to be done. Von Nieda is planning two more trips with the goal of having the well, pump and storage tank operating by the end of 2009. The people of Santa Rosa de Dinamarca will soon have ample clean water to go with their secure, well-defined boundary.

For more information about Engineers Without Borders, see www.ewb-international.org


Scanning Takes the Gold at2012 Olympic Sailing Site

Tired buildings…an unsightly car park…derelict land. Recognizing that the Weymouth Pavilion and Ferry Terminal on England's south coast was a valuable asset going to waste, the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has embarked on an extensive redevelopment program that will turn the site into a

tourist destination and venue for the London 2012 Olympic Games’ sailing events. Before work could begin, however, developer Howard Holdings required an accurate model of the existing site’s areas.

This prestigious project was awarded to St. Austell-based Team Surveys*, the largest multi-disciplined land surveying firm in the UK's West Country. “We needed to collect data to produce detailed eleva-tions of the existing Pavilion, a 3D model of the auditorium, cross-sections through the auditorium and street-scene elevations of surrounding buildings and features,” explained Andrew Cooke, Team Surveys Managing Director. “We also needed to rapidly collect data for one or two unusual items in our specification, including an elevation of a ‘tree line’ behind the site area.”

On an extensive and varied site like this, the work had to be productive and accurate. Team Surveys contacted the KOREC Group, which supplies and provides training on Trimble equipment for the firm, for a Trimble GX™ 3D Scanner. The Trimble GX can quickly capture millions of coordinates for recording sub-centimeter, photo-realistic job details. In this case, the scanned data was collected from station setups on existing survey control points, which Team Surveys had already established during a topographical survey of the site in 2006. This point cloud data was used to produce traditional elevations and sections as well as a 3D model of the internal Pavilion and sections of surrounding areas.

“Normally it would be difficult or even impossible to collect sectional data without the use of expensive access equipment,” Cooke said. “But the Trimble GX helped us collect it very quickly. Choosing the right scanner enabled us to complete the job onsite in a fraction of the time that traditional methods would have required. Not only was it easy to use, but we weren’t delayed by days of training. The dual compensator allowed us to set up in a similar way to using a total station. We simply entered the station coordinates and then checked reference coordinates in the field, eliminating the need to register the scanned data in the office.”

“Using the Trimble scanning software onsite was very straightforward,” added Team Surveys Director Paul Williams, “but you need a good surveying background to make sure you don’t miss anything hidden by a parked car or curious onlookers. The office work was equally straightforward. We used the scanned data to output a point cloud for AutoCAD, which is where we created the elevations. The job went exactly to plan, with the scanner delivering everything we needed for our specification.”

*Team Surveys merged with SUMO Services in March 2008


Inland from the world-famous Gold Coast on Australia’s eastern seaboard, the integration of 3D scanning and GNSS satellite technology is revolu-

tionizing survey work on a huge dam project.

The Hinze Dam supplies water to one of the fastest growing areas in southeast Queensland. The Hinze Dam Stage 3 project is the dam’s second major upgrade. This upgrade includes raising the dam’s height by 15 m (49 ft), almost doubling its capacity to 309,000 million liters (82,000 million U.S. gallons) and significant changes to the dam’s outlet.

The work is being performed by the Hinze Dam Alliance: a consortium of private sector companies—Thiess, URS Corporation and SKM—working in conjunction with Seqwater (the Queensland Bulk Water Supply Author-ity). Seqwater is the water service provider for the South East Queensland (SEQ) region.

Site conditions mean that the surveyors need all the help they can get. The Trimble VX™ Spatial Station has been their answer.

When the work is completed, around 2 million m3 (70.6 million ft3) of material will have been added to the earth and rockfill dam structure. Clays are being obtained from new foundation excavations and from borrow

areas on site. In addition, an old quarry utilized in con-struction of the original dam in the early 1970s has been reopened to meet the latest requirements for more rock. The rock is being drilled, blasted and crushed on site.

During initial construction of the dam, the old quarry was excavated into the side of a steep hill, with 5 or 6 benches built into a nearly vertical 70-m (230-ft) face. The benches are being re-formed during the new quar-rying processes.

To monitor both the volumes of rock being placed into the dam wall and the rate of use of the finite reserves of good rock in the quarry, surveyors from the Hinze Dam Alliance team are measuring monthly changes in volume at the quarry face.

Before they could start, however, they needed to define the shape of the old quarry face.

The surveyors are making good use of the Trimble VX’s robotic function and the unit’s ability to integrate position data collected by 3D scanning and a GNSS receiver. These features allow data to be collected and set outs to be performed through a combination of the technologies and a single software interface, Trimble Survey Controller software.

A Dam Down Under: Integrated Surveying Overcomes Challenges


The Hinze Dam Alliance team has a Trimble GPS base station at the site. It operates 24/7, broadcasting satellite signal corrections to all the Trimble GNSS positioning equipment on the site.

Todd Foster is the Alliance surveyor responsible for the quarry. In using the Trimble VX Spatial Station, he sets it up in a spot 150–300 m (490–960 ft) away from the quarry face and takes the Trimble GNSS rover with the Trimble TSC2 Controller a reasonable distance away from the Spatial Station to perform a resection. With the Trimble VX prism fitted on the vertical rover pole under the GNSS antenna, he uses Survey Controller to start an integrated survey, which allows collection of both GNSS and optical survey data. The Spatial Station is tracking the prism from an unknown position at this stage.

Through the Trimble Survey Controller software, Foster initially instructs the Trimble GNSS rover to store a position. Then the software automatically switches to the Spatial Station technology and stores the raw vector between the Trimble VX and the prism. This procedure is repeated and, in a seamless interaction between GNSS, the Spatial Station and the controller, the station coordinates of the Trimble VX are calculated. In effect, Integrated Surveying™ will allow the Trimble VX to determine a resected position if the Spatial Station can sight to two or three points where GNSS satellite lock is available.

With the station coordinates established remotely and combining Trimble VISION™ technology within the Spatial Station, Todd can click several points from a video image on the TSC2 running Survey Controller. This defines a polygon and subsequently establishes the required boundaries for the 3D scan. He can then specify the density of points to be collected either as a density or as a function of time. Once the scan is complete, the point cloud is downloaded to Trimble’s RealWorks Survey™ Software for processing.

At Hinze Dam, the scan time function is particularly useful because the continuous movement of machinery allows surveyors few opportunities to capture what they need. The machines are always operating adjacent to the face that requires scanning, and at times four benches are being worked simultaneously.

Quite often, survey work must be conducted from the benches because the benching and the height of the quarry face above the quarry floor do not allow a full sighting of the face from the floor. In these instances, Foster must work during the quarrymens’ breaks. Even then, time is tight and the capability of selecting a scan time is an advantage.

When the Trimble VX Spatial Station is not in use at the quarry, Foster can utilize it over at the new “saddle dam,” monitoring material placement, or one of the other surveyors uses it working on the main dam construction or concreting works. The Hinze Dam Alliance is also finding the one-second Trimble VX ideal for stability monitoring around site and for survey control that re-quires high accuracy. Ultimately the instrument will be used for “as-constructed surveys” of dam embankments and the concrete spillway.

For Foster and the other surveyors at Hinze Dam, the Trimble VX Spatial Station is fulfilling their every need. “When you consider that the VX reduces our surveying time and allows quarrying to carry on uninterrupted, you really couldn’t ask for a better survey technique for this job,” said Foster.

Trimble 3D machine control and guidance systems fea-ture prominently on the Hinze Dam’s construction site. Three dozers, two hydraulic excavators and one grader are currently equipped with Trimble technology; an additional excavator and a roller will be fitted soon.


W hile we can’t confirm the authenticity of that quote, it could have happened some 3,600 years ago during the Bronze Age.

That’s when the Nebra Sky Disk was created as the world’s first known handheld celestial observatory.

This beautiful and mysterious bronze disk, 32 cm (12.6 in) in diameter and inlaid with gold, is one of the most important archaeological finds of the last century. The disk was discovered in 1999 within a prehistoric ring wall (circle of stones) encircling the top of the 252-m (827-ft) Mittelberg Hill, near the small town of Nebra in central Germany. From this location, on each equinox in that long-ago time, the sun appeared to set directly behind the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz Mountains, some 80 km (50 mi) away, as well as another peak, the Kulpenberg. It was here that the Sky Disk was used as a calendar to confirm the solstices in those ancient times.

Opened in June of 2007, the new Nebra Visitor Center helps visitors experience the significance of the disk. The Center consists of two structures—the Nebra Ark

building near the bottom of the Mittelberg Hill, and the viewing tower on the hilltop. The 60-m-long (200-ft) Nebra Ark building appears to float above the ground and somewhat resembles the shape of the sun ship, or ark, that is inlaid on the disk. The building contains numerous exhibits about the disk and the culture that created it. And the upward tilted end points in the direction of the viewing tower on the hilltop.

The viewing tower is 30 m (98 ft) high and tilted by 10 degrees, like the blade of a huge sundial. Concrete guidelines, or view shafts, along the ground help the viewer locate the Brocken and Kulpenberg peaks.

Surveying for the Nebra Ark project was conducted by the German engineering firm Boy and Partner. The firm performed all surveying tasks for the two buildings, as well as for the accompanying streets and squares.

The project presented numerous challenges for the surveyors. Boy and Partner were hired to do the sur-veying work after construction had already begun. Narrow time targets allowed little time for planning.

“Break out the mead! It’s the equinox!” — Anonymous; Mittelberg Hill, 1,600 BC


The Nebra Sky Disk. How do you spell priceless?

The Sky Disk is beautiful, with a lovely blue-green patina on the bronze and numerous inlaid gold symbols. These represent the full moon or possibly the sun, a crescent moon, and stars in the sky including a group of seven representing the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. Two gold horizon strips each span 82°, which is the angular distance between sunrise and sunset at the summer and winter solstices at the latitude of Mittelberg Hill.

Between the horizons, a sun ship (ark) is traveling over a heavenly ocean on a celestial course among the sun, moon and stars. The disk was prob-ably used to note the beginning of the sowing and harvest time—even in leap years!

In addition, all structural design plans had to be georeferenced to control points on site or remodeled later at great expense in order to build the complex shell of the ark structure.

Often, no direct surveying was possible. Throughout the building phase, a tower crane and the scaffolding of the ark, (which also had to be altered several times), created obstacles to visibility. But these issues were solved by the use of Trimble S6 and Trimble 5603 total stations, which use Direct Reflex (DR) technology to enable accurate surveying at long distances without a prism.

Boy and Partner also used the DR instruments, with a Trimble R6 GPS Rover, for the viewing tower work. The rover was connected to the Satellite Positioning Service (SAPOS) of the Regional Land Surveying Office to set up new surveying points on the hilltop, as no up-to-date location and height reference system was available.

In addition, the horizontal angles of the viewing shafts from the tower had to be checked. These channels point towards the neighboring Brocken and Kulpenberg peaks and indicate the directions for sunrises and sunsets at the summer and winter solstices. But the peaks were forested and the view was blocked.

Boy and Partner’s Jochen Jentzsch had a simple solution: “I used Google Earth to get the geographi-cal coordinates of the neighboring mountains. Pictures on the Internet helped position the data of the Google Earth pictures, because the curser showed me the coordinates of the mountain tops. These data were connected with the data of the fixed center of the tower on the Mittelberg to get direction lines and angles for the viewing shafts in relation to North.”

In spite of all the challenges, Boy and Partner successfully completed all the surveying work in the short time available. The company used a variety of Space Age high-tech gear to help provide a suitable setting for understanding the high-tech gear of the Bronze Age—the Nebra Sky Disk.

See feature article in Professional Surveyor’s September 2008 issue: www.profsurv.com


Two seasons after winning the Super Bowl, the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts have moved into a new stadium. Lucas Oil Stadium, the Colts’ new

home, is a technological marvel. The stadium includes the world’s first retractable roof that divides lengthwise and, at 74-m (244-ft) wide by 27-m (88-ft) high, the transportable window wall is the world’s largest. It was built in just two-and-a-half years, and surveyors working on the project faced many challenges.

Tim Brown, a project manager for USI Consultants, Inc., handled primary control, and estimates that his firm set or reset about 10,000 points. USI applies Trimble’s Inte-grated Surveying solutions and used the same controllers for Trimble 5600 Robotic Total Stations and Trimble 5700 GPS Systems. They were also aided by Seiler Instruments’ Trimble VRS network, which covers 85 percent of Indiana. “It didn’t matter what controller we sent out,” says Brown, “as long as it had the project in it, we could use multiple instruments and rovers onsite and integrate everything in the office with Trimble Geomatics Office™ Software."

Norman Hiselman, PLS, was Director of Surveying at Benchmark Land Services* for this project, and provided the extremely tight control and as-built locations needed for the stadium’s structural steel. His control loop methodol-ogy seemed excessive to some; it included up to six sets of measurements for traverse legs and bi-hourly updates of tem-perature and atmospheric pressure settings. But, Hiselman says, “… a useful feature of the Trimble S6 is its target-locking ability; six sets took about as long as two sets used to take in the ‘old days’.” In fact, the Trimble S6 became Hiselman’s total station of choice on this job. “I cut my surveying teeth on the Wild T2,” he explains, “and until recently it was my favorite instrument of all time. But now I’d say it’s the S6.”

Locating anchor bolt clusters was another tricky task. The clusters are sets of 180 bolts anchored into all four quad-rants of the stadium’s foundation, and had to be located

precisely so that major steel structural components could be fabricated to match. Using a lath and a deck screw, Hiselman built a jig that worked with the Trimble S6 to locate the bolt centers precisely. The results were deeply satisfying. On every previous stadium project, costly onsite adjustments had to be made before plates would fit over the bolt clusters—but this time, all four base plates fit into place perfectly on the first try.

Benchmark also innovated when measuring the two “super trusses” that support the stadium’s sliding roof. To provide as-built measurements of truss installation on previous stadium projects, rodmen would either be lifted into place by crane or would actually walk along the top of the truss! This time, small reflective stick-on targets were placed before the trusses were installed, then shot from ground level for the as-builts, an innovation that surely will be universally adopted.

*Since the project’s completion, Hiselman is now at Benchmark Consulting, Inc. in Brownsburg, IN.

See feature article in Professional Surveyor’s January issue: www.profsurv.com

Innovative Surveying for an Innovative

Stadium


In early 2007, Martin Ruud of Martin Ruud AS in Mysen, Østfold, Norway, received a slightly unconventional assignment. Askim Golf Park wanted to monitor the

topography of its greens and transfer it onto a 3D model. According to Askim Manager Per Egil Fongaard, they could use the 3D model to modify the topography, mak-ing it easier to maintain the field, cut the grass, water it properly and—most importantly—play golf. With the 3D model, golf park planners could simulate where to dig and arrive at the best possible results before pushing the spade into the ground. The 3D model also potentially could be used to help control the earthmover through machine control.

Ruud, who specializes in using advanced technology to creatively solve tasks, contacted the golf park and proposed a test. He knew about the Trimble S6 Total Station’s ability to measure terrain and construct models quickly and efficiently with its Surface Scan measurement routine developed specifically for this purpose. Greens are open areas that allow the Trimble S6 to be used with maximum efficiency. The surveying task didn’t contain any new or difficult challenges, but the site conditions and the customer’s requirements made the work interesting.

Using the Trimble R8 GNSS System, Ruud established a network of control for the total station setups. He then set up the Trimble S6 with its Surface Scan function that automatically measures points over a pre-defined area. Using DR technology, the total station automatically measures points without prisms or other physical points along with the horizontal and vertical angles. These measurements are later imported into appropriate software, in this case Topocad, which was developed by Sweden’s Chaos Systems. After starting the Trimble S6 Surface Scan function, Rudd returned to his car, read the newspaper and ate lunch. An hour and a half later, the job was complete and almost 1500 points had been measured across 1000 m2 (10,764 ft2).

“The Trimble S6’s Surface Scan function enables you to easily collect an incredible amount of data in a relatively small area,” said Rudd, who also helped

develop the athletic areas for the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer. “A golf green is well suited for this method. The data collected can be exported in different formats for further manipulation, depending on the client’s requests.”

Going for theGreen inNorway


Rapid ResponseTrimble GNSS Infrastructure Technology

Delivers Fast Start to China Earthquake Recovery

On May 12, 2008, one of the most devastating earthquakes ever recorded struck central China. Centered near the city of Wenchuan in

Sichuan Province, the magnitude 8.0 quake caused severe damage throughout the region. More than 70,000 people died in the disaster and millions more lost their homes. Thousands of buildings collapsed and highways, power lines and water supplies were damaged or destroyed.

Immediately after the earthquake, rescue and relief teams poured into the area. While the urgent needs for food, water and medical supplies were being met, national and provincial authorities began planning for longer-term activities. The reconstruction would be massive.

In addition to extensive visible damage, the quake devastated the region’s geodetic and cadastral infra-structure. Vital control points were buried or destroyed. And because of the displacement stemming from the quake, control points that were not destroyed still could not be used. Before serious reconstruction could begin, the province needed to rebuild its geodetic control

network. The Sichuan Province Surveying and Mapping Bureau (SCBSM)—supported by the China State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping—went to work.

The first projects were aerial photography and mapping of the affected areas. This information was used to iden-tify and catalog damage for planning and coordinating emergency recovery and construction efforts. To enable longer-term rebuilding work, control for the geodetic and cadastral surveys had to be established quickly. The SCBSM proposed a bold approach. Utilizing Trimble GNSS Infrastructure receivers and software, they would install a completely new active GNSS reference network. This would be the fastest and most effective way to pro-vide control for the massive surveying and construction projects that would follow. Less than three weeks after the quake, SCBSM assembled a team of experts from Wuhan University and the Shanxi and Sichuan Bureaus of Surveying and Mapping to plan the work.

Project Objectives Starting with little more than piles of rubble, SCBSM needed to build a positioning reference frame that would become the basis for emergency surveying for re-construction. The plan called for SCBSM to re-establish


the crucial horizontal and vertical datums lost in the quake and to provide real-time and post-processed positioning services to support the rebuilding. To make this happen, they developed plans to install 20 GNSS Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) and a central data center. As part of that work, the teams needed to set up the necessary power and communications. They also laid plans to conduct pre-cise geodetic surveys using GNSS to bring control from areas not affected by the quake. Finally, they defined test procedures to confirm the network’s performance and accuracy.

The planning team decided to place the central Data Center at the First Surveying Engineering In-stitute of Sichuan Province in Longquanyi District, Chengdu. Longquanyi was close to the earthquake area, but far enough away to avoid the strong after-shocks. And it had the necessary power and CDMA communications links already in place. The plan called for the positioning reference system to oper-ate in the 2000 National Earth Coordinate System (CGCS2000) for 3D measurements and use the 1980 Xi’an or 1954 Beijing Coordinate System as the local horizontal reference grid. Heights were based on the 1985 National Height Datum.

Locations for the 20 reference stations were selected and the installation and test plans laid out. The Trimble receivers were positioned with an average spacing of 56 km (35 mi) and arranged to ensure uniformly good RTK performance throughout the covered area. The schedule called for the GNSS network to be operational by the end of September.

Rebuilding the Damage More than 50 surveyors were assigned to the project, broken into 15 teams. Each team deployed into the disaster area to assess the damage and reestablish local control. Throughout the summer, the teams constantly overcame daunting obstacles including high temperatures and fierce humidity, drenching rain, collapsed roads and landslides. Aftershocks continued to hammer the region, and many dam-aged areas remained dangerously unstable. Detours caused by damaged roads forced some teams to travel more than 1000 km (620 mi) out of their way to reach the needed sites. Team members worked from dawn to dark and often shared their food and medical supplies with the hard-hit residents. Some surveyors kept working even while knowing that they had lost friends and family in the earthquake.

The SCBSM relied on Trimble for hardware, software and technical assistance. They installed Trimble NetR3™ GNSS Reference Sensors with Trimble Zephyr Geodetic™ GNSS Antennas. The Bureau used a standardized approach to mounting the antennas that simplified the installation and saved time. They placed concrete pillars atop stable buildings, then mounted the GNSS antennas and installed lightning protection. Indoors at each site, they installed a simple rack-mount cabinet. In addi-tion to the GNSS receivers, the indoor equipment included industrial control computers, network communications equipment, surge protection, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and backup generators.


SCBSM installed Trimble RTKNet™ and Trimble GPSNet™ software on the Longquanyi servers. They used the Trimble software to manage the GNSS network, monitor performance, store data coming from the CORS receivers and distribute data for real-time or post-processed work. This system also formed the basis for a Trimble VRS network to provide fast, high-precision, real-time positioning. Experts from Trimble played a key role throughout the project. They conducted specialized training programs for the SCBSM surveyors and provided on-site support in setting up the data center, reference stations and network communications.

With the installation and checkout complete, the next task was exhaustive testing. The team selected approxi-mately 50 grade B and C GPS points to use as test points. To verify system precision, each test point was measured 25 times using RTK and for 2 hours with post-processed data. Additional tests addressed RTK initialization times as well as availability of data throughout the day. The Trimble system consistently performed well. With the tests completed, the network moved into a one-month trial period and was opened for general operation on September 16.

Since the May 12 event, the Sichuan region has continued to experience aftershocks. Many have been strong enough to cause displacement of the ground, making it imperative to detect any movement of the CORS antennas. Using the Rapid Motion Engine in Trimble Integrity Manager™ Software, the survey team can quickly detect and react to motion in the network. SCBSM can provide up-to-date coordinates within 24 hours after any aftershock resulting in displacement of 2 cm (3/4 in) or more. As a result, Sichuan Province has a reliable, accurate GNSS network, even with the continued tectonic instability.

The reconstruction has brought a large number of surveyors to Sichuan, and Trimble GNSS Infrastructure system has proven capable of handling the load. Surveyors using Trimble GPS and GNSS equipment for high-precision RTK surveys are taking advantage of the Trimble VRS network. To support other users, the Trimble system outputs real-time data using RTCM Version 2 and RTCM Version 3.1(Net). And surveyors using post-processed techniques can download RINEX data from the Trimble servers. The scalable Trimble system is poised to grow as activity increases. It is ready to handle additional CORS receivers, and it can expand to support additional RTK surveyors in the field.

There’s still a long way to go in rebuilding Sichuan Province. The Chinese government plans to spend more than $170 billion over the next three years on repairs and new construction, according to TIME magazine (12/1/08). Much of the work relies on accurate and reliable positioning. The speed and success of the new Trimble GNSS reference network is an important and sustainable contribution to the recovery efforts.


“Admire the Beauty”That’s what Jeanna Wenger, a physical science technician with North Cascades National Park in Washington state, asked us to do with this stunning photo. And we did: the picture shows her colleague, physical science technician Nicole Bowerman, using a Trimble GeoExplorer® 2005 Series GeoXH™ Handheld GPS unit in the very rugged terrain of the park’s Austera Ridge to place benchmarks and record locations. The GPS data will be used to produce a high-precision base map, which will assist in monitoring the nearby North Klawatti Glacier. A base station, which cannot be seen, is set up in the foreground of the lake (behind Nicole's back). Access to the site involved traveling 2 days, up ~1850 m (6,000 ft), crossing 4 glaciers, and scrambling up to the GPS location.

“Surveying the Outback” Peter Read, project surveyor for WHELANS in Australia, shot this dramatic photo in October 2007 while surveying a Conservation Reserve encompassing the Zimmerman Range. The Trimble R6 GPS Base Station was one of many stations WHELANS used to legally ground mark the Reserve boundary by using RTK GPS. The Reserve incor-porates about 14,000 ha (50 km or 31 mi around) at the base of the Zimmerman Range; WHELANS survey crews constructed the stations high on the ridges to obtain the best radio range possible (about 9 km or 5.6 mi). Located about 20 km (12 mi) east of Kununurra, the Zimmerman Range runs along the Western Australian/Northern Territory border and is one of four Reserves that WHELANS crews surveyed in preparation for the Ord Stage 2 Project. The new Conservation Reserves were cre-ated to preserve these sensitive areas and form a boundary perimeter for future land development outside these areas. Due to the ruggedness of the area a helicopter was used to transport crews and equipment for the entire project.

Photo Contest

The Technology&more Photo Contest continues to receive impressive and unique images from around the world. For this issue, first place—and a Trimble jacket—goes to Dr. Ivano of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California for his beautiful shot of Moss Landing Beach. You’ll see the photo on page 19 and the back cover. Honorable

Mention winners will each receive a Trimble watch:


In the water-rich region of the northwest U.S., Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) provides water, sewer and municipal services to more than

1.3 million people in the Seattle area. About 30 percent of Seattle’s fresh water comes from the Tolt Dam reservoir in the Cascade Mountains east of the city. Tolt is an earth embankment dam more than 60 m (200 ft) high and approximately 300 m (1,000 ft) across the top. When full, Tolt Reservoir holds 69 million m3 (2.43 billion ft3) of water.

Like many dams in the U.S., Tolt Dam contains built-in systems for monitoring stress or movement. These monitoring systems provide information on the in-tegrity of the dam, but were not intended solely as an instantaneous warning system. With large population centers nearby, detection and notification of sudden changes in the health of dam are critical. The current monitors are connected to the dam’s emergency Failure Warning System. This new GPS-based system can now provide real-time physical displacement data for Tolt Dam that the current systems can not.

In early 2008, SPU installed a Trimble GNSS monitor-ing system on Tolt Dam to increase the monitoring capabilities. Their work represents a big step forward in monitoring of large structures that have very subtle motion. Led by SPU Project Surveyor Gavin Schrock, LS, SPU is using Trimble Integrity Manager Software and Trimble NetRS® GPS receivers to gather information about the dam. Using the Trimble GNSS monitoring system, the SPU team made significant improvements in the frequency of measurements while achieving precision similar to that of optical systems. SPU is also exploring a marriage of GNSS and robotic optical solutions for its dams.

The system on Tolt Dam comprises five Trimble NetRS GPS receivers with Trimble Zephyr Geodetic

Satellites, Dams and EarthquakesExciting Things Happen When Trimble GNSS Infrastructure

Technology Monitors a Washington Dam

Graph shows that Trimble Integrity Manager detects and displays motion of a few millimeters within seconds of when receiver moves.


antennas. To provide external control for the monitoring, the SPU team utilizes five existing CORS located in the surrounding region. The network of receivers on the dam covers about 1.3 ha (3.3 acres) and is controlled by Trimble software running on computers in downtown Seattle.

SPU uses three different functions in Trimble Integrity Man-ager Software for monitoring Tolt Dam. Trimble’s Server-based RTK computes positions that are based on simultaneous observations from multiple points. The approach keeps the ppm-error components very small and the operators receive a precise, continuous view of what is happening at each sensor.

SPU uses the Rapid Motion Engine in Trimble Integrity Man-ager to scan for unexpected motion. The software “learns” the normal behavior of a monitoring point and creates a model of its typical or expected movement. When observed motion goes beyond what is expected, Trimble Integrity Manager can alert the system operators. For deeper analysis, SPU uses the post-processing engine in Trimble Integrity Manager to compute position changes with precision of 1 mm (1/25 in). By selecting and refining large datasets, SPU can create a detailed picture of how the dam behaves.

To test the monitoring system, SPU mounted a receiver on a translation table placed on the dam. They could induce mo-tion into the receiver and use the translation table to record direction and magnitude of motion. Their test showed that the Server-based RTK Engine in Trimble Integrity Manager could detect and display motion of a few millimeters within seconds of when the receiver was moved. The results dem-onstrated that Trimble Integrity Manager performs all the functions needed for a GNSS monitoring system.

Trimble VRS Network Improves PerformanceTolt Dam lies within the Washington State Reference Network (WSRN), a statewide cooperative network of more than 80 GPS and GNSS receivers. Managed by SPU utilizing Trimble GPSNet and RTKNet software, it is one of the largest Trimble VRS

networks in the U.S. SPU tied the dam monitoring system into WSRN to produce some exceptional results.

While the Tolt Dam itself shows very little motion, it is situ-ated in a region that is tectonically active. When motion is detected, SPU needs to know if it is coming from the dam. They use data from the WSRN to determine if the motion is due to the receivers on the dam and not movement of the local CORS. Schrock describes it as using the WSRN to “control the control” for the dam system. The ability to tie to the statewide network adds a high level of confidence to the monitoring system at no additional cost.

Detecting the UnexpectedThe real-time capabilities of Trimble Integrity Manager en-abled SPU to detect the effects of earthquakes as far away as Los Angeles (1,500 km or 950 mi south of Tolt Dam). SPU later used post processing to conduct a detailed study of the data from the GNSS network. The results of that analysis will give a more accurate picture of what took place when the shock of the quakes passed through the dam. And it will help SPU to further refine the models in the Rapid Motion Engine to detect motion as small as 3 mm (1/8 in).

Wide Applications for Trimble GNSS MonitoringBased on the experiences and tests at Tolt, SPU will increase its use of GNSS monitoring on its dams. They are planning to install Trimble Integrity Manager networks on a series of concrete dams in northeast Washington State. And they see the opportunity to use GNSS monitoring on additional sites as well. It’s a good fit for bridges, landslides and even buoys.

Schrock views monitoring as an important business opportunity for surveyors. Continuous monitoring with Trimble Integrity Manager lets surveyors provide accurate, timely information to project engineers and stakeholders. And when monitoring projects connect with a Trimble VRS network, the benefits are even greater. The system delivers accurate and reliable results, centralized control and exceptional cost efficiency.


Five Years Under WaterScanning the Magdeburg Waterways Junction

Accuracy and reliability are crucial in a complex project with an unforgiving schedule.

A key connection in Germany’s waterway transit system lies near Magdeburg, where the Mittelland and Elbe-Havel Canals meet the Elbe River. Opened in 2003, the Magdeburg Waterways Junction provides year-round access connecting Berlin to Hamburg, Hannover and the Ruhr. The junction’s centerpiece is a trough bridge that carries canal traffic over the Elbe. With a total length of 918 m (3,100 ft) it’s the largest water bridge in Europe.

Five years after completion, the bridge was to undergo scheduled maintenance and inspection. The bridge’s size, rigorous schedule and complex construction made it an ideal candidate for Spatial Imaging.

Surveyors from Magdeburg Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA) and Magdeburg New Waterways Construction Authority (WNA) initiated the scanning project. “We want to compare data for the bridge in loaded and unloaded state,” said WSA’s Frank Jachan, “and we wanted to have scanning data to assist us in subsequent work.” The project team included Sandro Müller from GeoSurvey near Berlin and students Martin Wiesenhütter and Roberto Käsche from the University of Applied Science (HTW) Dresden. The team selected the Trimble GX 3D Scanner and the Trimble VX Spatial Station.

The initial survey took place in March 2008. Müller credits the survey workflow of the Trimble system in getting the fieldwork completed quickly. The data was

processed using Trimble RealWorks Survey Advanced software.

At the end of March, the bridge was drained. Work-ers cleaned the trough and installed a new system to prevent ice in the trough. The surveyors returned on Thursday, April 24 and needed just two days to complete a detailed survey of the empty trough. The following week, the bridge resumed carrying canal traffic on schedule.

As part of their university research, the team used the Trimble VX Spatial Station to replicate the scans made by the Trimble GX. The results were excellent, and the Trimble VX delivered some additional benefits. Im-ages from the Trimble VX were used for visualization, 3D modeling and inspection of the trough. And Müller noted that the long-range DR EDM was especially help-ful in measuring specific points on the long spans.

As the fieldwork neared completion, Müller reflected on the importance of the Trimble technology. The sys-tem’s speed was not the only benefit. “When the water returns, they will no longer be able to see everything that’s down below,” Müller said. “The pipes and tech-nical installations will be under water. But our scans will show every detail—not only as a photographic image, but also as a three-dimensional point cloud accurate to the last millimeter.” Müller noted that the initial investment might be seen as a drawback. “But for companies like the WSA, the advantages of com-plete three-dimensional documentation outweigh any drawbacks. An investment of this kind will pay for itself in the short term.”


Scanning Coastal Changes: Spatial Imaging Sails into Erosion Studies

Storms and other natural phenomena continuously sculpt our seashores and coasts. Erosion and accre-tion to beaches, wetlands and sea cliffs combine

with predicted rises in sea level to create the potential for significant problems that can affect surrounding communities. It’s a complex system, and there are significant gaps in data used to understand and predict coastal change. Trimble Spatial Imaging is providing some important answers.

At Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California, geology professor Dr. Ivano Aiello is putting Trimble tech-nology to work to investigate coastal change along the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Aiello and his team are monitoring seasonal changes in beach sand volume and measuring changes in sea cliffs and beaches following major storms.

To conduct the measurements and analysis, Dr. Aiello selected the Trimble VX Spatial Station and Trimble RealWorks Survey Software. “I needed something that one person could easily carry, even in the marshes,” said Aiello. “We looked at other scanners, but they did not provide the flexibility we need.” For Aiello, the imaging capability of the Trimble VX is an essential component. He uses Trimble RealWorks Survey to “drape" the photo images over terrain models to create 3D photographic views, making it easier for people to visualize the charac-teristics, speed and magnitude of changes.

At Monterey Bay, Aiello uses the Trimble VX to scan a section of the beach about 300 m (1,000 ft) long and 30 m (100 ft) wide. The speed and flexibility of the Trimble system enables Aiello’s team to scan the site on short notice. They can react to storms that could (and did) erode or add to the beach. At one location, sand accu-mulation changed the surface by ~50 cm (1.6 ft) in just a few days. The ability to quantify short-term, small-site geomorphologic changes is a powerful new tool for the scientists. Not only could they say that things changed at Moss Landing Beach, they could now say where they changed, and by how much.

In the nearby Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Trimble VX plays a crucial role in collecting sediment samples. The samples must be taken from the same place over various time intervals, and storms and erosion often change appearances of a site. By using the Trimble VX’s stakeout functions and robotic surveying, Aiello’s team can repeatedly collect sediment samples with positional accuracy of 1cm (0.03 ft).

Aiello has also taken his Trimble VX to areas devastated by the 2008 Big Sur wildfires. Able to move quickly with the Trimble VX, Aiello can document effects of individual rainstorms in the study areas. His data is used to monitor erosion behavior and to gauge how different approaches to restoration are working.

Aiello says the speed, portability and high-resolution imaging of the Spatial Station are essential to his re-search. “I believe Spatial Imaging technology will play an increasing role in scientific research projects, espe-cially for coastal erosion,” he says. “It has the potential to impact how we work.”

See feature article in POB’s November 2008 issue: www.pobonline.com

Color-coded, high-resolution contours created from Trimble VX scanning data are projected onto a mosaic of images using Trimble RealWorks Survey software.


3D Scanning in Tunneling

Fast, accurate measurement is a difficult aspect in tunnel construction, maintenance and re-development. Confined spaces make it hard to

establish and preserve survey control markers. Safety or accessibility issues limit access to many locations. And working time is often restricted by construction requirements, traffic or other considerations. Cost concerns, construction tolerances and tight vehicle clearances drive the requirements for precise, accu-rate measurements. The logistical hurdles frequently conflict with the requirements for speed and precision. To manage the challenges, tunneling projects routinely employ professional surveyors to handle the difficult measurement tasks. In turn, the surveyors increasingly are using 3D scanning for tunnel projects.

A 3D scanner uses a pulsed laser to measure distance several thousand times each second. Each pulse of laser light strikes the target object and is reflected back to a detector in the scanner where the distance is computed. Special targets or reflectors are not needed—the scanner can measure to virtually any surface. Steered by a rotating mirror and servo motors, the beam is pointed to a new location each time a distance measurement is taken.

Using this approach, the Trimble GX 3D Scanner can measure and store up to 5,000 points each second. Depending on the distance measured (typical range is 100–300 m or 330–660 ft), the measured points are a few millimeters apart. Each point is stored with its 3D coordinates and information on the intensity of the return signal. Along with the mass of 3D points (known as a point cloud), the Trimble scanner captures images of the site or objects being scanned. Then the scanner is moved to a new location and the process is repeated to scan farther down the tunnel or a different side of the object.

The scanned data is returned to the office for processing in Trimble’s RealWorks Survey Software. The software combines the scanned data with information from total stations to put all information into the project coordi-nate system. The point clouds are joined to form a true 3D depiction of the tunnel. Now the scanned image of the tunnel can be visualized and manipulated at will.

Cover Story


While the visualization is important, primary value comes from the ability to work directly with the points and point cloud. It’s straightforward to create cross-sections and profiles exactly where they are needed. Volumes are computed to a high accuracy based on the high density of the point cloud. Objects such as pipes, structural components or surfaces can be defined and extracted as 3D CAD objects for use in design or facility management systems. And the rich data and dense point clouds eliminate the need for revisits.

Tunnel construction is a common application for 3D scanning. Scanners can quickly create precise, detailed models of excavated areas. This data is used for clash detection ( for example with a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)), monitoring and volume computations. The speed of the scanners pays off in keeping projects on schedule. A 50-m (160-ft) portion of tunnel can be scanned in less than 30 minutes, allowing construction work to resume quickly. The precise data lets users quickly identify problems in alignment, subsidence or other trouble spots.

3D scanning has demonstrated its capability in tun-neling projects worldwide. The City of Oslo scanned its entire road tunnel system to locate areas of frost dam-age in 2005. There are over 5 km (3 mi) of tunnels to scan, and the City required the tunnels to remain open to vehicle traffic during the day. Limited to nighttime work over a 30-day period, the scanning team collected over 40 million points. Engineers could visualize the entire system and quickly identify areas of damage. The data from the Trimble scanner let them create cross sections exactly where needed to highlight the damage. The entire model was taken to a CAD system where the

design and actual surfaces could be compared. Had traditional surveying techniques been used, the project would have taken much longer, cost more and produced lower-quality results.

In Paris, progress on construction of a new 7.5-km (4.7-mi) tunnel for light vehicles was stopped when a fire oc-curred during tunnel finishing. Damage to the concrete tunnel liner required that a portion be removed and replaced. Three scans were taken with the Trimble system—before the damaged liner was removed, after removal of the liner and after installation of the new concrete.The scanned data provided accurate informa-tion on the volume of concrete that was removed and replaced. The measured volume was much smaller than the sub-contractor’s estimate for the work and resulted in significant cost savings. The third scan also provided quality control to verify that the new concrete restored the tunnel to its original form. According to the contractor, the speed of the 3D scanning allowed tun-nel construction to resume several days earlier than if traditional surveying techniques had been used.

Utilizing its 3D scanning technology, Trimble has de-veloped solutions that save time and money in tunnel surveying. Obtaining needed precision and accuracy is a difficult and costly component of tunnel projects. Trimble’s approach provides speed, accuracy, durable equipment and tools for visualization and analysis.

See feature article in Tunnel Business Magazine’s June 2008 issue

Photo: Cofiroute


of the major airports in South Africa, including the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, the biggest, busiest airport on the continent.

“Compared to the number of flights tak-ing off and landing at airports every day, the number of bird strikes is very small,” said Mike Steyn, company director at Aspire Solutions, a GIS consulting firm in Cape Town, South Africa and GIS consultant to ACSA. “But when they do happen, they can be dangerous to travelers and costly for airports.”

For several years, ACSA has relied on an airport wildlife management initia-tive put in place in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT)

of South Africa. This unique partnership highlights the benefits and successes of working together to reduce the risk that birds pose to aircraft at ACSA airports. This initiative extended to advising ACSA on best measures to control wildlife at its airports in an ecologically friendly manner.

The initiative included the collection of statistical data about wildlife patrols, sightings and incidents to improve management decision-making. Initially a Microsoft database was set up and the data was captured by airport staff. The database provided a single place to manage the company’s wildlife data, but without a spatial component, there was no way to track details about the location of wildlife sightings, problem areas, and patterns of movement.

“In addition to not having accurate spatial data, all of the information was recorded in the field using pencil and paper and later captured into the database,” said Steyn. “The process was time-consuming, inaccurate, and difficult to manage. Together, ACSA and EWT began searching for an electronic, GPS-based solution.”

ACSA implemented an enterprise-wide GIS in 2004 in order to better manage and maintain their extensive

When boarding an airplane, you’re probably not thinking of the flight patterns of birds. However, according to the U.S. Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA), more than 200 deaths worldwide over the past 20 years have resulted from birds colliding with airplanes. It is estimated that, worldwide, bird strikes cost the airline industry approxi-mately US$1.2 billion annually.*

Fortunately, airports around the world have teams of people dedicated to wildlife management and minimiz-ing the number of bird strikes during approach and departure. This is certainly the case at the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), which manages all

Keeping Airports Safe

Technology&more; 2009-1

Because bird strikes are costly and dangerous, it’s important that airports comply with regulations about managing wildlife on airport property. Using the wildlife patrol module, workers can enter information about where and when they conduct patrols, how long they take, maintenance issues they discover on the airfield, and more.

Back in the office, the data is downloaded to the GIS, where management can create reports ranging from statistics on individual bird species on the airfield, to the effectiveness of their countermeasures, to the amount of time spent patrolling the property.

“In just a few months, ACSA has been able to compile valuable statistical information, determine trends and create detailed compliance reports,” said Steyn. “The new system has been easy for staff to learn and use, and, if it helps prevent even one bird strike, it will be well worth the cost.”

Due to the success of the wildlife management program, GIS-enabled modules are already in develop-ment or under consideration that will enable ACSA staff to use the same Trimble handheld devices for more efficient data collection and management for runway and taxiway inspections, apron inspections, security patrols and more.

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airport infrastructure. As a first step in the wildlife management program, ACSA looked into extending the GIS to help track and manage wildlife data.

The company selected the Trimble Nomad handheld and Trimble Recon® GPS XC edition rugged handheld computers with integrated GPS for data collection. The complete solution includes an ESRI ArcPad soft-ware extension that consists of a wildlife-counting module, a patrol module, and a module for monitor-ing grass height and maintenance.

“The role of wildlife officers is to discourage habita-tion of birds directly in line with aircraft flight paths. This is done by an officer using an all-terrain vehicle, specially trained dogs and laser lights in low light conditions. This work has to be done in all kinds of weather conditions, and patrols sometimes take hours, so durability and long battery life were must-haves,” said Steyn. “We’ve worked with Trimble equipment for years, and their Recon and Nomad handhelds were the obvious choice.”

After loading the customized wildlife counting module onto the handhelds, airport staff are able to quickly and easily count and track the species of birds and other wildlife on airport properties. Wildlife management staff conducts daily patrols to record the types of wildlife seen in the area, specific details about the location of various species, the number of birds and other animals seen, their behaviors and more. This allows airport officials to track when birds are most likely to congregate on a specific side of the airport, where they’re most likely to live during each season, and daily patterns that might interfere with aviation activity.

Using the grass monitoring and cutting module en-ables staff to keep track of vegetation maintenance more easily. Because certain species of birds like to nest in tall grass, while others prefer shorter grass, staff are able to deter birds from nesting next to runways simply by modifying the length of the grass.

“Wildlife management staff use the system to man-age details like grass height, mowing frequency and mowing zones at the airport,” said Steyn. “By keeping track of all of the data in the GIS, they’re able to create reports and maps of the property to help with vegetation management decisions.”

*At press time, the emergency landing of a U.S. Airways jet-liner in New York's Hudson River possibly due to a bird strike adds a sobering spotlight to this story. Investigations on the cause of the crash may take a year. Thankfully no one was critically injured.


Surveying is a detail-filled job. Preparation is paramount. Yet even with the best preparation, unforeseen challenges can occur:

• The customer wasn’t ready for you to start when you arrived on the scheduled day• The site wasn’t accessible, for whatever reason• The wrong stakeout file was uploaded in the data controller• There were obstructions in the survey lines of sight• The design file had mistakes in it

Problems like these—and many more—usually are rec-ognized only when the surveyors get to the site, ready to begin work. Until now, it often meant that they would have to drive back to the office, pick up the correct files or obtain data for an entirely new job, drive back to the site or to the next one, and, hopefully, start to work. Lost time. Lost money. Perhaps a lost job.

But now, Trimble Access Software quickly remedies such situations and keeps you producing. No longer do you need to drive back to the office for the right controller or files, to get the info needed to swap jobs or to fix the design files. With Trimble Access, you can quickly acquire the proper file(s) and data from the office while remaining on site. You’re quickly up and running—without running back to the office.

Need a new file? Just have it uploaded from the office to your data controller. It’s that simple. Call the office and ask a colleague to upload the file to the secure, on-line folder provided by Trimble Access. The file is auto-matically synced to your controller—and you’re back in business, right there in the field. More field time, less drive time, fewer distractions and more productivity.

Find something unexpected? Take a digital scan with a Trimble VX Spatial Station or digital photos and send the file(s) back to the office. The office crew can orient themselves to the real-world situation, discuss the options with the field crew over a mobile phone and quickly determine the appropriate action. Faster action, less drive time, improved teamwork and increased pro-ductivity, with better results.

And, when the field work is done—or even while it is be-ing done—you can send the data to the office to begin the next step. The CAD operator can start working as soon as the survey is finished—no travel required, which means no time lost. If the survey crew uploads/streams the data live while they are working, the office staff can start pro-cessing in parallel, identify potential mistakes or provide expert problem resolution while the crew is still on site. The job is finished faster and the “down time” of another unnecessary trip is eliminated from the project cost.

Trimble Access: Connecting You to a World of New Possibilities

Trimble Access is a Revolutionary Field and Office Software Solution that Improves Workflow, Collaboration and Control through Constant Connectivity


The Trimble AccessSync™ feature of Trimble Access gives you instant access to your online Trimble Connected Community portal from the field to the office. Trimble AccessSync automatically and transparently synchronizes field and office files in real time, in the background, without delaying or disrupting your standard computing processes. This feature beats even the best of existing data transfer systems because it is integrated into the complete workflow. No more tedious manual e-mail setup; no slow, problematic uploads to FTP sites; and no error-prone dictation over the phone.

Trimble Access helps you save time and be even more productive in many other ways as well. For normal survey tasks, Trimble Access offers a General Survey module that enables the surveyors to control survey operations in a familiar environ-ment. In addition, Trimble Access provides new streamlined workflows that organize the task in a logical, application-focused, step-by-step approach. This enables a survey crew to get faster results by eliminating unnecessary steps in the process. Even specialized applications, such as tunnels and roads, are simplified and expedited with available streamlined workflows. These streamlined work-flows minimize the learning curve, allowing users to be operational in the field almost immediately. They allow you to focus on the deliverables you are creating, not on the software how-to’s of each task along the way. You’re in complete control.

The Trimble Connected Community portal provides a secure backbone infrastructure and a unified interface. This portal enables all parties concerned to share a wide range of project information in near-real time throughout the life cycle of a project. Head-office management, site-office teams and field crews can securely share information and collaborate on all appropriate aspects of the proj-ect through the Trimble Connected Community

portal. This on-line service integrates today’s most advanced information technologies (IT) to address the customers’ most fundamental IT infrastructure, collaboration, and data management needs. All of this collaboration and connectivity is provided in a secure environment without extensive IT investments.

By connecting you to the Trimble Connected Community, Trimble Access provides significant improvements to workflow in the field and office throughout all phases of the surveying project life-cycle. It puts you in control of every aspect of the project, from data collection to final deliverables. Trimble Access sets a new standard for productivity and connectivity in the survey world.

Shorten your timelines. Streamline your processes. Improve productivity across the board, in both field and office. Send data back and forth; not people. Move to Trimble Access and connect to a world of new possibilities.

Note: Trimble Access includes several modules and subscription services; see www.trimble.com/access for details. Connectivity in the field may vary depending on mobile phone and data provider’s coverage.

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The winners of the Trimble Photo Contest receive Trimble prizes and the photos are published in Technology&more. This issue's first place winner is the Coastal Erosion photo submitted by Dr. Ivano Aiello of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California. Honorable mention winners are published on page 15. Send your photo at 300 dpi resolution (10 x 15 cm or 4 x 6 in) to [email protected]. Make sure you include your name, title and contact information.

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