Table of contents

• Introduction

• What is RTK?

• Reason 1: Surveying with Fewer People (Reduced Personnel)

• Reason 2: Digital Surveying Prevents Mistakes (Fewer Reworks)

• Reason 3: Instant On-site Verification (Eliminating Re-measurements)

• Simple Surveying with LRTK

• Conclusion

• FAQ

Introduction

Site supervisors at civil engineering contractors, municipal civil engineering staff, and engineers at design firms—anyone involved in surveying work—may feel there are challenges with on-site surveying. Accurate surveys are indispensable in roadworks, slope maintenance, land development, water and sewer installation, bridge inspections, and other civil and construction fields. At the same time, surveying often requires significant effort, time, and personnel, which can strain schedules and costs.

In recent years, the construction industry has faced chronic labor shortages and an aging workforce, increasing the need to manage sites efficiently with limited staff. A promising solution is the positioning technology known as RTK. RTK (Real Time Kinematic), an advanced satellite positioning technique, makes it possible to perform real-time surveying with centimeter-level precision (half-inch accuracy), significantly changing conventional surveying practices. So why does using RTK boost on-site work speed so dramatically? This article focuses on three key benefits RTK offers—reduced personnel, fewer reworks, and eliminating re-measurements—and explains the reasons in detail.

What is RTK?

RTK is short for Real Time Kinematic, a technique that links two GNSS receivers (a base station and a rover) via communication to correct satellite positioning error sources in real time, enabling high-precision position measurements. Standalone GPS positioning can have errors of several meters, but RTK surveying can achieve horizontal and vertical accuracy on the order of a few centimeters (inches). Because it can meet the precision required for civil engineering surveys, RTK has spread since the 1990s as an alternative to optical instruments like total stations.

Recently, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s i-Construction (ICT construction) initiatives have also recommended using RTK-GNSS. RTK has become indispensable in digital construction workflows such as drone photogrammetry and machine guidance for construction equipment. However, conventional RTK equipment historically featured large, expensive antennas and base station units and required specialized knowledge to operate. Setting up dedicated base stations and radio communications added effort, so the reality was “high precision but not very user-friendly.” Lately, miniaturization and lower costs of GNSS receivers and the availability of network RTK services that provide base station data over the Internet (e.g., VRS) have improved the environment. These innovations are making it increasingly realistic to complete surveying tasks that once required two or more people with a single operator.

Reason 1: Surveying with Fewer People (Reduced Personnel)

Traditional surveying commonly involved teams of two to three people, including technicians with advanced skills. For example, one person would set up and operate a surveying instrument like a total station on a tripod, while another stood at a distant point holding a staff or prism. They needed to coordinate via radio or gestures for alignment, and such teamwork from setup to teardown consumed substantial time and effort. When there were many measurement points or a wide site, surveying alone could take an entire day. A task that took two people half a day (for example, 4 hours) represented a total of 8 hours of labor, adding to overall site labor costs.

Introducing RTK surveying can greatly simplify personnel requirements. A single operator carrying an RTK receiver (rover) can sequentially acquire coordinates for measurement points. A dedicated operator for the base station is unnecessary if public geodetic reference stations or temporary simple base stations are used.

• Traditional method: Setting up tripods and leveling instruments takes time; operators communicate with staff to measure each point one by one. Covering a wide area may require relocating equipment or adding personnel.

• RTK surveying: Turn on the GNSS receiver, receive correction data, and the operator can move around the site alone to instantly acquire coordinates for each point. Surveying is completed quickly without complex arrangements or large crews.

As a result, “one-person surveying” becomes feasible, and in some cases personnel can be reduced to less than half compared to conventional methods. Fewer required hands lower labor costs and make scheduling easier. Even without a seasoned surveyor always on site, other staff can perform surveys with RTK equipment during downtime, reducing the risk of the entire construction being held up while “waiting for surveying.” Working solo also lessens the burden of assigning helpers on narrow roads, improving safety. For example, on busy roads where workers previously had to stand in the roadway for measurements, RTK allows short measurements from the roadside, enhancing safety.

Reason 2: Digital Surveying Prevents Mistakes (Fewer Reworks)

Another issue is rework caused by recording or communication errors. In traditional surveying, staff would read off staff graduations at the site and handwrite them into field notebooks, later converting those notes into drawings or digital data in the office. This analog workflow carries human error risks, such as:

• Mistyping or misreading numbers.

• Omissions when transcribing notes.

When such mistakes occur, survey data must be corrected later or re-measured on site, causing rework. Interrupting ongoing design or construction to return to surveying leads to schedule delays and extra costs.

RTK allows end-to-end digital handling of survey data, significantly reducing these mistakes. Coordinates obtained by the RTK receiver are recorded as electronic data on site, eliminating the need to interpret handwritten field notes later. Point names and attributes can be entered directly on a field device, preventing misreading notes or data-entry errors. Obtained values can be immediately imported into CAD software or 3D models or shared with colleagues via the cloud. This reduces information loss between field and office and can bring rework due to recording errors to nearly zero.

Reason 3: Instant On-site Verification (Eliminating Re-measurements)

Another major benefit of RTK introduction is eliminating re-measurements. Traditionally, it was not uncommon to discover errors or omissions only after returning to the office and checking the data. If crucial points were missing or measured incorrectly, the team had to revisit the site for additional measurements. Time and labor constraints sometimes led teams to reduce the number of measurement points with a “this should be fine” approach, which could result in problems requiring urgent re-measurement later.

With RTK surveying, such backtracking can be prevented. Because coordinates are obtained instantly as measurements are taken, work can proceed with real-time on-site verification. If a measurement looks off, it can be rechecked on the spot, and additional points can be added as needed. Especially with network RTK, separate distant points can each be measured directly to understand positional relationships, eliminating the need to leave unresolved “we’ll measure that place later” items. You can obtain all necessary data in the first pass and avoid the situation of “we have to go measure it again.”

In disaster recovery sites, where conditions change rapidly, it is important to capture all necessary information in a single survey. RTK can cover wide areas quickly, greatly reducing the burden of returning to the site for re-measurements.

Simple Surveying with LRTK

To fully leverage RTK’s advantages, it’s important to choose user-friendly equipment that anyone on site can operate. LRTK was developed to meet that need as a next-generation one-person surveying solution. Combining a smartphone with a compact RTK-GNSS receiver, LRTK enables centimeter-level positioning (half-inch accuracy) with simple操作 so that non-experts can perform measurements. Heavy tripods and complex setups are unnecessary; by mounting equipment on a helmet and walking the site, you can even collect 3D survey data.

Field implementations have already dramatically reduced surveying workload with LRTK. For example, one civil engineering site reported about a 30% reduction in surveying man-hours from the first week after introducing LRTK. For companies struggling with manpower shortages, LRTK that enables quick one-person surveys can be a powerful helper. By eliminating cumbersome procedures, LRTK provides easy ad hoc surveying and is effective for tasks such as road alignment surveys, slope inspections, buried water and sewer pipe investigations, and maintenance of infrastructure like bridges. It may become the new standard for future sites.

Conclusion

In modern worksites where labor shortages and schedule pressures are increasing, RTK surveying is truly a game-changing technology. The three effects—“fewer people required,” “fewer reworks due to mistakes,” and “getting it right in one pass”—deliver speed and efficiency that conventional methods could not achieve. RTK use is expanding across civil and construction fields, including roadworks, slope management, water and sewer installation, and infrastructure inspections. Actively adopting the government-promoted digital surveying technologies will dramatically improve on-site productivity and safety. User-friendly modern equipment also enables junior staff to handle surveying even when experienced personnel are scarce, easing concerns about skills transfer between generations.

Embracing new technology rather than clinging to traditional approaches will be key to future site management. Try experiencing RTK’s surveying efficiency yourself. As a trump card for on-site digital transformation, you are likely to realize significant value. If you have concerns about adoption, consider trialing RTK surveying on a small site to directly feel its benefits.

FAQ

Q: What is needed to use RTK surveying? A: You need an RTK-compatible GNSS receiver (rover) and correction data from a base station to improve positioning accuracy. Essentially, besides the RTK device itself, you need correction information received by the rover (such as a VRS service over the Internet or data from geodetic reference stations) and an outdoor environment with sufficient satellite visibility. Recent products often integrate the rover and communication terminal, automatically connecting to correction data via mobile communications, so operation is possible without special equipment.

Q: How accurate is RTK surveying? A: In good conditions, you can get horizontal positioning errors on the order of about 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) and vertical (height) accuracy of about 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in). This is comparable to conventional surveying using total stations. However, in poor satellite reception environments, accuracy degrades and errors can become tens of centimeters. To obtain stable centimeter-class accuracy, it is preferable to measure where the sky is as open as possible.

Q: Can RTK be used in bad weather or environments with many obstructions? A: Rain or clouds have little effect on RTK surveying. However, in environments where satellite signals are blocked—such as inside forests or between high-rise buildings—accuracy degrades or positioning may fail. Satellite signals cannot penetrate concrete or thick trees, so as with GNSS surveying in general, RTK must be used outdoors with good sky visibility.

Q: Do you need qualifications or special skills to operate RTK equipment? A: No national qualification is required to perform RTK surveying. Anyone can use the equipment once purchased. Operations have become simplified in recent years, and some products allow surveying by following guidance displayed on a smartphone screen. Basic surveying knowledge is helpful, but many systems are designed so that non-specialist operators can use them. Therefore, even those new to RTK need not be overly concerned.

Q: Aren’t RTK devices expensive and hard to introduce? A: RTK-capable surveying equipment used to be very expensive, but more affordable and easy-to-use products have emerged. Devices combining a high-performance smartphone with a compact GNSS receiver and other lower-cost RTK equipment are becoming more available. Additionally, by using base station services provided by governments or private entities, there’s no need to set up an expensive base station yourself, reducing operating costs. More companies are introducing RTK at relatively low cost by using subsidies or rental options.

Q: How should I choose between total station surveying and RTK surveying? A: Each has strengths, and it’s best to use them according to site conditions. Total stations excel at millimeter-level relative precision within line-of-sight ranges and are suitable for detailed positioning of buildings and structures. RTK is excellent for absolute coordinate measurement over wide areas and for reducing manpower; in open skies it can survey efficiently in a short time. Optical instruments may still be necessary in sites with many obstructions, but using both as appropriate will maximize overall surveying efficiency and accuracy.

Q: Is RTK surveying possible in mountainous areas where mobile phone signals don’t reach? A: There are methods for RTK surveying without Internet connectivity. One option is the conventional setup of deploying your own base station and transmitting correction information to the rover via radio. In Japan, you can also use the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System “Michibiki” centimeter-level augmentation service (CLAS) to achieve base-station-free high-precision positioning. Using a CLAS-compatible receiver, you can perform surveying with near-RTK accuracy even in mountain regions or remote islands without mobile coverage.