Topographical surveying
This is carried out by the Surveyor on site using the temporal occupation techniques of spatial data capture. The application of survey field equipment carries part of the day which then follows the process back in the office for clarity data processing and cartographic data plotting. The field operations usually involve running field data traverses, detail picking and many more. Points picked on the ground normally represent different features that are later joined to form a map as position is determined by Longitude, Latitude and Elevation.
The points having heights incorporated are typically represented as contour lines on a topographic map, helping to visualize the terrain’s shape. Contour lines are one of the most recognizable features of a topographic map. These lines connect points of equal elevation and provide a clear depiction of the land’s shape.
Cadastral surveying
Cadastral Surveys have predetermined beacon measurements which are placed to specified accuracies on the ground to show demarcated parcels. These are represented in government records through the Folio Register (F/R). Measurements are defined and indicated in distances and bearing, included is the acreage of the land parcel.
Sectional Properties are also an aspect within the Cadastral realm but the limits of extent of ownership are different. Beacons are not used as boundaries but the house walls and the stair corridors and other areas as defined by the Sectional Properties Act are taken common shared areas.
Engineering surveying
The field data are all computed and supplied for design purposes which include roads, bridges, buildings among others. Construction is the epitome of Engineering Survey, involving picking vast virgin lands from the Topographical Survey data, refining the collected data and submitting for engineering and architectural designs. The roads, sewer lines, water pipelines, power lines, power stations and many more depend the point data given from the Engineering surveys.
Hydrographic/Bathymetric Survey
Mapping details of underwater terrain, illustrating the depth and land that lies beneath a body of water. An echo sounder is attached to a survey boat which moves across the water, and the echo sounder generates electrical signals. These are then converted into soundwaves by an under-water transducer. Soundwaves will bounce off features under the water and this echo is then identified by the echo sounder and the distance to the identified feature is calculated and mapped.
Echosounders can be a single or multibeam depending on the purpose. Single beam surveys are carried out by passing beams along parallel routes and then using approximations to map depths at adjacent points. This method is not very accurate when the seabed is covered with poor reflecting material such as mud. Multibeam sounders can use over 100 beams to conduct simultaneous mapping. By using seismic reflections, the seabed layer thickness can also be analyzed.
Planning
 Efficient placement of infrastructure and zoning for the sustainable growth of a region aimed at encompassing a whole set of social activities aimed at anticipating, representing and regulating the development of an urban or a regional area.
Physical and Land Use Planning Act – An Act of Parliament to make provision for the planning, use, regulation and development of land and for connected purposes. This Law provides for the principles, procedures and standards for the preparation and implementation of physical and land use development plans at the national, county, urban, rural and cities level; and the administration and management of physical and land use planning in Kenya,
Regional Planning – Integrated management of the economic, social, and physical resources of a spatially bounded area.
Urban Planning – Entails drawing up, evaluating, and forecasting an organized, coordinated, and standardized physical arrangement of a city and the underlying infrastructural systems, processes, functions, and services, i.e. the built form (buildings, streets, neighborhoods, residential and commercial.
Geographical Information System (GIS) Analysis
Geographic Information System is a computer-based platform that allows users to store, manage, analyze, and visualize geospatial data. The system allows you to solve complex location-oriented problems, explore and understand your data from a geographical perspective, through spatial analysis by the use of latitude and longitudes. These analysis is accompanied by attribute information. This is the side text data attributed to locational feature for a more elaborate description for the end user to have a clear understanding.
GIS Functions include Capture, Store, Query, Analyze, Display, Output Data.