Have you ever considered what goes into creating a map, or a diagram of a building? For either of these tasks, surveying is needed. In Connecticut, if you've ever looked at a map of the coastal line along Long Island sound or saw a two-dimensional drawing of the Capitol building in Hartford, you've seen the result of surveying. Done by civil engineers and surveying professionals, such tasks done on a large or small scale are standard at most Connecticut engineering companies.

Civil engineering, which encompasses surveying, involves the design, construction, and maintenance of structures in the physical and natural environment. From constructing bridges, roads, and canals to other water or roadways in your area, civil engineering is involved. Surveying, more specifically, determines the distance and angles between points in a two- or three-dimensional area.

Surveying isn't solely technical, and a team of surveyors and engineers in Connecticut will need to measure the area for a project but also do research. Particularly where boundaries are concerned, a surveyor will need to make observations, research the area, and analyze documents and data concerning the area or property.

A common technique used for many Connecticut engineering projects is laser scanning. As a quicker alternative to traditional surveying methods, laser scanning allows a team of surveyors and engineers to create a three-dimensional computerized image based on points of light. Instead of measuring tape and chains, points of light are sent out by the scanner in the direction of the object. The scanner records the time it takes for the light to leave and return and then makes a point on a three-dimensional graph. Thousands of points are sent out to make a point cloud, and the result of this cloud is a three dimensional image. The team, then, can use cross sections of this image to create two-dimensional drafting drawings for structures and terrain.