If bats were present, the bat ecologist would take the lead and advise as required. Therefore, prior to the ground-based survey works being carried out, the help of a bat ecologist was enlisted. The client was already aware of signs of potential bat activity at one end of the tunnel. However, the tunnel survey looked more complex. For Lee, the aerial survey looked a large, but straightforward job that he planned to complete with his senseFly eBee X fixed wing drone. This would be followed by an aerial survey of the works and the surrounding countryside to complete a feasibility survey for alternative access solutions such as a new haulage road.Ĭontracted to undertake the work was Lee Husk, Director of PDS Ltd, who is known for his early investment in 3D Laser Scanning technology and experience in confined space work.
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In order to find the best way to provide access, it was decided that a full condition survey of the tunnel would be undertaken starting with a CCTV survey to determine its safety. The only alternative is a demanding twenty minute uphill walk that makes the transportation of equipment to the works particularly arduous. Located in a steep valley in the Pembrokeshire countryside between the coast at St Brides Bay on one side and the River Solva on the other, the Solva Water Treatment Works has no access routes apart from an unused 170m tramway tunnel linking it to the town’s harbour. How do you produce an accurate point cloud of a 170m tunnel, with no human access permitted, that’s also home to one of Britain’s rarest bats hibernating over winter?įor Lee Husk, Director of Caerphilly based survey company PDS Ltd, a combination of over ten years laser scanning experience, a reputation for loving a challenge and the unique functionality of Trimble’s SX10 Scanning Total Station provided the answer.