What Happens After You Commission a Survey?

The usual sequence is an agreed brief and quote, instruction, confirmed access and scheduling, fieldwork, processing, checking and delivery. Dates and outputs follow your actual proposal and project arrangements, rather than a universal turnaround promise.

For clients who have never commissioned a topographic or measured building survey before (which is most clients, because most people do not acquire land or refurbish buildings with sufficient frequency to develop a working familiarity with the process), the period between placing the order and receiving the deliverable is a black box. Money goes in. Time passes. A drawing arrives. What happened in between is unclear, and that opacity can generate unnecessary anxiety about timelines, access requirements, and what (if anything) is expected of the client during the process.

This article describes what actually happens, from instruction to delivery, for both topographic land surveys and measured building surveys. No jargon. No upselling. Just the sequence.

Stage 1: Instruction and specification

You provide us with a plan showing the area to be surveyed (for topographic work) or the building address and scope (for measured building surveys), along with a description of the purpose. We return a fixed-price quote with a specification confirming what will be captured, what you will receive, and when.

Complete the instruction and payment steps shown for your project, with the responsible payer identified where someone else is paying. Proposed dates still need confirming, and access arrangements must be in place. Tell us about fixed deadlines or restricted access before scheduling.

Stage 2: Desktop preparation

Before attending site, we prepare the fieldwork by:

• Reviewing available mapping (OS MasterMap, aerial imagery, any site plans you have provided) to understand the site layout, access routes, and likely methodology
• Planning survey control strategy (where to establish known coordinate positions from which all measurements will be referenced)
• Identifying any constraints: airspace restrictions for drone work, listed building status affecting methodology, ecological sensitivities affecting timing, or access limitations affecting scheduling
• Preparing instrument configurations, flight plans (for drone work), or scan position plans (for laser scanning)

Preparation helps the team choose the method and arrange the agreed visit. Share known hazards, site changes and access restrictions in advance.

Stage 3: Fieldwork

For a topographical survey, the team uses methods suitable for the specified features, extent and accuracy. Control relates observations to the agreed coordinate framework and height datum. Visible and accessible features are captured within the brief; obscured areas and other limitations need recording.

Fieldwork duration depends on extent, detail, access, occupation and conditions. Use the attendance arrangements agreed for your project; a generic site size does not establish the required number of days.

For a measured building survey, scanning and other appropriate observations provide the record needed for the agreed drawings. Capture is planned around required rooms, floors, elevations and sections. Locked spaces, finishes, furniture and obstructions can limit coverage.

Discuss the floors, rooms, external faces and any restricted spaces when agreeing attendance. Occupied or complex buildings may need phased access or further arrangements.

What the client needs to provide during fieldwork:

• Access to all areas within the survey scope (unlock gates, provide keys, ensure rooms are accessible)
• A site contact who can answer questions if they arise (usually a phone number is sufficient; physical presence is not normally required)
• Advance warning of any hazards, security requirements, or access restrictions

Confirm whether anyone must attend, unlock areas or provide an escort. Some sites can be surveyed without the client present; others require a site contact or supervision under their access and safety procedures. Tell us about restrictions before the visit.

The Survey Process: Timeline and Responsibilities

Stage 4: Office processing

After fieldwork, the raw data is processed in the office:

For topographic surveys: Field observations are downloaded, checked for consistency, and processed into a coordinate dataset. This dataset is then used to generate the survey drawing: plotting feature positions, interpolating contours from spot levels, annotating features, applying layer structures, and formatting the deliverable to the agreed specification.

For measured building surveys: Individual scan positions are registered together (aligned into a single coordinate system using overlapping geometry and control points) to produce a unified point cloud. The surveyor then works through this point cloud, interpreting the three-dimensional data into conventional 2D drawings: identifying wall lines, measuring openings, establishing floor levels, plotting sections, and producing the floor plans, elevations, and sections specified in the brief.

Processing depends on the dataset, required drawings, interpretation and checking. It does not follow a fixed ratio to fieldwork time. Refer to the agreed project programme.

Stage 5: Quality assurance

Before delivery, every survey passes through an internal check:

• Coordinate and level consistency (do levels along continuous features maintain plausible gradients? do building corners form geometrically coherent shapes?)
• Specification compliance (has everything in the agreed scope been captured and drawn?)
• Deliverable formatting (correct layers, correct scale, correct file format, correct datum statement)

If checking identifies an ambiguity or missing observation, we assess what is needed and discuss any effect on access or programme. Changes to scope, failed access and corrective work are handled according to the actual agreement; this article does not promise every return visit at no charge.

Stage 6: Delivery

Receive the agreed files through the project's Site Vault when the delivery and payment conditions are met. The supplied drawings identify the survey date, relevant references and limitations. Agree whether a point cloud or model is included rather than assume every format is part of every quote.

Use the dates confirmed for your project. Access, scope changes, weather-dependent capture and the required outputs can affect the programme; advise the team promptly if your deadline changes.

What happens if you need something changed

If you need another section, adjacent area or format, raise a query against the project. We can assess whether the existing data supports it or whether further capture is needed, then agree the additional scope, fee and programme.

Before reusing old measurements, review any site changes, capture limits, accuracy and reference information. Additional extraction is possible only where the relevant surfaces were captured adequately and remain suitable for the new task.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do I need to attend the survey? Confirm the access arrangements with the team. A site contact, escort or keyholder may be needed even where the person commissioning the survey will not attend.

When will I receive the drawings? Use the agreed delivery date for your project. Scope, access, conditions and required outputs vary; there is no single turnaround for every commission.

What if my architect needs an extra drawing? Raise a project query. We will assess the capture coverage, any site changes and the new requirement before agreeing additional work. For the initial scope, see topographical surveys and measured building surveys.