One-Person Surveying vs Traditional Surveying: Cost, Accuracy, and Speed Comparison Changed by LRTK

Introduction

Surveying is an indispensable process on construction and civil engineering sites. However, in recent years, the aging of experienced survey technicians and a shortage of younger staff have led to a severe labor shortage, increasing interest in "one-person surveying" (also called "one-man surveying"). If surveying, which traditionally required teams of two to three people, can be completed by a single person using advanced technology, it can reduce labor costs and improve efficiency. In fact, realizing one-person surveying can not only significantly cut labor expenses but also shorten working hours while maintaining traditional accuracy. This article compares conventional surveying methods and one-person surveying from the perspectives of cost, accuracy, and speed, and explains the benefits that a new surveying style using a smartphone and the RTK-GNSS device "LRTK" brings to the field.

The need for one-person surveying driven by labor shortages

Surveying is essential for quality control and as-built verification on civil engineering and construction sites. However, the industry-wide labor shortage and aging of technicians have increased the need to cover many sites with fewer people. In particular, the traditional surveying method—where an experienced surveyor and an assistant work as a pair—is becoming harder to staff. Some sites face delays because "there aren’t enough people who can do surveying," intensifying demands for labor reduction. Against this backdrop, initiatives to complete surveying tasks that previously required multiple people with a single person are attracting attention.

Challenges of traditional surveying: personnel, time, and human error

Traditional surveying typically uses equipment such as total stations and levels and is performed by two or more staff. Typically, one person operates the instrument while another holds a staff (level rod) or prism at a distant survey point, requiring a two-person team. For large surveys, a three-person team including additional assistants is sometimes necessary, making the work labor- and effort-intensive.

There is also inefficiency in terms of time. When many survey points are spread across a large site, it is common for a team to spend a whole day or more walking the site to measure numerous points. After on-site measurements, there is further work back at the office—plotting on drawings, quantity calculations, and report preparation—so it can be frustrating that same-day survey results cannot be used immediately. If survey data confirmation is delayed, errors may be discovered late, leading to rework and risking impacts on the overall schedule.

Moreover, traditional methods carry risks of human error and task concentration. For example, mistakes often occur when measurements are jotted down on paper and later transcribed, or when photos are not recorded with location information. Operating advanced surveying instruments relies heavily on experience and intuition, so tasks tend to concentrate on specific skilled individuals. As a result, when skilled personnel are absent, sites can be stalled waiting for surveying. These issues have driven strong demand on sites for labor reduction and efficiency improvements in surveying.

Realizing one-person surveying through technological innovation

Recent technological innovations have brought solutions to this challenge. By combining smartphones with high-precision GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), an era is emerging in which surveying can be completed by a single person. A representative example is the smartphone-mounted ultra-compact RTK-GNSS receiver "LRTK." LRTK is a device attached to smartphones such as the iPhone; it weighs just about 165 g and has a thickness of approximately 1 cm (0.4 in), pocket-sized yet capable of centimeter-level accuracy. It connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth or a Lightning connection, turning the smartphone into a high-precision surveying instrument.

Because GNSS surveying measures absolute positions on the Earth’s coordinate system directly using satellites, it is powerful for surveying wide areas and understanding the positional relationships between distant points. As long as the sky above is open, GNSS can obtain positions even where visibility is poor, making it easier to survey mountainous or obstacle-filled sites that were previously difficult.

Conventional RTK surveying equipment has often been large, heavy, and expensive—kilogram-scale fixed antennas and radio units—and required specialized knowledge to operate. But with the palm-sized LRTK, such setup burdens are dramatically reduced and the burden of carrying equipment is alleviated. No complex setup is required: once on-site, just power on the smartphone and LRTK to be ready. Using the LRTK app, correction information from satellites can be received to improve real-time positioning accuracy, enabling centimeter-level surveying accuracy nationwide. The ease with which anyone can start centimeter-accuracy positioning without special expertise is revolutionary.

This smartphone + GNSS surveying style (smartphone surveying) not only enables one-person surveying but also offers many advantages over conventional methods. Below, we compare one-person surveying (using LRTK) and traditional surveying in terms of cost, accuracy, and speed to examine these benefits in detail.

Cost comparison: reductions in labor and equipment costs

The biggest advantage of one-person surveying is cost savings. If surveying that used to require two to three people can be done by one person, labor costs deployed on the site can be cut to less than half. Under current labor shortages, simply reducing the number of surveying personnel has great value. For example, at one civil engineering site, as-built measurements that previously took two people a day were completed by one person in just a few hours after introducing LRTK. In that case, work time was reduced by more than 70%, significantly cutting labor costs.

Equipment costs are also reduced. Equipping expensive, large surveying instruments such as total stations or laser scanners requires substantial investment. Conversely, a small GNSS receiver like LRTK paired with a smartphone can provide high-precision positioning, reducing initial capital expenditure in some cases. LRTK’s affordable price is particularly attractive to local governments and small- to medium-sized construction companies. In practice, some companies have reduced costs by handling work in-house with LRTK that they previously outsourced to surveying firms.

Additionally, one-person surveying reduces costs associated with rework or additional surveys. Because data can be shared and checked in real time, the risk of discovering "missed measurements" later is reduced. If fewer additional survey days are needed, corresponding labor and schedule costs are saved. In this way, one-person surveying using LRTK delivers cost benefits in both labor and equipment, enabling more surveying work within limited budgets.

Accuracy comparison: centimeter-level accuracy enabled by RTK

Some may wonder, "Can a single person really achieve sufficient accuracy?" However, by using RTK-GNSS technologies exemplified by LRTK, one-person surveying can achieve accuracy that matches or even exceeds traditional methods.

Standard GNSS positioning (such as a phone’s built-in GPS) can have errors on the order of meters, but RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) corrects error factors between a base station and a rover to achieve real-time positioning accuracy on the order of centimeters. LRTK supports RTK corrections and can receive augmentation signals (CLAS) from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan’s permanent GNSS reference station network and Japan’s quasi-zenith satellite system "Michibiki," enabling centimeter-level positioning anywhere in the country. Therefore, one-person surveying can deliver the accuracy needed for as-built management and comparisons with design drawings.

Compared with traditional tape-measure or optical surveying, RTK surveying’s accuracy is not inferior. In fact, LRTK can acquire high-density point cloud data or increase the number of survey points, potentially improving the overall site understanding. For example, whereas conventional manual surveying might thin out survey points over a large area, LRTK allows a single person to thoroughly scan the area and obtain detailed 3D data. Point cloud data enables checking details that were previously overlooked, reducing omitted or unrecorded measurements and improving quality.

The LRTK app also automatically records photos’ locations and orientations along with positioning data. There is no need to write notes on paper; all data are stored digitally, greatly reducing the risk of recording errors or data loss. The reduction of human-error-induced inaccuracies is another reassurance regarding the accuracy of one-person surveying. Overall, one-person surveying using RTK technology can achieve results comparable to conventional surveying in both accuracy and data quality.

(Here, "centimeter-level accuracy" can be understood as cm level accuracy (half-inch accuracy).)

Speed comparison: operational efficiency and real-time sharing

A major benefit of introducing one-person surveying is speed. While traditional workflows from survey planning to execution and post-processing could take days, new methods using LRTK increasingly make it possible to produce results the same day.

Efficiency improves from the preparation stage. Without the need to carry tripods or heavy equipment and set them up, surveying can begin immediately upon arrival. Moving between points is as simple as walking with a smartphone and recording points one after another. There is no need to spend time signaling and coordinating with an assistant, enabling agile measurements.

Furthermore, data acquired via the LRTK app can be uploaded to the cloud instantly and shared in real time with office staff away from the site. This allows stakeholders to review data the moment measurements are completed and to issue additional instructions or start analysis immediately. Tasks such as drawing production and quantity calculation—previously only possible back at the office—are increasingly automated and streamlined in the cloud. In other words, one-person surveying enables immediate data utilization, accelerating the overall workflow.

There are real-world cases demonstrating speed improvements after LRTK adoption. In the example above—shortened from two people one day to one person several hours—the reduced surveying lead time allowed subsequent construction stages to start earlier. In a municipality that introduced LRTK for disaster response, staff were able to quickly survey affected areas and promptly record detailed conditions, shortening the time to begin developing recovery plans. High responsiveness is another strength of one-person surveying: the ability to acquire data immediately when needed speeds up projects and enables flexible responses.

On-site changes and benefits brought by one-person surveying

As the comparisons above show, adopting one-person surveying brings significant benefits across cost, accuracy, and speed. Labor reduction-driven cost savings are especially important in an industry struggling with workforce shortages. In terms of accuracy, RTK technology ensures quality and, with increased data volume, improves site visualization. Speed improvements eliminate delays and waiting times caused by surveying, enhancing overall construction efficiency.

One-person surveying also contributes to improved safety and flexibility. For example, surveying at heights or in hazardous areas traditionally required multiple people to proceed cautiously, but combining drones or remote positioning technologies can enable measurement without personnel entering danger zones. The ability to survey alone anytime means immediate on-site confirmation is possible when required. This flexibility enables surveying in line with site progress, accumulating data and ultimately improving site management accuracy and decision-making speed.

Moreover, the LRTK smartphone app is designed with intuitive operation so that even those with limited surveying experience can become proficient in a short time. With surveying know-how embedded in the app, work is standardized and can be performed to a consistent level of accuracy without relying on specific experts. Introducing such easy-to-use tools on site helps build a stable surveying system that is not person-dependent.

The LRTK app also includes guidance (navigation) to survey points. By entering target coordinates from design drawings, the smartphone screen displays the direction to move and the remaining distance, allowing a single person to accurately perform staking and layout tasks. Turning on AR (augmented reality) mode overlays virtual stakes or lines onto the camera view so that even those new to a site can mark positions without hesitation. Smart guidance features that eliminate the need for assistants enable efficient completion of tasks from surveying to staking by one person.

Conclusion: how LRTK will change the future of surveying

From the one-person surveying vs traditional surveying comparison, you can see how adopting the latest technologies brings benefits to the field. Using a smartphone-mounted RTK-GNSS device like LRTK makes it possible for a single person to efficiently and accurately perform surveying tasks that previously required two to three people. The advantages—reduced personnel costs, ensured accuracy and quality, and dramatically improved speed—mean that the surveying process itself now directly contributes to increased productivity on site.

In fact, one-person surveying using LRTK is already being adopted in many places. It proves powerful in disaster response as a means to immediately record damage digitally on site, and municipalities that adopted it early have reported significant contributions to rapid recovery and cost savings. These success stories are likely to spur further spread of smartphone-based one-person surveying.

By breaking free from traditional practices and promoting labor reduction and digitalization, digital transformation (DX) of construction sites will surely accelerate. If you are considering boosting productivity on your site by realizing one-person surveying, consider adopting LRTK, which allows anyone to perform high-precision surveying easily with a smartphone. Use the latest technology to gain cost, accuracy, and speed advantages and bring the surveying style of the future to your sites as soon as possible.

For more details and case studies on LRTK, see the [LRTK official site](https://www.lrtk.lefixea.com/).