Digby Milnes MCInstCES, FBCartS, FRGS - company director.
I formed Red Kite Geomatics in 2022, after selling a successful survey company that I formed and ran for over 20 years.
I’ve been a dedicated land and utilities surveyor since 1993, and have specialised in Ministry of Defence, power generation, communications and nuclear sectors, along with having extensive experience in a huge variety of areas such as hospitals, prisons, airfields, schools &
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What do you love most about your job?
I take great pride in providing high quality surveying services and helping find solutions for my clients.
Meeting new clients and visiting different sites keeps things fresh, and a good balance of working outdoors, along with office time is great.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I set up Red Kite Geomatics in 2022, following my relocation to West Wales. Prior to the move I ran a successful national survey company that I formed in 2001, and sold in 2021.
Why should our clients choose you?
Without blowing my own trumpet too much; in my specialist field, I am one of the most experienced surveyors in the UK. Historically, my workload was focused on high-end projects - surveying nuclear reactors, airfields, strategic pipelines, high security MOD infrastructure etc. along with more run-of-the-mill surveys of prisons, hospitals, water treatment works etc.
With RK Geomatics I am looking to work more locally and I am enthusiastic to take on smaller surveys on more conventional projects, be-it a residential development, establishing levels on an existing drainage system, or finding a single cable or pipe of interest.
I am diligent, reliable and no more expensive than surveyors with a tenth of my experience!
What changes have you made to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
During the pandemic, my team and I (previous company I owned) were flat-out busy surveying crucial infrastructure for the MOD. With this, we had robust Covid-19 procedures in place. Thankfully, this is, fingers crossed, all behind us!
Land / Topographic Surveys
A topographic survey, also referred to as topographical, land or detail survey, provides a measured depiction of an area's terrain, natural and manmade features, along with associated levels, to a stated accuracy.
They are used by architects, designers, engineers and building contractors to help create appropriate designs and plans, based on the existing site. They enable others to visualise and accurately measure aspects of the site from an office or other remote location.
RK Geomatics use robotic total station and RTK GNSS (fancy, survey-grade GPS) from industry leading manufacturer Trimble, to carry out our topographic surveys. Coordinated measurements are digitally recorded for office-based processing and drawing production.
Surveys are normally referenced to the Ordnance Survey grid and level, using network GNSS.
Drawings are issued to the client as structured and layered CAD files, pdf and large format hard copy.
Utilities Surveys
Geophysical type survey equipment is used to target buried utilities and infrastructure, and form accurate mapping of pipe and cable positions, depths and routes.
Having a comprehensive and accurate utility survey can enable a project design team to incorporate existing infrastructure into proposed developments and avoid unforeseen conflict with existing utilities, resulting in cost savings by reducing utility relocations, design changes or construction delays; not to mention keeping your workforce safe.
Services are detected using a combination of electro-magnetic transmitters & locators, flux gate magnetometer, pulse induction metal detector and ground penetrating radar (GPR). This equipment can detect both metallic and non-metallic targets.
Results are coordinated using robotic total station and RTK GNSS and are issued as structured and layered CAD drawings, along with associated survey reporting. This information can be combined with existing site surveys or with a topographic survey coordinated by us.
Rather than carry out 'one size fits all' type surveys, I recommend an investigative and interpretive methodology, where all aspects of the project objective and site specifics are considered and incorporated into the procedure. This connected approach aims to avoid the cursory, and often incorrect, delineation of signals and reflections that some predetermined and solely grid-based survey specifications may yield.
I take the best from existing survey guidelines such as PAS 128, and combine this with proven techniques and adaptive methodologies; with the aim of achieving accurate, comprehensive and reliable mapping of subsurface apparatus.
Having a comprehensive utility survey prior to excavation is a key component of HSG47 safe digging practices, and is crucial in reducing the risk of service strikes, keeping your workforce safe and meeting your legal obligations.
