Ground Scan NZ was proud to recently team up with local engineering consultants, Beca, and survey consultants, SEAM Surveys, for an exciting and challenging project at the iconic Hamilton Zoo.
The goal was to accurately locate all underground services throughout the zoo, animal enclosures and public areas, and to digitally survey and map the locations into a newly updated services plan for the zoo owners – Hamilton City Council.
Over the course of 4 weeks the GSNZ/SEAM Survey team, led by Caleb Shanly and Estian Hattingh, worked in conjunction with the zoo staff to arrange safe access to over 50 animal enclosures, locate over 3800 metres of underground power through the use of EML and GPR technology, survey over 4100 individual survey marks, and generate a working model of over 12gbs worth of data!
This was an especially tricky job site due to the weather, wildly undulating terrain and the animals themselves! A vigorous health and safety approach was taken as not only was staff and public safety paramount, but also the wellbeing of the animals while the project took place. The zoo staff took all precautions to separate the animals and keep them calm, as our mere presence (and perhaps scent) was enough to startle some of the more predatory animals. Working in proximity with these amazing creatures, and great handlers was a truly fantastic experience for our team!
Overall, this was one of the largest and most challenging projects GSNZ has undertaken to date, and we would like to thank all the staff and animal handlers for their patience and wisdom during our stay at the zoo.
