Construction Layout
In-Depth Discussion

Jonathan Terry, P.L.S.

Course Outline

Construction Layout (a/k/a Construction Surveying) is a specialized branch of the engineering/surveying profession's scope of services that's particularly trouble-prone. Horror stories abound: back-charges for items staked in error; urgent requests for layout that wreck your firm's scheduling; client dissatisfaction; the requirement for highly skilled, experienced personnel; challenging geometric computations from unfamiliar plans…

Summarized from decades of diverse experience come practical horse-sense tips, specific procedures, and helpful instruction on how to navigate the maze of policies, procedures, relationships, proposals, contract negotiations and actual performance of this service – a professional activity with the potential to generate financial prosperity or catastrophic losses.

True stories relating the instructor’s real-life experiences (some quite humbling) increase retention of the material presented. Topics available for presentation and discussion include: establishing and preserving necessary control points; layout techniques; required documentation, checking, and redundancy; equipment selection; selection, care and adjustment of equipment; report and sketch requirements; fee negotiation; contract issues and considerations; payment schedules; bidding techniques; limiting unnecessary liability exposure; essential record keeping and CYA strategies; proposal writing, design/build team functions, safety, ethics, and more.

Learning Objective

Through this course, you'll gain a better appreciation for the unique demands of providing construction control. The course topics will teach:

• Tips, tricks, specialized equipment that help perform layout more quickly without compromising precision;
• What aspects require high precision in layout – and which don't;
• Typical “full-service” layout requirements for a mid-sized, commercial project – how to structure these in your proposal and guidelines for computing/staking these items;
• How to handle correction of errors you discover in the plans, and how to stake those items correctly without assuming liability for such changes;
• What plans to believe or not believe when you discover conflicts between various plans;
• Essential checks dimensions when staking a major building;
• How the various professional disciplines of the design/build team function, and the proper function of construction layout engineering on that team;
• How to confidently ask questions when you really don’t understand the plans or know exactly what you should be laying out – how to effectively balance confidence and humility;
• Effective proposal writing concepts for professional construction layout services;
• Tricks for transferring column lines or offsets to column lines to upper floors on multi-story buildings; and
• Better management of the procedural, technical, and business aspects of construction layout.

Intended Audience

This course is designed for engineers, land surveyors, architects, contractors, or anyone contracting, providing, reviewing or specifying construction layout services.

Benefit to Attendees

This course teaches both technical and practical skills, contract and business considerations, staking and grade sheets, client relations, functioning in and with the design/build team, and relates countless tips and trade secrets learned only through solid, real-world experience.

Course Author

The author of this course is a Licensed Land Surveyor who's obtained professional registration in eight states and served as assistant construction superintendent, teacher, writer, civil technician, site planner, land surveying department head for mapping firms, civil/consulting firms and developers, created and managed the construction layout division of a large construction management firm, founded and operated a successful construction layout business and separate land surveying business and worked as the employee of civil, surveying, and architectural firms, developers and state government. His career began in 1963.

Such a diverse background is rare and provides a breadth of understanding beyond that normally experienced in any single profession. Construction layout is viewed from many perspectives not commonly experienced by the land surveyor.

Construction layout is like a unique and fascinating jewel having many facets, each unique and worthy of careful study. As an object of study, construction layout must be placed in its proper setting - that is, in its relevance and relationship to the design/build process and the professional team that gets thing built. Understanding construction layout from this overview yields success. This is our goal.

This course provides an overview and perspective of critical value to land surveyors, but it's purposefully aimed at any person working in the disciplines listed below. It's not just for surveyors, but most surveyors should obtain a deeper and broader understanding of this challenging and rewarding discipline. The course will increase knowledge and broaden horizons of understanding.

Course Introduction

This course material is offered with the hope and expectation that you'll be better equipped to serve relevantly and competently in a dynamic team, advancing an excitingly creative process that constructs your community and nation. Keep in mind that you're participating in the building of a nation as a modern-day frontier person saying, "Put it here, right here." And someone will - whether or not it's in the right place!

This course shares insights never before offered, discovered through 40-plus years of both difficult and enjoyable life experiences. It covers techniques, safeguards, record keeping and reporting practices, ethics, plus contract writing and business management suggestions. I can honestly say that I learned more about coordinate geometry calculations, measurement, equipment use, care and maintenance and layout methods through my construction staking business than any other single facet of my surveying profession, and I'll not hold anything back.

It presents material 'from the ground up,' laying a foundation of client and team relationships and business practice, upon which the preparation and execution of the staking can function and profit you personally, the project's professional team and ultimately the project itself.

Successful construction staking may prove as challenging for a surveyor as any other professional task he or she is ever asked to perform. Doing it both correctly and profitably while building relationships and your firm's reputation is a mission of great importance. But, unless contracts, specifications, laws, regulations or codes forbid it, a person needn't be a licensed surveyor to perform construction layout services. In fact, the surveyor who brings only expert measurement skills to construction layout is at risk of humiliation and financial catastrophe.

No specific attempt is made to duplicate the teachings of techniques readily available elsewhere, unless my experience leads me to discuss them because of needs I've observed. For example we'll talk about steel tape temperature correction, tension and rules-of-thumb but not slope staking. If someone's going to do slope staking, finding a resource explaining that activity will pose no problem. But, the same person may experience difficulties day in and day out measuring with a steel tape and never know why, especially those weaned in the post-steel-tape-measuring era. And, the steel tape is faster, safer and more accurate for some layout than the total station or GPS measurement. Why not use it?

True experiences are related to make instruction relevant and the material more memorable. While personal stories are told as illustrations to help you retain this material, I promise not to get lost in them. We're on a mission!

Whether this course material is new to you (and much of it probably will be), or it's a broadening of your knowledge, it won't be a waste of your time.

Course Content

You need to view and study the following material for this course:

Construction Layout - In-Depth Discussion (video) (Request the link to video)

Course Summary

Profits from construction layout are made:

• through knowing how to handle the bid processes and the early client relations;
• by fine-tuning your proposals (bids) to the true needs of the project;
• in playing the 'Apples & Oranges' bidding game to win;
• in those accumulated minutes and even seconds saved with every single point staked, day after day, month after month;
• from every unnecessary task that is eliminated;
• by documenting, communicating and seeing what's coming;
• through training and accountability both ways between management and staff;
• through each process being performed consistently, smoothly, efficiently and correctly;
• by cultivating and maintaining good client relations with good clients;
• through simplified, efficient, thorough and organized paper-work, record keeping, billing procedures; and
• by building a team identity among your co-workers, crew(s) and staff.

And all this can be done while having fun, working in a professional team that behaves like a real team (you know, like on Super Bowl Sunday, that kind of team?), learning new things every day and fine-tuning the team interaction while performing the layout. How many jobs can you honestly say that about?

While I'm aware that some folks take courses just for required credits, many others are seekers after knowledge and professional advancement. This latter group is my target, and the former are more than welcome to the credits; you've paid for them after all.

To say that the course shares "Trade Secrets" may be overstatement. But, this is original material, and I'll freely share things I've learned the hard way - things that made me successful and allowed me to out-compete the competition.

I've written this for those seeking a condensed, informal yet detail-oriented, soup-to-nuts presentation on construction layout - or a broadening of knowledge. Included are the best things I've learned since my first job as a rodman in 1963.

Numerous opinions, guidelines, strategies and philosophies are offered for your consideration with the expectation that they'll help you in your own work, increase your profits and your enjoyment of life.

This course is created with the sincere hope it blesses you and brings you increase.

Quiz

You need to print the quiz questions prior to viewing the videos. At the end of the viewing, you must complete the quiz and submit your answers online to obtain your PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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