Land Surveyors Dictionary

As a new land surveyor, one of the first and most fundamental skills you'll learn is pacing. Pacing is a time-honored technique in land surveying that involves measuring distances by counting the number of steps, or paces, you take. This simple yet effective method has been used for centuries and remains relevant today. Whether you’re working in remote areas, rugged terrain, or just need a quick estimate, pacing is an essential skill that every surveyor should master.

In this guide, we’ll dive deep into the concept of pacing in land surveying, its significance, how it works, and tips on how to improve your accuracy. We’ll also explore the situations where pacing is most useful, its limitations, and why it remains an important technique even with today’s advanced technology.

What is Pacing in Land Surveying?

Pacing is the act of measuring distances by walking and counting steps. By determining your average stride length, you can convert the number of steps into a distance. Although pacing may seem rudimentary compared to modern tools like total stations, GPS, or laser rangefinders, it is a highly practical method when more advanced tools are unavailable or impractical.

Surveyors use pacing in a variety of scenarios:

• Remote areas: Where it’s difficult to set up equipment or when you need a quick estimate.
• Preliminary surveys: To get a rough sense of the area before conducting more precise measurements.
• Cross-checking: To validate measurements taken with other instruments.

While pacing is not meant for high-precision tasks, it’s surprisingly accurate when done correctly, and it provides a fast, cost-effective way to measure distances in the field.

Why Pacing is Important in Land Surveying

Pacing may seem simple, but its importance in land surveying cannot be overstated. Understanding and mastering pacing can help you:

1. Quickly Estimate Distances:

   • When you need a fast estimate, pacing allows you to measure a distance without needing to set up equipment. This is particularly useful for reconnaissance surveys or when you’re determining the layout of a site before more detailed work.

2. Measure in Difficult Terrain:

   • In rugged, steep, or forested terrain where using instruments like total stations is difficult or impossible, pacing is invaluable. It allows you to measure distances even in the most challenging environments.

3. Cross-Check Survey Work:

   • Pacing can help validate the accuracy of other measurements, serving as a quick check against potential errors from taping or GPS miscalculations.

4. Cost-Effective:

   • Pacing requires no equipment other than your calibrated steps. This makes it highly cost-effective, especially in situations where precision instruments are either unavailable or unnecessary.

5. Skill Building:

   • Pacing helps new surveyors develop spatial awareness and an intuitive sense of distance. This skill is useful even when working with advanced tools because it allows you to quickly estimate distances and compare them to instrument readings.

How Pacing Works in Land Surveying

At its core, pacing is about using the number of steps you take to estimate a distance. The key to accurate pacing is knowing your pace length, which is the distance covered by a single step. Here’s how to establish and use pacing effectively:

1. Calibrate Your Pace Length

• To use pacing accurately, you need to determine your average step length. This is usually done by walking over a measured distance (typically 100 feet or 30 meters) several times and counting the number of steps it takes to cover that distance. Repeat this process multiple times and calculate the average number of steps.
• For example, if you walk 100 feet and take 40 steps, your pace length is 100/40 = 2.5 feet per step.

2. Using Natural Pace

• Your pace should feel natural. Avoid artificially adjusting your stride to match an even number like 3 feet. Maintaining an unnatural stride length can be difficult over long distances and lead to inaccurate measurements. Stick to your natural stride length, whether it’s an even or uneven number, such as 2.6 feet.

3. Count Consistently

• To avoid errors, be consistent with how you start and end your pacing. For example, if you place your toe at the start point, make sure you use your toe at the endpoint as well. Starting with the heel and ending with the toe is a common mistake that can introduce small errors.

4. Use Strides (Optional)

• Some surveyors prefer to count strides instead of steps. A stride equals two steps. While this reduces the number of counts you have to make, it can also complicate the measurement if you need to use part of a stride to finish the total distance.

Tips for Improving Accuracy in Pacing

While pacing may seem straightforward, there are several ways to improve your accuracy and ensure reliable results. Here are some tips for getting the most out of this technique:

1. Practice Makes Perfect:

   • As with any skill, practice is key to mastering pacing. Regularly calibrating your pace length and practicing in different terrains will help you become more consistent and accurate. Experienced surveyors can often pace distances with an accuracy of within 1/50 to 1/100 over level terrain.

2. Account for Terrain:

   • Pacing on flat, even surfaces is relatively easy, but when walking on sloped or uneven terrain, you’ll need to make adjustments. For example, your stride length will likely shorten when walking uphill and lengthen when walking downhill. In these cases, it’s important to mentally account for these variations to maintain accuracy.

3. Use Flagging for Visibility:

   • If you’re working in dense forests or over long distances where visibility is limited, using bright flagging tape can help you mark key points. This ensures you stay on course and can visually check your pacing measurements as you go.

4. Recalibrate Periodically:

   • Fatigue, changes in terrain, or even different shoes can affect your stride length. It’s a good idea to recalibrate your pace length at the start of each day or when you notice a significant change in conditions to maintain accuracy.

Common Errors in Pacing

As a new surveyor, you’ll want to be aware of some common errors that can affect the accuracy of your pacing. Avoiding these mistakes will help you improve your precision:

• Inconsistent Starting/Stopping:
  • Always be consistent about whether you start and stop pacing with your heel or toe. Mixing this up can add small inaccuracies over time.
• Forcing an Even Pace:
  • Don’t try to adjust your stride to fit an even number. It’s much better to pace naturally and calculate your pace length accurately.
• Not Accounting for Obstacles:
  • If you encounter obstacles, such as large rocks or fallen trees, that disrupt your pacing, be sure to pause your count and resume it properly once you’re back on clear ground.

Practical Applications of Pacing

Pacing isn’t just a theoretical concept—it has real-world applications in a variety of surveying scenarios. Here are some practical uses for pacing that you’re likely to encounter as a new land surveyor:

1. Reconnaissance Surveys

• Before starting a formal survey, you may use pacing to quickly assess an area. For example, pacing can help you identify rough boundary lines, estimate distances between key landmarks, or determine where to set up more precise equipment.

2. Rough Terrain Surveys

• In areas where it’s difficult or impossible to set up instruments (e.g., steep hillsides, thick forests), pacing can be your best option. It allows you to keep moving through difficult terrain while still gathering valuable distance data.

3. Verifying Other Measurements

• When using tools like a total station or GPS, pacing can be a helpful way to verify that your measurements are in the right ballpark. For example, if your GPS shows a distance of 200 feet between two points, you can pace the same distance to cross-check the accuracy.

4. Mapping Short Distances

• Pacing is ideal for quickly mapping short distances that don’t require high precision. For instance, if you need to mark out a fence line, trail, or utility line, pacing can provide a fast, reliable estimate without needing to set up complex equipment.

Pacing in Combination with Other Methods

Pacing is often combined with other surveying methods to improve accuracy or streamline the workflow. For example:

• Pacing and Compass Bearings:

  • When mapping large areas or plotting grid lines, surveyors often use pacing alongside compass bearings. The pace provides the distance, and the compass ensures that the direction remains accurate.

• Pacing and Angle Measurements:

  • In situations where a high degree of accuracy is needed, surveyors can pace a distance and then use instruments like total stations to measure angles. This combination allows for quick and effective surveys that balance speed with precision.

Limitations of Pacing

While pacing is a useful tool, it does have its limitations. Here are some factors that can affect its accuracy:

1. Terrain Variations:

   • Pacing works best on flat, even surfaces. In rocky, hilly, or uneven terrain, maintaining a consistent stride length is difficult, which can reduce accuracy.

2. Long Distances:

   • Over long distances, small errors in each pace can add up. For surveys requiring precision over large areas, more accurate tools like total stations or GPS are preferred.

3. Environmental Factors:

   • Weather, fatigue, and obstacles like mud, snow, or thick vegetation can all impact your ability to maintain a consistent pace. These factors must be accounted for when using pacing in the field.

Conclusion: The Ongoing Importance of Pacing in Land Surveying

Despite the rise of advanced surveying technologies, pacing remains an important skill for new surveyors to master. Its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and adaptability make it a valuable tool in a variety of scenarios, from reconnaissance surveys to rough terrain mapping.

As a new land surveyor, developing your pacing skills will not only make you more versatile in the field but will also help you develop a deeper understanding of distance measurement. By practicing regularly, staying aware of common errors, and using pacing in combination with other methods, you can make the most of this time-tested technique.

Pacing may not be the most glamorous tool in your surveying toolkit, but it is undoubtedly one of the most practical and reliable—so take the time to master it, and it will serve you well throughout your career.