Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › Strictly Surveying › I hate construction staking….
Hmm. That’s kinda weird.
Yes, it is. That last project I checked anchors bolts on was a hospital. The project surveyors report called bolts out of tolerance by 7″, when they were not. Bolts were actually fine. They had a bust in control.
For those that do like construction staking (land development) there is normally a preconstruction meeting and the first item on the agenda is to make absolutely sure everyone has the current set of approved plans. And if it is not brought up, mention it yourself. Nothing can screw up construction quicker than different sets of plans amoung subcontractors. ????
- Posted by: @leegreen
Yes, it is. That last project I checked anchors bolts on was a hospital. The project surveyors report called bolts out of tolerance by 7″, when they were not. Bolts were actually fine. They had a bust in control.
It’s amazing to me how few surveyors understand how to properly set and adjust control so that it is both long-lasting and accurate, as well as provide for quick resects or, at the very least, easy setting of secondary control.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil Postman I do residential construction which is crazy busy around here. It’s a lot less stressful than the type of construction you guys are talking about. Also most site supers are pretty good and especially appreciative. Sometimes it feels like we’re the most exciting thing they’ve seen show up on site that day.
I enjoy construction staking for some clients. Good site supers make sure the site is ready for you. There is nothing worse than putting 4′ offsets they asked for in loose piles of excavated dirt or weeds. They will also have their shit together when it comes to scheduling. I hate it when I get a call at night requesting stakes the next day, it really does not fit into my business model. I’m working on a small site where the super gives me and the other subs a three week look ahead schedule. I almost fell of my chair when I got the first one. That makes it really easy to schedule. Finally, the good supers keep you up to date on plan changes. I got a call to lay out the storm drainage on a project 5 hours away (don’t ask why they did not get someone a little closer, but they had no problem paying the travel cost). While talking over their needs it turns out that the plans have been revised and some of the rims are 2 feet higher that the set I have show.
I have clauses in my proposals there require a clean and prepared site, 2 days advanced notice and updated plans. I think I’m going to add the look ahead schedule in the future.
Pretty much every large construction project I’ve been on had at least one call where I’m told that our stakes are wrong.
And pretty much every time they’re not
- Posted by: @flga-2-2
For those that do like construction staking (land development) there is normally a preconstruction meeting and the first item on the agenda is to make absolutely sure everyone has the current set of approved plans. And if it is not brought up, mention it yourself. Nothing can screw up construction quicker than different sets of plans amoung subcontractors. ????
Back when I was a “field engineer” (read surveyor) on heavy industrial construction sites we had “pour sheets” that had to be signed off before concrete was placed. The field engineer was the last signature, we had to check all imbeds, penetrations, clearance on the rebar, elevation of chamfer strips, etc. There was a line showing the drawing number(s) and the revision date of those drawings. Saved my butt more than once when a revision was made after the pour was made.
Andy
Indeed.
I’m finding that the lower echelon of the people showing up on sites don’t seem to have a big enough idea of how to stay outside the site and stay relevant especially when it’s multi-story and complex.
I showed up yesterday for blue tops and was ghosted. So took photos of the not ready site and logged 3.5 hours for travel to and from.
Next site is a legitimate zoo, material piles, concrete pumper and delivery trucks, moving dirt out trucking rock in, and that said, the aggregate piers guys still asking for the stakes that have been wiped out 5 times now to leave the stakes along the fence and feathers at the points.
After I left and got 45mins away, another same site super asked why I didn’t tstake more…”you didnt ask, and I was told I was free to go till Monday for the pads walls and other stuff…
Makes me nervous to think we’re so avaliable all the time, and not booked solid like I read about here for the rest of the year. All we do really is construction, and we still have to bid on work..
????
My first 10 years in surveying was all heavy construction. Freeways, automotive test tracks, etc.
The stress due to the schedules, dollar amounts and extremely long days was probably not healty, but it paid fairly well, and the owner of my firm got pretty wealthy. I can go back today and show friends some pretty impressive stuff on Google Earth that was raw land when I got there! But construction staking is nothing more than reading plans, applying math and communicating those plans to the construction crew. You’re right about the noise though, to this day I eat my lunch at 11 because all the machines would shut down at noon and I’d have a solid half hour of quiet to work in while they ate . . .
I didn’t learn a damn thing toward licensure – passed my P.S. the first try but it was 100% book learning. Shame on my former employer to ignore my professional development . . . I hope no one is doing that to their baby surveyors today. With todays machine grading it’s unlikely. Something about being the first one on a site in the morning and seeing the first rays of the sun filter through the ribbons of hundreds of stakes set the evening before . . .
Lzzy Hale said it best – “I don’t miss you, I miss the misery.”
- Posted by: @jph
Pretty much every large construction project I’ve been on had at least one call where I’m told that our stakes are wrong.
And pretty much every time they’re not
I had that happen on pretty much the first staking project I did after getting out of school. Another party chief went out and checked my stuff and when he got back he was like “Yeah, those guys are idiots…” so that was a relief.
I set a couple benchmarks and 1 additional control point for some machine control on a project a week or two ago and they called today claiming something is messed up. I did this with a robot as well so unless I had a rod bust or something I’m hoping these guys are also mistaken.
Anyway, how do you handle these calls? If they’re wrong do you charge them a few hours to go check things out?
Yes, If called back to a site because they “think” something is wrong and you confirm that you provided quality staking, definately charge for your time & materials to verify.
- Posted by: @kevin-hines
Yes, If called back to a site because they “think” something is wrong and you confirm that you provided quality staking, definately charge for your time & materials to verify.
Definitely ding them, otherwise they’ll think they can yank you out there whenever they please.
And when they are right, and we did screw up, we pay the backcharge without complaining.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil Postman That depends on amount of time and if they are an A, B, or C client.
Do you compensate them for wasted time if they caught a mistake that disrupts their schedule? Relationships are important in business.
- Posted by: @jitterboogie
….Because I’m not confident that I’m doing it adequately and it’s dangerous, noisy,difficult,challenging and mostly because I think I suck at it.
Carry on.
The first step to greatness is knowing that you suck. Sounds like you’re on the right path.
I’d say take each project one step at a time and get good at construction staking. It’s a valuable skill to have in your skillset. Even if you get a nice PLS job at a firm that does *insert favorite kind* surveying some day, having the construction know-how will make you more valuable.
In construction surveying, the cliche applies: slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Maybe the super will get mad because you’re slow, but nothing like what you will experience if you f*** up.
- Posted by: @fairbanksls
That depends on amount of time and if they are an A, B, or C client.
Do you compensate them for wasted time if they caught a mistake that disrupts their schedule. Relationships are important in business.
This. It builds a lot of relationship capital if you respond with something like this, “Hey, looks like everything is okay here, but I’m glad you called. I always want to know if something seems out of whack.” And a lot of times, whoever called you out will be a bit sheepish afterward for misreading a grade rod or stake, or misinterpreting the plans, etc. Make a friend, you just might need him.
Log in to reply.