Capability
What we can measure, and how well.
Every technique below is available on any job where it is the right one. What changes from site to site is which combination is deployed, and why that is the useful question to ask a surveyor.
A note on this page
This page deliberately names no manufacturer and no model. Not because anything is secret, but because the equipment varies by requirement and a website that pins itself to one unit is making a promise it cannot keep. Capabilities and accuracy are stated openly and without qualification.
Capture
5 methods
Terrestrial laser scanning
±5–10mm registeredHigh-speed laser scanning producing dense point clouds at millimetre-class accuracy, with the return recorded from the light that comes back rather than from a prism.
Typical applications
- →As-built records of complex geometry
- →Interiors where a total station would take days
- →Earthing surface under vegetation
- →Heritage and industrial structures
UAV photogrammetry
±30mm with ground controlAutomated aerial capture and structure-from-motion reconstruction into accurate 3D models, orthomosaics and surface models.
Typical applications
- →Large open sites and earthworks
- →Design-grade surface models
- →Progress and volumetric measurement
- →Sites where ground access is restricted or unsafe
Mobile and handheld scanning
Registered against controlScanning while walking rather than from fixed stations, for corridors, interiors and large structures where static setups are impractical.
Typical applications
- →Streets, corridors and long interiors
- →Facades
- →Rapid whole-floor capture
Multispectral imaging
Relative indices, ground calibratedAerial capture across narrow spectral bands, producing vegetation indices that expose crop stress before it is visible to the eye.
Typical applications
- →NDVI and NDRE crop health mapping
- →Variable rate application zoning
- →Irrigation uniformity assessment
- →Season-on-season field comparison
Thermal imaging
≥2°C anomalies detectableRadiometric thermal survey of roofs and facades, mapping heat loss, failed insulation and moisture signatures.
Typical applications
- →Locating heat loss ahead of a retrofit
- →Verifying insulation installation
- →Tracing intermittent condensation and ingress
- →Condition assessment without scaffolding
Subsurface
1 method
Drone-based ground-penetrating radar
±100mm depth at the transect pointsCarried aloft to measure the depth and substrate interface of peat and fen soils along transects, without excavating or taking a core through ground that may itself be the habitat being assessed.
Typical applications
- →Peat depth profiling across a fen or bog site
- →Distinguishing deep peat from embanked mineral soil
- →Substrate boundary for drainage and hydrology design
- →Supporting condition assessment on peat-dependent habitat
Measurement and control
3 methods
Total station and digital level
±10mm horizontal, ±8mm verticalAngle and distance measurement for hard detail, setting-out, precise levels and fall checks, the backbone of conventional ground survey.
Typical applications
- →Setting-out and dimensional checks
- →Precise levelling and gradients
- →Hard detail and feature capture
- →Control network observation
RTK-enabled GNSS
±10mm horizontal typicalReal-time kinematic satellite positioning with centimetre-level coordinates, using a base or network correction rather than standalone satellite fixes.
Typical applications
- →Fast control capture over open ground
- →Setting-out with no line of sight needed
- →Aerial ground control points
- →Direct topographic capture
Precise point positioning
Centimetre-level given a long sessionPost-processed satellite solutions converging on precise orbit and clock products, for control stations where a full network would be overkill.
Typical applications
- →Long-baseline control
- →Independent station verification
Straight answers
Three questions about this page.
Why do you not list the makes and models?
Because the equipment is chosen to suit the requirement on each job, and that choice genuinely changes. A tight urban site, a 40-hectare farm and a 19th-century interior do not want the same kit. Naming one unit on a website would be a promise about equipment you may not use, and a fairly obvious signal that nobody wrote the page.
Does that mean you hide what you own?
No, quite the opposite. Every capability on this page is stated openly, and we will confirm on the phone which methods are appropriate for your site. What is withheld is a model name, which is commercially irrelevant to you and would be out of date within a few years.
So how do I know you can do the job?
By the accuracy figures, the method notes and the stated limitations. If a surveyor cannot tell you what accuracy they achieve and what their method cannot see, the make and model would tell you nothing either.
What each capability is used for
The same methods, pointed at the jobs where they earn their keep.
Drone Photogrammetry
Aerial reconstruction producing accurate 3D models and imagery.
Point Clouds & 3D Models
Deliverables in E57, LAZ, LAS, IFC and XYZ for your software.
LiDAR & 3D Laser Scanning
Millimetre-accurate point clouds that reach beneath vegetation.
Biodiversity Net Gain Surveys
BNG baseline, condition and monitoring evidence from the air and the ground.
Multispectral & Agricultural Survey
NDVI and NDRE analysis to reveal crop stress and irrigation issues.
Thermal & Insulation Inspection
Locate heat loss, failed insulation and water ingress before it spreads.
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