01 · Illustration
Project control and benchmarks
A documented network of control points and benchmarks on your project's coordinate system and datum, reused for every later survey.
Surveying & Site Measurement — 01
Setting out & verification surveys in Dubai & the UAE
A setting out survey marks the approved design onto the site (gridlines, levels, corners and key positions) so the contractor builds in the right place. A verification survey later measures what was built and checks it against the design.
Dervoss provides setting out survey across Dubai, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, captured and produced by one in-house team.
- On site
- Within 24 hours of a confirmed LPO
- Repeat visits
- Scheduled around your construction programme
- Quote
- Fixed price, same-day reply
Real Dervoss work
Dervoss on site
02 — What you receive
What Dervoss delivers for setting out survey
4 deliverables
02 · Real Dervoss deliverable
Marked points on site
Gridlines, corners, pile positions, levels and offsets marked on the ground or the structure from your approved drawings.
03 · Illustration
Setting out record
Every point set out, with its design coordinates and level, so the site team and the consultant can see exactly what was marked and where.
04 · Illustration
Verification survey report
Built work measured and compared with the design, offsets listed and anything outside tolerance flagged.
Formats
PDF record / reportDWGCoordinate list (CSV)03 — When you need it
When do you need a setting out survey?
01
Before excavation, piling or foundations
Building corners, pile positions and levels marked from the project control.
02
Every new floor of a structure
Gridlines, column positions and levels transferred up as the building rises.
03
MEP, openings and fit-out
Sleeves, openings, partition lines and equipment positions marked from the drawings.
04
External works and roads
Kerbs, road levels, drainage falls and limits of works laid out on the ground.
05
Checking work that's already built
A verification survey measures what was built against what was designed.
04 — How it works
How does setting out work on site?
Step 01
Check the drawings and coordinates
We review the approved drawings and coordinate data before anyone goes to site, and raise anything that doesn't close.
Step 02
Establish or check the control
Control points and benchmarks are set up or verified on the project coordinate system with GNSS and total station.
Step 03
Mark the points
Gridlines, corners, levels and positions are set out on site and checked against independent control.
Step 04
Record and hand over
You receive the setting out record in the same format every visit, ready for the consultant's file.
05 — In detail
What gets set out on a typical project
On a building project the setting out follows the programme. First the building corners, piles and excavation limits, from the project control. Then gridlines and levels on each new slab, carried up as the structure rises. Then the positions the MEP and fit-out trades need: sleeves and openings, partition lines, equipment bases. External works close the job with kerbs, road levels and drainage falls. Every visit is recorded against the same control, so the project file shows what was marked, where and when.
Point checks or a full-surface check?
A verification survey measures selected points: a column position, a slab edge, the level at a door threshold. That’s the right tool when the question is about specific positions. When the question is about a whole surface (is this slab flat enough for the flooring, is this core plumb all the way up, does the façade match the model before the panels are made), a laser scan measures every point instead, and the result is a deviation and flatness report. Many projects use both: setting out and point checks during construction, and a scan-based report at the milestones that matter.
Where setting out fits in the survey chain
Setting out reuses the control network established for the topographic survey, and the verified result feeds the as-built drawings at handover. Not sure which survey your project needs at this stage? The which-survey guide walks through it.
06 — Why Dervoss for setting out survey
One control network, from first survey to final check.
The topographic survey, the setting out, the laser scans and the final verification all sit on the same project control. Measurements taken months apart agree with each other, so a question about a level is settled by data, not by argument.
01
We capture and we draw: one team
No hand-off between a scanning company and an offshore drawing shop: the team that measured your site produces your deliverables.
02
Survey-grade accuracy
Trimble X9 laser scanning and survey-grade instruments, accurate to ±2 mm, with an accuracy statement per delivery.
03
UAE, KSA & GCC coverage
All seven emirates, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, with deliverables prepared for local authority requirements.
04
Fast mobilisation
On site within 24 hours of a confirmed LPO; urgent concrete and utility scans often same-day.
07 — Questions
Setting Out Survey: questions clients ask Dervoss
What is a setting out survey?
It's the step where the design leaves the drawing and arrives on site. A surveyor takes the coordinates and levels from the approved drawings and marks them on the ground or the structure (gridlines, building corners, pile positions, levels), so the contractor builds exactly where the design says.
What's the difference between setting out and a verification survey?
Setting out happens before construction and marks where things should go. A verification survey happens afterwards and measures where they actually went, compared with the design. Both use the same project control, which is why it pays to have one team do both.
Can you set out directly from our CAD drawings or BIM model?
Yes. Coordinates come straight from your DWG or model on the project coordinate system, so nobody re-types dimensions by hand. We check that the drawing coordinates close before anything is marked.
Do you mark legal plot boundaries (demarcation)?
No. Marking legal plot corners from an affection plan is licensed cadastral work, a category we don't currently offer. We set out your design within the site from the project control, and work alongside the licensed surveyor where plot corners are needed first.
When does a project need setting out?
Before excavation and piling, on every new floor of a structure, before MEP sleeves, openings and partitions go in, and for external works such as roads, kerbs and drainage. Anywhere the position of something has to match the drawing.
What do I receive?
The marks on site, plus a setting out record listing every point with its design coordinates and level (PDF and DWG, coordinate list on request). A verification survey adds a report of measured offsets against the design.
How quickly can you mobilise?
On site within 24 hours of a confirmed LPO. Repeat visits for each floor or stage are scheduled around your programme.
How much does a setting out survey cost?
It depends on the number of points, the site and how many visits the programme needs. Send the drawings and the scope and you get a fixed quote.