Answer questions

Alfadhel

2.pdf

Home >Architecture and Design homework help >Answer questions

1/13/2020

Communication

CSMT 345

LECTURE 2

Communication

• The basics

• Communicating with signals

• Stakes and laths

• Marking Line and Grade

• Abbreviations and Symbols

1/13/2020

The basics

• Field engineer avenues to being successful

– Technical competence and the high level ability to perform surveying and layout

– Ability to communicate the results of the technical tasks performed

– Areas of communication of field engineer • Discussing layout with the craftspeople and be able to provide

lines and grades for their needs

• Communicating with superintendents the points that have been laid out and the plans for the future layouts

• Communicate with the owner providing an overall description of where parts of the project are located and how the phases of construction will occur

• Overall: must have both technical skills and communication skills

Success Avenues • Field engineer must be able to:

– Interact courteously and criticize effectively

– Gather information and make proper decisions

– Deal with conflicts

– Hold successful meetings and solve problems

• Understanding the principles of effective communication is key to the success of the field engineer

• Be Honest – Accept mistakes and strive to improve; no compromise of integrity

• Good manners – Build good rapport with workmates; have structured work habits

• Think, talk and act like a business person – Take actions quickly and in a professional manner

– Treat others with dignity and respect

• Always double check for accuracy (of layouts and communication)

1/13/2020

Oral Communications

• Listening well is the key to oral communication

– Effective people master the art of listening well both in business and at jobsite

• Strategies of effective listening

– Remove distractions and concentrate fully

– Be understanding and patient at all times

– Show that you are actively listening

– Watch your temper and the temptation to argue

– Criticize positively

• Discussions are where effective listening manifest

– Be clear and provide enough information

Oral Communications

• Telephone communication and good habits

– Precise information must be given and heard in the same manner

– Be prepared and make sure you know your material

– Take notes including details of the caller

– Know what satisfactory answer will be

– Monitor your feelings, voice, and language

– Use words and examples familiar to the listener

– Speak slowly so that your words are not missed

• Radio Communication

– Refrain from yelling on the microphone

– Hold the radio 4-6 inches away from your chin

– Use word ‘’out’ to signal end of discussion

1/13/2020

Written Communications

• Unclear document with incorrect words, misspellings and unclear paragraphs can give a reader an impression that you are not a very serious or reliable person to deal with in construction business

• Writing an effective letter

– May be to persuade someone to agree or take an action

– Must be concise, be easy to notice important items, make sense and contain all important information

– Attention to crowding, punctuation, repetition, and gender

– Structure it correctly following the format of introduction, body, and conclusion

– Double check for errors; run spell check and read over again or ask someone to look over the document for you

Meetings • Preparation is key before meeting with foremen/women, rod

persons, supervisors or any other;

• Plan – Identify the goal/reasons for the meeting and your contributions

• Arrive well prepared – Be punctual and prepare an up to date information for the meeting

• Adopt good meeting habits – Speak honestly and courteously and avoid interrupting others

– Listen carefully and avoid side conversations

– Learn from disagreements and above all…always be patient

• Actively participate – Listen, collect feedback and make positive comments

– Deliver information in an interesting and simple manner

• Be considerate – Maintain good eye contact, and monitor voice quality and word choice

1/13/2020

Dealing with People

• As a field engineer, you will work with different people – Learn to deal with different personalities

• Watch for non-verbal signals

– The way something is said is more important than what is said, so watch your non verbal signals as well as for others

– Examples: • Body and face movement

• Silences and tone of voice

• Eye contact (Americans vs the rest of the World)

• Learn about your audience

– Find what matters to your audience

• Make decisions

– Field engineers are leaders in construction and must continuously make decisions

Giving and Receiving Criticism

• Criticize the behavior and not the person and try not to criticize when angry

• Lay criticism in a positive manner and not negatively

– Instead of screaming YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT consider saying ‘’this doesn’t seem to be working, lets diversify a different view and approach’’

• Overall, control your temper when giving criticism

– set a pleasant tone, show understanding, offer support where needed and above all, show confidence that the person will improve to the required performance

• When you receive criticism

– Try to re-evaluate your views and your methods, learn from others and avoid overly self defensive. Above all, try to grow from criticisms

1/13/2020

Communication barriers

• Reasons a person will not understand or listen to you. It is important that you overcome these barriers – Poor listening abilities, e.g., short attention span

– Poor habits, e.g., chewing, tapping, arriving late

– Insufficient interest, e.g., overwhelming someone with information

– Differing word definitions, e.g., same words may have different meanings

– Lack of basic knowledge

– Competing noise; always be in quiet zones when communicating or use hand signals where possible

– Different backgrounds and language; people from different cultures may have different meanings to different communication styles. Try to understand or be patient and accommodative when working with people from diverse backgrounds

Communicating with signals

• Very useful when working with machines or equipment producing high decibels (sound levels)

• Sometimes hand /arm signals are means of communication for those who speak different languages.

• It is the responsibility of the field engineer to learn hand and arm signals in the construction site

• Examples;

– One-hand signals for numbers • Hand and arm signals are effective communicating methods on sites

– Field operation signals • For safety reasons be able to communicate well with crane operator

1/13/2020

Communicating with signals

1/13/2020

Stakes and Laths

• Stakes are first evidence that construction is about to commence.

– Nothing is built accurately until the stakes are located correctly and the information on the stakes are conveyed clearly

– Field engineer communicates to the crafts through stakes

Stakes and Laths cont..

• Principles of construction stakes

– Face stakes in the correct direction

• Every project is unique, so the field engineer should place stakes that can be read by all personnel on the site

• For highways, center line stakes are placed so they can be read from beginning of the project. For buildings, place corner stakes so they can be read from the same direction such as when the person is reading from the front of a building

– Use proper stake size

• The size of the stake determines its use

• Three sizes are used by field engineer; hub, stake, and lath

1/13/2020

Stakes and Laths cont.. • Principles of construction stakes

– Always label them

• All lines or marks for use must be labeled clearly. Mistakes occur because of unclear labelling of marks/lines

• Hub – Paint their top as soon as they arrive so as to be ready for use

– 1-1/2’’ x 1-1/2’’ piece of wood in lengths of 6’’, 12’’, 18’’

– Generally used to mark a specific point such as center line point, control points, radius points, gutter lines, blue tops

• Stake – ¾’’ x 1-1/2’’ piece of wood with length from 12-48’’

– Used for center lines, offset lines, slope lines and information stakes next to hubs

• Lath – ½’’ x 1-3/4’’ x 48’’. Used as guards for hubs and stakes

– Can also be used to indicate limits of clearing

Stakes and Laths cont..

• Principles of construction stakes

– Offset stakes for protection

• This prevents them from being destroyed by construction (setting of stakes away or ‘off’ of the point of need)

– Set stakes within tolerance (accuracy levels)

– Place solidly (not to fall due to wind force; hammer well)

– Place plumb

• Sloppy stakes (not plumb) usually indicate sloppy measurements

– Place centered

• Should be driven so the exact point is close to the center of the hub and on line and distance

– Color code the flagging • Color coding is to communicate the type of stake and type of point

being located

• Red, white and blue color are used to communicate types of points

1/13/2020

Stakes and Laths cont..

• Principles of construction stakes

– Color code flagging

Survey point Flagging Color(s)

1 Primary control Red/white/blue

2 Secondary control Red/white

3 Building control Red

4 Benchmark White/blue

5 Temporary benchmark white

6 Finished stake Blue

7 Slope Stake Red/blue

Stakes and Laths cont.. • Principles of communicating on stakes

– Ensure consistency on how you mark the stakes

– Print neatly

• Lettering style of the field book should be followed (all uppercase lettering, slightly slanted and evenly spaced)

– Write legibly

• Avoid crowding the words and numbers

• Write from top to bottom of the stake every time

– Use understandable abbreviations

• Write full words if you can

• If abbreviations are used, discuss them with everyone

• E.g., Toe (Toe of Slope), Top (Top of Slope), P.I. (Point of Intersection), P.C. (Point of Curvature), B.C. (Back of Curb), T.B.M (Top of Benchmark), B.M. (Benchmark).

1/13/2020

Stakes and Laths cont..

• Principles of communicating on stakes

– Use all sides

• Field engineer should use all sides of the stake, but primary identifying data should be facing the direction of use

– Typical order of information

• Stake example

2+0

2 0

’ R T

₵ |

| C

u t 5

@ 1

Stake Communication

Station number

offset

Alignment information

Centerline

Cut or fill data

Slope

Stakes and Laths cont..

• Setting stakes on the site

– Indicate information about site clearance limit, rough grade, fine grade, slope, gutter/curb, pipe, e.t.c.

– Cut and fill stakes • Reference point on the stake that shows where cut or fill

starts is called a ‘’crow’s foot’’.

• Additionally, some use color-coded surveying flagging to indicate cut or fill on stake. The importance of this practice is to enable the project engineer to see stakes from far and to know areas to be cut or fill. Example: red flagging is for a cut stake, green flagging is for a fill stake. For stake on grade, both red and green are used

• Flagging can be used to indicate how much cut or fill, e.g., 3 red strips of flagging imply a cut 3 ft from the crow’s foot, 2 stripes of green flagging imply a fill 2 ft from crow’s foot

2+0

2 0

’ R T

₵ |

| C

u t 5

@ 1

1/13/2020

Stakes and Laths cont..

• Setting stakes on the site

– Site Clearing limits

• Tolerance: Horizontal +/- 1.0’

• Set stakes within tolerance that includes the vegetation that is not to be cut. Some stakes can be put around plants/trees not to be cut

• Stakes must be visible before, during, and after clearing/cutting

– Rough grade

• Tolerance (Horizontal: +/-0.1’; vertical: +/- 0.2’)

• Stakes will be set on offsets from the centerline at locations determined by the contractor or plans

12+0

2 0

’ R T

₵ |

| C

u t 5

@ 1

Stakes and Laths cont.. • Setting stakes on the site

– Fine grade

• Tolerance (Horizontal +/-0.1’;vertical +/- 0.01’

• May be set as offsets or as centerline where elevation measurements will be taken off of the top of them. Cut and fill will be noted on each stake. Intervals = 50’ or less

• Noted on the stake will be station number, elevation on top of stake, alignment designation and cut and fill

– Slopes

• Tolerance (Horizontal +/-0.1’;vertical +/- 0.1’

• Are placed at 10’ min. because of the danger of being dug-out

• Never scale stakes from plans, but rather use calculations to determine field locations and information written on them

• Slope stakes should have the following – Offset distance, slope ratio, total distance to/from the offset stake, and

station number

1/13/2020

Stakes and Laths cont.. • Setting stakes on the site

– Curb and gutter

• Tolerance (Horizontal +/-0.01’;vertical +/- 0.01’)

• Offset should be close to the centerline (<6’)

• Stakes should have the following labels – Offset to back of curb, cut or fill to top of curb, gutter slope,

super elevation of pavement

– Pipe

• Tolerance (Horizontal +/-0.01’;vertical +/- 0.01’)

• Two kinds of pipe takes: hubs and laths. – Hubs are used for alignment and grade while laths are for

writing information such as percent grade, offset distance, station, type and size of pipe and cut or fill from hub to the invert

– Pipe runs require a reference line (beginning of run and the end)

Stakes and Laths cont..

• Setting stakes on the site

– Minor structures

• Tolerance (Horizontal +/-0.01’;vertical +/- 0.01’)

• Inlet culverts, junction boxes require reference lines with hubs on either side

• Reference lines should refer to the center of the junction box, the center of inlet

• Laths should contain; – Station, offset distance, to the structure’s exact location, elevation of

hub and cut or fill distance to the structure’s invert or even to the bottom of the structure

– Control

• Tolerance (Horizontal +/-0.01’;vertical +/- 0.01’)

• Hubs are sometimes used as control points. However, concrete will be used as critical control points on construction sites

1/13/2020

Stakes and Laths cont..

Marking Line and Grade • Stakes are the forms of communication of the field

engineer to craftpeople

• Marking standard for all can be used to avoid confusion

• Principles of marking – Straight, label and plumb: make sure the labeling is clear

– Always label

• Label clearly the lines or marks used in layout

– Straight

• Lines used for reference in construction of floor should be ‘on line’

– Level

• Horizontal lines placed on a wall to be used as reference for elevation should be placed exactly horizontal, not sloping

– Plumb

• Vertical lines placed on a wall as a future target must be plumb. They should never slant to pose difficulty for future person using any tool.

1/13/2020

Basic Principles of Chalking Lines • Chalking can be very confusing if not done well

• Develop company color

– Develop a chalking scheme to avoid confusion; a standard that is known by all; i.e., color code the chalk line

• Enhance visibility

– Chalk lines should be highly visible from far

• Protect lines

– Chalk lines may become worn out from construction activities

– Spray them with clear varnish; spray several spots along the chalk line to preserve the line for future use if needed

Communicating the meaning of marks

– Line and grade marks are used for communicating to the craftperson

– It is best to be clear when communicating the meaning of a mark

– Too much information may be confusing and too few is not good

– Experienced field engineer will know the right information to put

– Well written stake communication are important. Example:

• OVERALL: Develop company-specific marks so everyone on the job knows who made the marks

RIGHT WRONG

6’ above finished floor 6’ above floor (rough or finished)

4’’ offset to south of ‘H’ line 4’’ off ‘H’ line (north, south, east or west)

1/13/2020

Abbreviations and Symbols

– Abbreviations and symbols are used on stakes and in memos

– Use abbrev. to reduce the size of writing on stakes

– Examples

Word Abbreviation

Alignment align.

Above Mean Sea Level ABMSL

Approximate Approx.

Backsight BS

Backsight rod reading BS

Benchmark BM

Building Bldg.

Center line CL

Control point CP

Triangulation Tria.

Distance D

Finish Grade FG

Grade Gra.

Traverse Trav.