How To Choose The Best Surveying Accessories

 

There’s a huge variety of surveying accessories to choose from when planning a project, which makes it difficult to decide on the best option. However, you must take your time here to ensure you get the right outcomes and avoid spending on unnecessary equipment.

Selecting the right accessories for the job is important, as this will ensure they can integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows to increase measurement capabilities and overall efficiency. Access to appropriate survey accessories can also give on-site operatives greater flexibility to adapt to challenging or changeable environmental conditions.

This piece covers the key considerations when choosing surveying accessories, the best survey accessories for total stations and laser scanners, and expert recommendations for using accessories on-site.

To improve accuracy, safety, compliance, and flexibility in surveying projects, you need to select the right accessories. This means considering the following:

• Measurement requirements – The most significant aspect of any surveying project is the accuracy requirements in the data you collect. Surveying accessories can help improve degrees of accuracy in particular kinds of data. For instance, you might need to record angular measurements that the capabilities of your available total station don’t allow.
• Size of your team – Large projects typically require bigger teams to complete the work within a certain timeframe. In these cases, it’s worth considering whether an accessory can be used with multiple pieces of surveying equipment or if duplicates of a particular accessory are needed.
• Site features and expected conditions – The site environment will influence which surveying equipment and equipment accessories have the necessary protections. This includes environmental factors such as heat, cold, wind, moisture, and humidity.
• Project timeline – It’s not uncommon for the timeline of construction and land surveying projects to change. When surveyors are forced to adapt, accessories can provide cost-effective options for capturing different measurement data.
• Any unusual aspects of your project – Choosing the right survey equipment will largely depend on the nature of your project. Consulting a technical expert before the start of your project can help you anticipate any additional accessory requirements your project may throw up.

Some surveying accessories can be used across multiple pieces of survey equipment, such as batteries and chargers. However, these should be chosen in respect of equipment power requirements.

Leading brands like Faro, Trimble, and Spectra will manufacture dedicated battery and charging accessories to ensure their products always meet technical specifications. Sufficient power supply is also important as disparities can lead to drops in performance and potential component damage.

Total station accessories are designed to maximise the potential accuracy and workflow efficiency of your equipment. The most common accessories used in conjunction with total stations include:

• Tripod mounts
• Data collectors
• Protective bags and cases
• Reflective targets
• Prisms
• Markers
• Spare batteries

Each of these accessories enhances the capabilities of a total station in a particular way, depending on the function. For instance, sturdy tripods reduce the risk of vibration disruption when taking distance measurements, while allowing for easy levelling and height adjustments.

Data collectors are the most important accessory for total stations. These handheld devices act as the mobile control centre for the total station. With a user-friendly interface, even in the harshest conditions, data collectors enable surveyors to analyse real-time survey data, store additional data, enable total station integration with GPS, and often support data exports to CAD (computer-aided design) software. It’s usually the case that all models of surveying equipment from one manufacturer will be compatible with accessories from the same source. For instance, a workflow using the Spectra Geospatial Focus 50 Robotic Total Station could incorporate various Spectra data collectors.

Depending on its specifications, there may also be certain total station accessories that are more useful for your equipment. For example, the Trimble SX12 Scanning Total Station benefits from scanning markers, spare batteries and a good sturdy tri-pod, whereas this wouldn’t be necessary for a non-scanning product.

When undertaking laser scanning surveys, ensure your equipment has a stable base. Choose the right laser scanning accessories to complement your scanner model, with common options including:

• Tripods – This simple surveying accessory is essential for laser scanning activities as it provides a sturdy mounting for laser scanners and laser levels. Tripods also allow equipment to be easily moved around the site to scan different areas.
• Batteries and chargers – Laser scanners must be adequately charged before being brought to the site. This means having effective chargers and backup batteries to ensure time on site isn’t wasted.
• Adapters – Laser scanner adapters are essential to affix equipment to tripods to create a flexible and safe survey solution.
• Laser scanning spheres – These accessories provide additional reference points for surveyors using laser scanners, helping enhance accuracy. Laser scanner sphere sets are compatible with a wide variety of laser scanners across multiple leading brands.
• Scanning targets – so the scan can be geo-referenced onto a coordinate system.

When deciding how to choose the right laser scanner, you should also consider the accessories that are compatible with the equipment. This is because laser scanning accessories can increase the capabilities of laser scanners, whether that’s through greater accuracy or shorter time spent on site. For instance, many pieces of surveying equipment integrate with specific software produced by the same manufacturer. A good example is the Trimble X9 Laser Scanner, which uses Trimble Perspective to ensure ease-of-use in the field.

Reflective prisms are among the most straightforward yet impactful surveying equipment accessories. They are used with total stations to enable precision measurements over long distances. However, it’s not just the prisms themselves, there are additional prism accessories that can be of use to surveyors. These include:

• Prism poles
• Ranging poles
• Prism base
• Tribrachs
• Prism offset / node offset

Many suppliers provide prism kits containing a variety of accessories to give surveyors everything they might need when using surveying prisms. These kits are also designed to support specific surveying equipment to give the best accuracy, such as the Trimble Traverse Kit for SX and S Series Total Stations.

GNSS accessories

One of the main risk factors associated with GPS and GNSS equipment is disruption to the power supply or signals. To account for this, many GNSS accessories seek to expand the ability to send and receive signals or provide additional power supplies. The best options will typically fall into the following categories:

• Batteries, power supplies, and chargers
• Magnets
• Antennas
• Adapters
• GPS poles

Marking and setting out accessories

While these accessories might seem like an afterthought or things most businesses have lying around, tools for marking and setting out will be needed in all surveying projects. This includes rugged stationery that can be used by surveyors wearing gloves in even the most challenging conditions. It’s recommended that you have a stock of setting out accessories ready to use for the duration of any new projects.

Rail Surveying Accessories

Precision surveying supports the ongoing maintenance and expansion of UK rail networks. High-accuracy data must be gathered to ensure rail projects are completed safely, efficiently, and to exacting standards. Rail environments challenge surveyors through their variability and challenging on-site conditions. Surveying accessories for these projects help improve workflow efficiency, aiding maintenance, early-stage planning, construction, or technology improvements.

Rail surveying accessories available through SEP include:

• Rail shoes
• Adapters
• Expansion sleeves
• Bolts

Getting the right survey accessories is just the first step to ensuring maximum survey accuracy; it’s also vital that setting out engineers incorporate these accessories in the best ways for their project. The following recommendations are designed to help you enhance the outcomes of your survey project:

• Calibration – Surveying accessories must be calibrated to ensure accurate measurement. Manufacturer guidelines will often dictate the optimal function of survey accessories.
• Maintenance – To be effective, accessories must be inspected regularly to check for damage and dirt, which might affect performance. For instance, prisms should be cleaned regularly to ensure accuracy.
• Training – All personnel must be trained to use the relevant equipment and accessories and understand how these products function on-site.
• Account for environmental factors – Wind, temperature, particulates, and electromagnetic interference can all impact survey instrument performance. Choosing accessories designed for adverse conditions is vital to maintaining high accuracy.

We understand that every surveying project comes with its own set of challenges. SEP Geospatial accessories have been intentionally sourced to optimise workflows regardless of site conditions.

Choosing the best survey accessories requires a clear vision of your project goals and measurement data requirements. This should be considered alongside any team or environmental factors to narrow your search. Getting advice from experts in surveying equipment and accessories will also be beneficial.

Our range includes surveying accessories for all major types of surveying equipment, with options that integrate seamlessly with equipment from leading brands. This includes accessories from Trimble, Leica, Spectra, and more. We’re especially proud to be able to offer SitePro products, which are widely recognised for their cost-effectiveness.

Get in touch if you have any questions about the accessories available through our online shop.