Earthing Services testing engineers recognise that their work begins whilst they are still travelling to a site. Visual assessments of landscapes can provide a trained eye with a wealth of information that will contribute to the portfolio of evidence that is sent back to the office for processing. Being able to identify and interpret landmasses through their relationship to the rest of their environment is incredibly useful. Questions that occur to engineers during their approach include examples such as, “what is the relative height above sea level?”, “has this area been subject to erosion?”, “has this area seen substantial landscaping or earth movement, which may have disturbed or disrupted the natural tiering within the earth?”, “has the weather been particularly wet, cold, or arid, recently?” and all of the thoughts these sorts of questions prompt help inform the later analysis of data.
When the engineers arrive at site they may well have to be inducted, receive a briefing, or hold a meeting with the client’s representatives, and all of the time they will be evaluating how the activity on site, both current and historic, may have impacted upon the sub-strata. Prior to setting up an electrical earthing system test it is common for Earthing Services engineers to visually inspect the area, including assessments on local flora and fauna. Mature trees or sub surface agricultural elements can distort or bias electrical resistance within the ground and as such must be avoided and “reading” the landscape is something that Earthing Services engineers are trained to do.