www.enka.co.

uk
www.enkacollege .com

Part A
Course Book

Measurement
The EDM
Geometry
The Casio Fx7400G Plus
Leveling
Level Book
External works
Errors
Site Check List
Problem sheet
Setting Out Techniques
Coordinates

MEASUREMENT 1

ALL MEASUREMENTS GIVEN ON-SITE FROM DRAWINGS ARE IN

METRES AND/OR MILLIMETRES.

102.567m
TO THE LEFT OF THE DECIMAL TO THE RIGHT OF THE DECIMAL POINT
POINT IS THE NUMBER OF
IS THE NUMBER OF MILLIMETRES
METRES
Unfortunately not all site dimensions are written as above here are a few examples:

98.2

345mm

22.15

4652mm

NOTICE THAT SOMETIMES m OR mm IS NOT WRITTEN AFTER THE

FIGURE THIS IS BECAUSE THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DOES
NOT DIMENSION TO A FRACTION OF A MILLIMETRE AND
THEREFORE ANY DECIMAL POINT PRESENT INDICATES THAT A
FIGURE IS IN METRES.
For clarity - the above figures should be written as

98.200m

0.345m

22.150m

4.652m

READING A TAPE MEASURE

All tape manufacturers will have differing designs to signify metres and millimetres.
For the majority of pocket tapes the numbers given are 10`s of millimetres so a
reading on the tape of 105 would mean the distance measured is 105 x 10 = 1050mm
or 1.050m
For longer tapes after each metre the millimetre value starts from zero so if you
are reading 14 you would look to the left of the tape and note the last metre value
(e.g. 17metres) and would then add on 14 x 10 = 140mm - the distance measured is
17.140m Also some tapes zero the millimetre after every 100 mm

ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK YOUR TAPE READINGS

MEASUREMENT 2

USING STEEL TAPES

3, 5, 8 or 10 metre pocket tapes: These are the essential tools for an engineer and
should be carried at all times (preferably on your belt). Due to their relatively
short length and rigidity there is no appreciative error in the readings taken. For
build reliability and usefulness a 5 or 8 metre tape is recommended.
30 or 50 metre tapes: These tapes should always be available on site, but care
should be taken on their use. There are 3 basic errors that can effect the accuracy
of the reading :
1/ Tension & Sag: You will need to pull the tape to straighten it, but it is
difficult to judge the correct amount of pull (approx. 6kg) in order to
achieve an accurate reading. To make matters worse if the tape is not
continuously supported along its length then the sag will compound the
error. To try to achieve an accurate measurement (Within 10mm) either:
A/ Use a spring balance (not normally available on site)
B/ Take two readings one with the tape pulled straight with no extra
tension and one with the tape fully tensioned then take the mean
reading.
C/ If the tape is unsupported DO NOT pull it so that the sag disappears
this will only give you a false reading it is better to try to support
the tape every few metres to eradicate the sag and if this is not possible
you may have to resort to electronic distance measurement.
2/ Slope: All measurements given on site drawings are HORIZONTAL
distances, and therefore it is imperative that the tape is level when you take
your readings. This may mean that you will have to use spirit levels thus:
SPIRIT
LEVEL
SPIRIT LE
VEL
TAPE

HORIZONTAL DISTANCE

MEASUREMENT 3

3/ Temperature: Because all material fluctuates with size and temperature,

a tape measure manufacturer calibrates a tape at 20 degrees centigrade.
Therefore, if the tape is used in temperatures other than 20 degrees
centigrade an adjustment will have to be made as follows:

TEMP. C

CHANGE IN 30 M TAPE LENGTH

30

TAPE IS 3 mm LONG

25

TAPE IS 1.5 mm LONG

20

TAPE IS CORRECT

15

TAPE IS 1.5mm SHORT

10

TAPE IS 3mm SHORT

TAPE IS 4.5mm SHORT

TAPE IS 6mm SHORT

Fabric tapes: normally 30 metres in length, these tapes are used for approximate
setting out where accuracy between 10 20mm is acceptable e.g. groundwork
excavation. The benefit of this type of tape is its durability in extreme site
conditions.
Levelling staff: used mainly in
conjunction with an automatic
level can also be utilised for
offset work where a pocket tape
is unpractical.
Electronic Measurement
Discussed later on the course

1.450 m
1.430 m
1.414 m
1.395 m

MEASUREMENT 4

READING
Most errors in reading will arise due to incorrect holding of the 0 mark which on 30
& 50m tapes is the outside of the end ring.
When the end ring is hooked over a nail, an inaccuracy of between 5 9 mm will
result unless a correction is made.
0 MARK

8 mm

NAIL

END RING

In the above example the tape has been hooked over a nail resulting in an error of
8mm if you wanted to measure a distance from the centre of nail of 24.560m the
corrected reading would be 24.568m
The difficulty created by holding exactly on the 0 mark is often overcome by
holding the tape on the centre of your nail at 100mm and adding this amount to your
required measurement in the example above you would read 24.660.
REMEMBER WHEN SETTING OUT THE CORRECTION IS ADDED
However if you were checking the distance between two points the tape was hooked
on one at 6 mm correction the tape was reading 30.006m the true distance between
these points is 30.000m
WHEN CHECKING BETWEEN POINTS SUBTRACT THE CORRECTION
FROM THE TAPE READING TO GET THE TRUE DISTANCE
WARNING
THE CORRECTION FOR END OF TAPE READINGS IS ONE OF THE
COMMONEST FORMS OF ERROR IT IS POSSIBLE THAT YOU HAVE
MADE THE WRONG CORRECTION OR THAT YOUR CHAINPERSON HAS
NOT HELD THE TAPE WHERE YOU EXPECTED.
A WAY OF ELIMINATING THIS ERROR IS TO FINALLY TAKE A READING
WITH THE 0 MARK ON THE NAIL AND OBSERVING THAT THE
MEASUREMENT MARKED IS CLOSE TO WHAT WAS REQUIRED

THE EDM 1

DESCRIPTION
The EDM has two basic functions:
1/ To turn vertical and horizontal angles ( identically to a theodolite )
2/ To measure distances ( Electromagnetic Distance Measurement or EDM )
In the late 1980`s engineers were using a theodolite with an EDM bolted to the top.
Nowadays both these instruments are integrated into an instrument called a TOTAL
STATION unfortunately the construction industry refer to these TOTAL
STATIONS as EDM`s !
On this course we will use the industrys convention and call them EDM`s

CARRYING HANDLE

VIEWFINDER

TELESCOPE
FOCUS RING
BATTERY
EYEPIECE

HORIZONTAL
BUBBLE

VERTICAL CLAMP AND

SLOW MOTION SCREW

HORIZONTAL CLAMP
AND SLOW MOTION SCREW

DISPLAY
SCREEN
KEYBOARD
FOOTSCREW

FOOTSCREW
TRIBRACH

OPTICAL
PLUMB
EYEPIECE

ELECTRONIC DATA
TRANSFER PORT

FOOTSCREW

CIRCULAR BUBBLE

THE EDM 2

SETTING UP
The first step is to set up the tripod over the station point.
Looking down on the tripod centralise the
tripod over the station by viewing through
the hollow attachment screw.
ATTACHMENT SCREW
Make sure that the tripod head is set to a
convenient height to make the viewing of
the EDM comfortable.

It is IMPORTANT that the

tripod head is relatively
level before attaching the
EDM.
Use the horizon or a
building in the background
to guide you.
If the tripod is not on solid
ground, tread in the tripod
INCORRECT
CORRECT
feet (this may knock the
tripod head out of level but
this can be righted by shortening or lengthening the
tripod legs). If you have re-levelled the tripod head go back to check you are still
centred over the station and adjust if necessary.
Once you are happy that the tripod head is level and is located over the station you
can attach the EDM with the attachment screw. Before progressing check the 3
footscrews are in their midway position and are sat on the tripod head equally into the
3 corners.
Look through the optical plumb eyepiece
and adjust for focus. You will observe that
the plumb circle is probably not directly over your
station point but should be close to it. If the station
point does not even appear, take the EDM off the
tripod and start the set up again.
PLUMB CIRCLE

THE EDM 3

Now look at the circular bubble and

centre this by shortening or lengthening
a tripod leg once the circular bubble
is centred, check the plumb circle again.
You will probably find that the plumb circle
has moved away the station point.

Now slacken the attachment screw and centre the plumb circle over the station by
sliding the EDM over the tripod head.
At this point the circular bubble should still be within the brown ring and the plumb
circle should be centred over your station.

YOU ARE NOW READY FOR THE FINE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE

INSTRUMENT.

Unlock the Horizontal clamp and turn the

EDM so that the display screen stretches
across two of the footscrews

Centre the Horizontal bubble using these two

footscrews ONLY.

THE EDM 4

Now turn the EDM 90 and using the

ONE remaining footscrew centre the
horizontal bubble

Check once again that the plumb circle

is centred on your station. If it has moved
off, slacken the attachment screw and
slide the EDM to centre the plumb circle
and restart the fine adjustment procedure.
A final check on the accuracy of adjustment of your EDM is recommended. Turn the
EDM through 90 and check the plumb circle & horizontal bubble repeat twice
more and if you find that the plumb circle or horizontal bubble moves off centre your
EDM is out of adjustment We will be dealing with instrument checks later in the
course.
THE EDM IS NOW SET UP AND READY TO USE
USING THE EDM
Before we switch on the EDM it is worth getting used to the focusing, sighting,
general movement and most importantly the care.
Care
The EDM is an extremely costly piece of equipment and even the slightest damage
can cost over 1000 it is therefore imperative to:
ALWAYS KEEP THE EDM IN ITS CASE WHEN NOT IN USE
- CARRY THE EDM BY THE CARRYING HANDLE ONLY
- MAKE SURE THE INSTRUMENT IS THOROUGHLY DRY
BEFORE PACKING IT INTO THE CASE
NEVER LEAVE AN EDM ON A TRIPOD WITHOUT ATTACHING THE
ATTACHMENT SCREW
- LEAVE THE EDM IN ITS CASE WITHOUT SECURING THE
CATCHES
- OVERTIGHTEN ANY OF THE CLAMPS.

THE EDM 5

Focusing
To focus the telescope turn the focus ring
on the telescope.
Whilst focussing you will see an infinity
symbol with an arrow pointing anticlockwise this helps to remind you to
turn the focus ring in this direction when
sighting distant objects.

To focus the cross-hairs on the telescope

eyepiece it is helpful to use a blank area
such the sky or a piece of paper.
Turn the eyepiece to bring the crosshairs
into sharp focus.
A final check should be made for parallax after focusing move your eye vertically
and laterally to see if the target image moves in relation to the crosshairs. If the target
image does not move there is no parallax. If it moves, rotate the focus ring to
eliminate the parallax.
Turning the EDM
To turn the instrument horizontally loosen the horizontal clamp and let the EDM
freely rotate once close to your target tighten (but do not over tighten) the clamp.
To line up exactly use the slow motion screw.
To turn the instrument vertically repeat the above operations using the vertical
clamp and slow motion screw.
Using the viewfinder
This will save you a lot of time trying to
find your target. Because of its high
position above the eyepiece it is
important to keep the instrument slightly
lower when setting up. To use the
viewfinder, position your eye to reveal a
white triangle - the tip of the triangle
represents your vertical crosshair.

THE EDM 6

ORIENTATING THE EDM

270

90

THE TELESCOPE
(UPPER PLATE)
180
THE HORIZONTAL
PROTRACTOR
(LOWER PLATE)

THE EDM IS BASICALLY A PROTRACTOR LAID HORIZONTALLY

WITH A POINTER THAT ROTATES AROUND IT.
THE VERTICAL CROSSHAIR IN THE TELESCOPE (UPPER PLATE) IS THE
POINTER AND THE HORIZONTAL ANGLE (HA) DISPLAYED ON THE
KEYBOARD SCREEN IS THE CURRENT ANGLE ON THE PROTRACTOR
(LOWER PLATE) THAT THE TELESCOPE IS POINTING TO.
FOR SIMPLE ANGLE TURNS OF 90 FROM A GIVEN LINE - THE
PROTRACTOR (LOWER PLATE) CAN BE ORIENTATED TO 0 /360 ALONG
THIS LINE .
FOR
MORE ADVANCED
OUT TO
THE
LOWER
PLATE NEEDS TO
BE ORIENTATED
SO THATSETTING
0 /360 POINTS
GRID
NORTH.
NOTE - SEE COORDINATE SHEETS 1&2

TO ORIENTATE THE LOWER PLATE (BACKSIGHTING) SEE EDM SHEET 8

THE EDM 7
Press the PWR button although all EDM`s power up immediately - many
remain inactive until some movement is made to the instrument with the Nikon
(to which the following instructions refer) you have to rotate the telescope
vertically.
Before moving the telescope, on the screen you will see values for TEMPERATURE,
PRESSURE AND PRISM
Because
the temp.
ambient
temperature
pressure and
verywill
slightly
affects the
EDM all
this
should read
: 15
C press.and
750mmHg
be sufficient
to cover
climatic changes during the year. PRISM will be dealt with later on the course.
After tilting the telescope you enter the default screen:
HA: 282 33 43
VA: 110 12 02
SD:
m
DSP1/3
BAT
TOGGLE TO
DSP2/3 BY PRESSING THE [DSP] BUTTON

HA: 282 33 43
VD#
HD#
DSP2/3

m
m
BAT

If you ever get lost in other display screens pressing ESC repeatedly will always bring
you back to this screen. On the Nikon 310 DSP2/3 SHOULD ALWAYS BE SET
HA: = The current Horizontal Angle the telescope is pointing
VA: = The current Vertical Angle the telescope is pointing (DSP1/3)
VD: = The current Vertical distance (when measured)
SD: = The slope distance (when measured) (DSP1/3)
HD: = The horizontal distance (when measured)
DSP1/3 = This is screen 1 of 3 - press the [DSP] button to toggle to 2/3
BAT = Battery voltage level 3 bars MAX 1 bar MIN
The HA value does not mean anything since the EDM is currently BLIND i.e.
you have not given it orientation.
The VA value however is operative because the EDM knows its been levelled
all vertical movement relates to a level datum.

THE EDM 8
We now need to open the EDM`s eyes! PRESS ANG (button No 4)
HA: 282 33 43
1 : 0-Set
3 : Hold
2 : Input 4 : Rept.
ANG
BAT
This is the ANG (Angle) screen confirmed bottom left and determines the way
you are going to set a BACKSIGHT angle before you open the EDM`s eyes.
The HA(Horizontal Angle) at the top of the screen is as the default screen.
You have 3 options on how to set the angle option 4 : Rept is not used.
1st OPTION 0 Set
This option is used where you have a known point directly NORTH or 0 to the
station you are set up over.
Look through the telescope and sight this known point (BACKSIGHT) make sure
the horizontal clamp is on then:
Press button 1 (MSR) and the EDM opens its eyes and knows it is pointing to
0 00 00 (NORTH)
If
you
undo
theout
horizontal
instrument
now
able
to set
any angleclamp
in theand
360rotate
circlethe
to an
accuracyyou
of 1will
. see that you are
This option is also used where you just want to turn 90 between two points.
2nd OPTION - INPUT
This option is used where you have a known point that is at a known angle relative
to your station you are set up over.
Look through the telescope and sight this known point (BACKSIGHT) make sure
the horizontal clamp is on - then press button 2 (DSP): The HA at the top of the
screen disappears and a cursor at the top right of the screen is waiting for you to enter
the known angle. Type in the degrees first then press the button (REC) . Then type in
the minutes with two digits e.g. 02 and then type in the seconds - again with two
digits.
Press ENT and the EDM opens its eyes and knows it is pointing to your known
point with your known angle that you have given it.
3rd OPTION - HOLD
This option is a variant of the 2nd option Instead of inputting your known angle you
rotate the EDM until your known angle is displayed at the top of the ANG screen.
Undo the horizontal clamp and rotate the instrument until the angle you want is
displayed on the top of the screen clamp and use the slow motion screw to get the
minutes and seconds. Press button 3 (TRK) The instrument has now HELD the
angle you turned to and is waiting for confirmation to open its eyes DO NOT
DO SO until you have sighted your known point (BACKSIGHT) THEN press
ENT.

THE EDM 9
ELECTRONIC DISTANCE MEASUREMENT
The course students may wish to know the principles of electronic
measurement in greater detail but because of the time that this would
take, we just give the basic principals which are sufficient for setting
out.
BASIC PRINCIPLES
The EDM sends out an infrared beam that emanates from the centre of
the instrument i.e. directly over your station. This beam is directed to
the centre of your crosshairs whilst you view THE PRISM with the
telescope. THE PRISM reflects the beam back to the EDM and the
resulting phase shift is calculated by the EDM to work out the
distance between your station and where the THE PRISM was
held.
THE PRISM
The prism is a compact number of mirrors that focuses the
EDM beam above the point of the prism i.e. where the
prism is being held. In this photo, this is the point of the
prism.
THE MINI PRISM
Used for accurate setting out within 100m of the EDM
WARNING DUE TO THE DIFFERENT WAYS
THAT PRISMS ARE MANUFACTURED EACH PRISM HAS A
PRISM CONSTANT THAT IS USUALLY EITHER 0mm OR
30mm. YOUR EDM MUST BE SET TO READ THE TYPE OF
PRISM YOU ARE USING IF YOU ARE NOT SURE WHAT THE
PRISM CONSTANT IS, TAPE OUT 5m AND CHECK THE
ELECTRONIC DISTANCE . IF YOU DO NOT GET THE
CORRECT DISTANCE YOU WILL HAVE TO ADJUST THE
PRISM CONSTANT ON THE EDM SEE MANUAL OR
CONTACT ENKA
THE TARGET
This is a larger version of the Mini Prism that can be attached to
a tribrach and tripod and can be set up over a station in the
same way as an EDM. The Target gives accurate results within
1000m (1KM) of the EDM
When a Target is attached to an adjustable rod it is known as a
POGO. The POGO operates in the same way as a mini prism
although it is less accurate. However, the POGO can be used up to
1000m from the EDM

THE EDM 10
When using an EDM your chainperson will be often be at a distance away from you
and unable to hear your instructions.
Two-way radio is an option that any engineer
would consider. Although it may seem the
perfect solution, it may not always operate
properly due to site interference e.g.
compressors, generators, tower cranes etc.
It is therefore necessary to adopt a sign
language with your chainperson and some
engineers design their own system - however
the majority use the following system:

TO MOVE THE PRISM/POGO LEFT OR RIGHT

TO MOVE THE PRISM/POGO LEFT OR RIGHT BY A SMALL AMOUNT

THE PRISM/POGO IS IN THE CORRECT POSITION

THE EDM 11

SIGN LANGUAGE REGARDING

DISTANCE
The Engineer must communicate to the
chainperson a distance that the prism / pogo
must be moved either towards or away from
the EDM

METRES
(each pull of the arm
Signifies a metre)

HUNDREDS (of mm)

(each pull of the arm
signifies 100mm)

TENS (of mm)

(each pull of the arm
signifies10mm)

THE ENGINEER WOULD THEN INDICATE IN WHICH DIRECTION THE

CHAINPERSON SHOULD MOVE THE PRISM/POGO EITHER TOWARDS
THE INSTRUMENT OR AWAY FROM THE INSTRUMENT
FOR EXAMPLE - TO MOVE 2.3 m

2 metres
3 hundreds

THE EDM 12
ALL COORDINATES that are used on site can be stored in the EDM as a [POINT
NUMBER]. There are 2000 [POINT MUMBERS] that can be used on the NIKON
DTM 310.
TO ENTER A COORDINATE AS A [POINT NUMBER]
In the Site Office you can enter all known coordinates into the EDM before you go
onto site. At the default screen press FNC
You require Data press 6
You now require Input press 1 (wait)
Confirm Input press ENT

YOU WILL NOW SEE THE INPUT POINT SCREEN

Input Point
PT : 1
CD: _
< ABC1 >
PT REPRESENTS THE NEXT FREE POINT NUMBER
CD REPRESENTS A CODE THAT YOU CAN ALLOCATE TO THE POINT AND
<ABC1> MEANS THE KEYBOARD IS SET TO ALPHABETIC (DO NOT USE
AT PRESENT)
PRESS ENT
PT : 1
E:
-m
N:
m
Z:
m
INPUT THE EASTINGS OF [POINT NUMBER 1]
INPUT THE NORTHINGS OF [POINT NUMBER 1]
WHEN THE CURSUR IS OPPOSITE Z PRESS ENT
REC XYZ WILL APPEAR BRIEFLY ON SCREEN AND YOU WILL BE ON
THE NEXT INPUT POINT SCREEN
Input Point
PT : 2
CD: _
< ABC1 >
PRESS ENT AND CONTINUE AS BEFORE THIS TIME ENTERING THE
NORTHINGS & EASTINGS OF [POINT NUMBER 2] WHEN YOU HAVE
FINISHED ALLOCATING [POINT NUMBERS] PRESS ESC REPEATEDLY
UNTIL YOU ARE BACK AT THE DEFAULT SCREEN.

THE EDM 13
OBTAINING THE COORDINATES OF A POINT
USING THE CASIO FX-7400 AND THE EDM OUT ON SITE
USE COOR-CAL
3RD POINT
0 00 00
ND

CLOCKWISE
ANGLE

DISTANCE TO
3RD POINT

POINT
1ST POINT( EDM SET UP)

E.G. 1ST POINT E=235.700 N=100.000 (EDM SET UP)

2ND POINT E=476.890 N= 121.500 (KNOWN POINT)
DISTANCE TO 3RD POINT = 54.870m(MEASURED BY EDM)
ANGLE CLOCKWISE = 61 35 52 (READ ON EDM SCREEN)
POINT 3 = 265.982 E , 54.243 N
USING THE EDM TO CACLULATE THE COORDINATES OF A POINT
PRESS STN (BUTTON 8).
ON THE STATION SETUP MENU YOU REQUIRE KNOWN - PRESS 1.
INPUT YOUR [POINT NUMBER] OF THE STATION YOU ARE SET UP OVER
PRESS ENT TO CONFIRM THE COORDINATES THEN PRESS ENT
TWICE TO GET TO THE BACKSIGHT SCREEN.
ON THE BACKSIGHT SCREEN YOU REQUIRE COORD - PRESS 1.
INPUT YOUR [POINT NUMBER] OF THE STATION YOU ARE
BACKSIGHTING PRESS ENT TO CONFIRM THE COORDINATES THEN
PRESS ENT.
NOW SIGHT YOUR BACKSIGHT STATION WITH THE TELESCOPE AND
WHEN CORRECTLY LINED UP - PRESS ENT.
ON THE BM POINT SURVEY SCREEN PRESS ESC.
THE EDM CAN NOW WORK OUT THE COORDINATES OF ANY POINT
THE PRISM IS HELD OVER.PRESS XYZ (BUTTON 5). SIGHT THE PRISM
OVER THE NEW POINT AND PRESS MSR (1) THE COORDINATES OF
THE NEW POINT ARE DISPLAYED ON THE EDM.

GEOMETRY 1

THE RIGHT ANGLED TRIANGLE

ANGLE
SIDE C (HYPOTENUSE)
SIDE B
ANGLE
90
SIDE A

PROPERTIES
ALL INTERNAL ANGLES TOTAL 180
THE AREA = SIDE A x SIDE B
2
FROM PYTHAGORAS THEOREM

(SIDE C) = (SIDE A) + (SIDE B)

FROM PYTHAGORAS 3-4-5 IF SIDE C = 5 UNITS, THE SECOND

LONGEST SIDE = 4 UNITS AND THE SHORTEST SIDE = 3 UNITS THEN
THE TRIANGLE WILL BE A RIGHT ANGLED TRIANGLE
TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERNAL ANGLES
FOR ANGLE
FOR ANGLE

- SIDE A = OPPOSITE, SIDE B = ADJACENT

- SIDE A = ADJACENT, SIDE B = OPPOSITE

TAN OF ANGLE = OPPOSITE

ADJACENT
COS OF ANGLE = ADJACENT
HYPOTENUSE
SIN OF ANGLE = OPPOSITE
HYPOTENUSE

GEOMETRY 1A
REARRANGING MATHEMATICAL FORMULAE

PYTHAGORAS THEOREM
C
B

A
C = A + B

OR

C = ( A + B)

A = C- B

OR

A = (C - B)

B = C - A

OR

B = ( C - A)

TRIG FUNCTIONS
HYP
OPP

ADJ
TAN

= OPP
ADJ

ADJ =TAN
OPP

OPP = TAN

x ADJ

= TAN -1 OPP
ADJ

SIN

= OPP
HYP

HYP = SIN
OPP

OPP = SIN

x HYP

= SIN -1 OPP
HYP

COS

= ADJ
HYP

HYP = COS
ADJ

ADJ = COS

x HYP

= COS -1 ADJ
HYP

GEOMETRY 2

THE CIRCLE

0 or 360

270

90

180

PROPERTIES
THERE ARE 360 DEGREES ( ) IN A CIRCLE EACH DEGREE IS
DIVIDED INTO 60 MINUTES ( ) AND EACH MINUTE DIVIDED INTO 60
SECONDS ( )
THE AREA OF A CIRCLE =

x RADIUS

THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF A CIRCLE =

x DIAMETER

GEOMETRY 3

SQUARES AND RECTANGLES

ANGLE B

ANGLE A

ANGLE C

ANGLE D
PROPERTIES
A SQUARE OR RECTANGLE IS FORMED WHEN BOTH THE OPPOSITE
SIDES AND THE DIAGONALS ARE EQUAL
ANGLE A + ANGLE B = 90 ( AND LIKEWISE IN THE OTHER 3
CORNERS)
ANGLE A = ANGLE C AND ANGLE B = ANGLE D
THE TWO RIGHT ANGLED TRIANGLES FORMED BY A DIAGONAL
WILL BE IDENTICAL

CHECKING FOR SQUARE

An Engineer will sometimes be asked to check structures for squareness. A common

mistake is not checking side lengths and diagonals.
Above left: all opposite sides are equal but the two diagonals will be different.
Above right: both diagonals are equal but one set of opposing sides is not equal.

GEOMETRY 4

WHOLE CIRCLE BEARINGS (WCB)

Imagine you are standing in the centre of a clock.
The large hand radiates out from you and is
pointing at 12 oclock. The clock you are
standing in is special in that the large hand never
moves off this position. We will call this position
NORTH. (In setting out north will normally
have no relation to the true compass direction.)
The small hand also radiates out from you but
moves as normal. The time is 3 oclock and you
are looking along the line of the small hand,
which has a reading at the edge of the clock of 3.
6 hours later when you look along the line of the
small hand you will see it has a reading (bearing)
of 9.
From the diagram below it can be seen that a reading (from now on we will call this a
bearing) can be related to the degrees of a whole circle. Therefore at 9 oclock the
whole circle bearing (WCB) will be 270

NORTH

12

11

0 or 360

10

270

90

4
7

180

6
Can you work out the what the whole circle bearing will be at 7 o`clock ?

GEOMETRY 5
Because a clock is divided into 12 hours, each hour must represent 360 degrees of the
whole circle i.e. 30 - therefore 7 oclock would be at a WCB of 21012
Now that you know what Whole Circle Bearing means we will continue by
shortening this term to just bearing
NORTH

12

11

0 or 360

10

270

90

4
7

180

6
From the above diagram you can see that the bearings of 90 and 270 form a straight
line. You will notice that the difference in these two bearings is 180
A LINE HAS TWO BEARINGS THAT DIFFER BY 180
Because a line has two bearings it is inportant to arrow the required bearing.
Can you work out the two missing bearings below ?
NORTH
?

45
?

GEOMETRY 6

IT IS WORTH REMEMBERING:
12 O`CLOCK = 0 = 360 = NORTH
BEARINGS INCREASE CLOCKWISE AND DECREASE ANTI-CLOCKWISE
In the previous problem we start from NORTH = 360 and travel ANTI-CLOCKWISE
by 45 . Therfore our first bearing is 360-45 = 315
The second bearing we are looking for is on the SAME LINE as the first i.e
180 different. There are two ways we can work out this bearing:
1/ WORKING CLOCKWISE We add 180 to 315 to get 495 but whole circle
bearings only go up to 360 and reset to 0. Therefore we must subtract 360 from 495 to
get the bearing we are looking for = 135 .
2/ WORKING ANTI-CLOCKWISE We subtract 180 from 315 to get the bearing
we are looking for = 135 .
You
that the
method
is farthe
more
simple and should always be considered
whencan
bothsee
adding
andsecond
subtracting
through
0 bearing.
Upto now we have used NORTH (N) to calculate bearings, but we can use ANY known
bearing as our starting point.
We also made NORTH pointing to the top of the page but in practise this is not
always the case, and you may wish to turn the page/drawing around to orientate
NORTH as you would normally view it.
Can you work out the three missing bearings for A,B & C below ?
Note
the line AC is straight (ie 180 )
the line D has a bearing of 250
40
C
B

85
A

GEOMETRY 7
With reference to COORDINATE SHEETS 1 & 2 we can work out how distance/
bearing information can be related to coordinated points.
North
B
120m

110m

100m
A

90m

EAST
400m

410m

420m

THE COORDINATES OF POINT A = 410E , 100N

THE COORDINATES OF POINT B = 420E , 120N

20 m

EAST
10m

WHAT IS THE BEARING AND DISTANCE FROM A TO B ?

GEOMETRY 8

X = 580.980 E , 789.958 N
Y = 489.805E , 699.985 N

CALCULATE THE DISTANCE / BEARING FROM X TO Y

A = 1038.780 E , 4569.894 N
B = 976.985 E , 4607.643 N
C = 1002.780 E , 4698.098 N

THE EDM IS SET UP OVER POINT A FIND THE BEARING & DISTANCE TO
POINTS B & C

THE CASIO FX 7400 SHEET 1

TO TURN CASIO ON
TO OPERATE THE CASIO AS A NORMAL
CALCULATOR MAKE SURE THE CURSOR
IS ON THE `RUN` POSITION THEN PRESS `EXE`

TO MOVE THE CURSOR PRESS

THIS BUTTON IN THE REQUIRED
DIRECTION

TO TURN THE CASIO OFF PRESS

1ST PRESS SHIFT
2ND PRESS AC

FOR ANY ANGLE CALCULATIONS

YOU MUST HAVE THE DEGREE
MINUTE AND SECOND (DMS) SYMBOL
DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN
TO DO THIS, YOU PRESS
1ST PRESS OPTN
2ND PRESS
3RD PRESS ANGL (F2)
4TH PRESS

USING PYTHAGORAS
example C = (9+7)
1ST PRESS SHIFT THEN X
2ND PRESS ( BUTTON
3RD PRESS 9 THEN X
4TH PRESS +
5TH PRESS 7 THEN X
6TH PRESS ) BUTTON
7TH PRESS `EXE` TO GET THE ANSWER OF 11.402

THE CASIO FX 7400 SHEET 2

USING TRIG FUNCTIONS

5

E.G. TAN = 5/7

7
MAKE SURE THE D.M.S. SYMBOL HAS BEEN ACTIVATED(SEE SHEET 1)
PRESS 5 THEN `` THEN 7 THEN `EXE`
PRESS `SHIFT``
PRESS `TAN`
PRESS `SHIFT`
PRESS `(-)
PRESS `EXE`
TO GET 35.53768
TO CONVERT THIS TO DEGREES
MINUTES & SECONDS PRESS `F2`
TO GET 35 32 15.64 - THIS WOULD BE
ROUNDED UP TO 35 32 16

TO STORE A VALUE INTO THE CASIO`S

LONG TERM MEMORY
E.G. 20.987
IF YOU DO NOT ALREADY HAVE THIS
VALUE ON SCREEN THEN TYPE IT IN
THEN PRESS ``
THEN PRESS `ALPHA`
THEN PRESS THE MEMORY LOCATION
YOU WISH TO STORE THE NUMBER
(DESIGNATED BY THE RED LETTERS A-Z)
THEN PRESS EXE
PRESSING `ALPHA` THEN `X,T` WILL THEN RECALL 20.987

THE CASIO FX 7400 SHEET 3

USING PROGRAMME W.C.B

THIS WILL WORK OUT YOUR BEARING & DISTANCE TO YOUR
BACKSIGHT POINT AND WILL ALSO WORK OUT YOUR BEARING &
DISTANCE TO ALL YOUR SETTING OUT POINTS (S.O POINTS)
BACKSIGHT STATION

SOP 900.000 E
400.000 N

MH35

800.000 E
390.000 N
BACKSIGHT

MH34
SOP 840.000 E
345.000 N

MH36
SOP 920.100 E
303.000 N
EDM
890.000 E
295.000 N

WORK OUT THE BEARING & DISTANCE FOR MH34,35, & 36

BACKSIGHT STATION

SOP 918.780 E
598.340 N

MH43

1050.720 E
560.470 N
BACKSIGHT

MH42
SOP 1000.240 E
476.750 N

MH44
SOP 922.100 E
458.000 N
EDM
990.565 E
465.267 N

WORK OUT THE BEARING & DISTANCE FOR MH42,43,& 44

THE CASIO FX 7400 SHEET 4

USING PROGRAMME COOR-CAL

THIS PROGRAM IS USED TO WORK OUT THE COORDINATES OF ANY
UNKNOWN POINT USING TWO KNOWN COORDINATED POINTS AND A
DISTANCE & THE CLOCKWISE ANGLE TO THE UNKNOWN POINT.
TO USE THIS PROGRAM YOU NEED:
-

2 KNOWN COORDINATED POINTS

- A DISTANCE FROM POINT 1 TO THE UNKNOWN POINT 3

-

A CLOCKWISE ANGLE FROM KNOWN COORDINATE, POINT 2 TO

THE UNKNOWN POINT 3
YOU REQUIRE THE COORDINATES
OF THIS UNKNOWN POINT (POINT 3)

KNOWN COORDINATED
POINT 2
CLOCKWISE ANGLE

DISTANCE

KNOWN COORDINATED POINT 1

THE KNOWN COORDINATED POINT 1 IS ALWAYS IN THE CENTRE OF

THE V CREATED BY THE OTHER TWO POINTS

THE ONLY TIME THIS DOES NOT OCCUR IS WHEN THE POINT 1, POINT 2
AND THE UNKNOWN POINT 3 ARE ALL ON THE SAME LINE.
180

THE CASIO FX 7400 SHEET 5

ALSO, REPRESENTS THE KNOWN POINTS AND
NEW COORDINATE

REPRESENTS THE

MEASURE THE ANGLE CLOCKWISE

USING THE CASIO PROGRAMME ON
COORDINATES OF AN UNKNOWN POINT

SITE

TO

FIND

THE

SET UP THE EDM ON POINT 1 (THE ORIGIN).

SIGHT THE EDM ON THE OTHER KNOWN COORDINATED POINT (POINT 2)
INPUT AN ANGLE OF 0 (USING ANG BUTTON).
TURN THE EDM AND SIGHT THE UNKNOWN POINT (POINT 3).
BOOK DOWN THE HA CURRENTLY DISPLAYED ON THE EDM SCREEN.
NOW MEASURE THE DISTANCE FROM THE EDM TO POINT 3 AND
RECORD THIS MEASUREMENT IN YOUR BOOK.
USING THE FX 7400 PROGRAMME COOR CAL
POINT 2
PRIMARY STATION
345.800 E
120.000N

HA = 87 45 33
DIST 45.584m

DIST 53.895m
HA= 162 56 34

POINT 1
EDM
245.000 E
85.000 N
WORK OUT THE COORDINATES OF THE 3 SECONDARY CONTROL
POINTS
FROM THE DISTANCES AND ANGLES ( HA ) GIVEN BY THE
EDM
DIST 67.780m
HA = 325 20 40

THE CASIO FX 7400 SHEET 6

USING THE CASIO PROGRAMME WITH SITE DRAWINGS TO FIND THE

COORDINATES OF UNKNOWN POINTS

3rd POINT
DISTANCE
(GIVEN ON DRAWING)

POINT 2

POINT 1

270 CLOCKWISE
TO WORK OUT ALL DRAWING COORDINATES YOU WILL BE USING
CLOCKWISE ANGLES OF 0 - 90 - 180 - 270 - AND DIMENSIONS FROM
THE SITE DRAWINGS

POINT 2
876.780E
456.900N

POINT 1
857.977E
423.654N

Y
23.230m

WHAT ARE THE COORDINATES OF POINT Y & Z?

LEVELLING 1
WHATS A LEVEL ?
Level is a commonly used word and one with different meanings - which can include:
1/
2/
3/
4/
5/

FLAT AND HORIZONTAL

A HEIGHT ABOVE ANOTHER LEVEL
A HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LEVEL AT A SET POINT ON THE COASTLINE.
A SPIRIT LEVEL
AN AUTOMATIC LEVEL

However:
For a surface to be FLAT & HORIZONTAL all HEIGHTS of that surface - from
whatever level datum you have chosen -must be equal.
A SPIRIT LEVEL checks that a surface is FLAT & HORIZONTAL whilst AN
AUTOMATIC LEVEL checks HEIGHTS.
In summary:
IS IT LEVEL means CHECK THAT THE SURFACE IS FLAT AND
HORIZONTAL BY USING A SPIRIT LEVEL OR AUTOMATIC LEVEL.
GIVE ME A LEVEL means PROVIDE ME WITH A HEIGHT USING A
TAPE MEASURE AND/OR AUTOMATIC LEVEL.

THE AUTOMATIC LEVEL (DUMPY)

The automatic level provides a horizontal plane using a telescope with a horizontal
crosshair. From this horizontal plane all heights(levels) can be calculated.

FOCUS SCREW

HORIZONTAL SLOW
MOTION SCREW
EYEPIECE

FOOTSCREWS

FOR THE REST OF THE COURSE WE WILL REFER TO AN AUTOMATIC

LEVEL AS A DUMPY.

LEVELLING 2

SETTING UP THE DUMPY

Decide where you wish to set up the dumpy considering the sightings you will be
taking - make sure that you do not set up on site traffic routes or dangerous locations.
Set up the tripod making sure it is relatively level and at a convenient height. Tread in
the tripod legs if you are on soft ground.
Attach the dumpy using the tripod attachment screw.
Centre the circular bubble using
the footscrews.
If you cannot look down
vertically upon the bubble use
the angled mirror.
Focusing is as per sheet EDM 5

USING THE DUMPY

BE CAREFUL NOT TO TAKE READINGS
FROM STADIA CROSSHAIRS.

Change in level of ceiling

Instrument height = Horizontal crosshair
A

Change in level of floor

In the above example distances - A & B will be added to the instrument height.
C & D will be deducted from the instrument height.
Measurements of A,B,C&D are made by tape measure or STAFF.

LEVELLING 3

THE BENCH MARK (BM)

In the U.K. the level (height) of all land and existing buildings have been established
by the Ordinance survey (OS). The levels are based upon the mean sea level (MSL)
at Newlyn in Cornwall and this mean sea level was chosen to represent the level
0.000m.
HERE IS A SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF WHAT TOOK THE O.S 30 YEARS TO
ESTABLISH:

NEWLYN

TAUNTON

SET UP 1

BRISTOL

SET UP 2

HIGHWORTH
SET UP 3

?
60m

80m

95m

0.000m
staff reading 70m - staff reading 10m
SET UP 2
staff reading 40m - staff reading 20m
SET UP 3
staff reading 50m - staff reading 35m

A Bench mark will have been established in Highworth by the O.S. on a permanent
position e.g. kerb, side of an existing building etc. and a level value assigned to it e.g.
96.120m THIS IS THE HEIGHT ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL AT NEWLYN.
The land surveyor would then have set up his dumpy and establish a TEMPORARY
BENCH MARK (TBM) on site.
Staff reading 2m

Staff reading 1m

SITE
TEMPORARY BENCH
MARK (T.B.M )
VALUE 95.120m

THIS T.B.M NOW CONTROLS ALL LEVELS ON SITE

O.S BENCH MARK

VALUE 96.120m

LEVELLING 4

A TEMPORARY BENCH MARK (TBM) can be any point on site which is not
likely to move vertically e.g. pencil cross on concrete slab, nail in road, control
station.
THE TBM NOW CONTROLS ALL SITE LEVELS AND OTHER TBM`S
(SECONDARY TBM`S) MAY BE ESTABLISHED ON SITE BASED ON THE
ORIGINAL TBM.
JUST LIKE PRIMARY CONTROL STATIONS AND SECONDARY CONTROL
STATIONS IN EDM WORK ORIGINAL TBM`S AND SECONDARY TBM`S
SHARE THE SAME ACCURACY DEPRECIATION.

INSTRUMENT HEIGHT = COLLIMATION LEVEL

VALUE 96.120m
0.520m

1.000m
TBM 1 VALUE 95.120
(supplied by others)

NEW T.B.M
ESTABLISHED BY YOU
VALUE 95.600

97.900m
INSTRUMENT HEIGHT = COLLIMATION LEVEL
300mm
VALUE 97.600m
Staff reading
1.500m

2m

95.600 m

TBM VALUE
96.100 m

FROM THE ABOVE EXAMPLES IT CAN BE SEEN THAT THE DUMPY IS A

TRANSFER INSTRUMENT IT MEASURES A DISTANCE UP FROM A
KNOWN LEVEL THEN TURNS TO A POINT MEASURES A DISTANCE
AND BY ADDITION OR SUBTRACTION GIVES THE LEVEL OF THAT
POINT.

LEVELLING 5

SETTING A LEVEL
EVERY LEVEL THAT YOU CALCULATE ON SITE IS MADE FROM :
THE INSTRUMENT HEIGHT = TBM VALUE + STAFF READING =
COLLIMATION HEIGHT (from now on )

= COLLIMATION
The site drawings will specify that all elements of buildings and external works are
constructed to a required height (level) ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
EXAMPLE 1
SET THIS PIN/PEG TO THE PROPOSED STRUCTURAL SLAB LEVEL (SSL)
STAFF

COLLIMATION=87.500 m

STAFF READING
= 1.800 m

1.800m

SSL = 85.500m

TOP OF PIN
IS AT 85.700m

The top of the pin is currently at a level 1.8m

BELOW COLLIMATION and therefore
at level of 87.500 1.800 = 85.700m.
Therefore the top of the pin is 0.200m (200mm) above
the slab level and hammering the pin down 200mm will put the top of the pin at the
same level as the proposed slab.
How do know if I have hammered the pin down exactly 200mm ?
Put the staff back onto the pin and with the dumpy take a new reading on the staff you
now read 2.020m where is the pin in relation to the proposed slab level ?

LEVELLING 6
STAFF

COLLIMATION=87.500 m

STAFF READING
= 2.020 m

2.020m

SSL = 85.500m
TOP OF PIN
IS AT 85.480m
. The top of the Pin is now at a level of 85.480m
COLLIMATION STAFF READING
87.500m
2.020m
Therefore we must pull up the pin 0.020m (20mm)
to achieve slab level and re-check.

THERE IS A MUCH QUICKER METHOD OF OBTAINING THE SSL

STAFF

COLLIMATION=87.500 m

STAFF READING
= 1.600m

1.600m

0.400m

TOP OF PIN
IS AT 85.900m

SSL = 85.500m
The top of the pin is currently at a level 85.900m
COLLIMATION STAFF READING
87.500m
1.600m
Therefore the top of the pin is 0.400m (400mm) above the slab level we now
measure down 400mm with a tape measure and wrap some insulating tape around the
pin THE TOP OF THE TAPE =SSL =85.500m.

LEVELLING 7

SLIDING THE STAFF TO SET A LEVEL

You are required to mark a level of 1 metre above finished floor level (FFL) on a
newly constructed concrete column to act as a datum for following trades.

STAFF READING
1.700m
COLLIMATION

TBM 34
VALUE 95.000m

96.700m

SLIDE STAFF
UNTIL YOU
READ 200mm

MARK BOTTOM OF STAFF

FFL + 1m (96.500)

You would COLLIMATE the dumpy by placing the staff on the nearest TBM in
this example TBM 34, which has a value of 95.000m You would ADD the staff
reading to the TBM value to get a COLLIMATION OF 96.700m.
FFL ON THE SITE DRAWINGS IS GIVEN AS 95.500m THEREFORE
FFL + 1m = 96.500m.
SO YOU CAN NOW CALCULATE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR
REQUIRED LEVEL AND YOUR COLLIMATION LEVEL =0.200m(200mm).
THIS IS THE READING YOU NEED TO TAKE ON AN UPRIGHT STAFF AS
THE REQUIRED LEVEL IS BELOW COLLIMATION (IF THE REQUIRED
LEVEL WAS ABOVE COLLIMATION THE STAFF WOULD BE INVERTED).
PUT THE STAFF ON THE COLUMN AND SLIDE IT UP OR DOWN UNTIL
YOU READ 200mm MARK THE BOTTOM OF THE STAFF - THIS MARK IS
YOUR REQUIRED LEVEL OF 96.500m. EXTEND THE MARK FULL WIDTH
OF THE COLUMN USING A SPIRIT LEVEL AND CLEARLY WRITE ABOVE
THE LINE WHAT IT REPRESENTS i.e. FFL + 1m (96.500m).
AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD WOULD BE TO MARK THE COLLIMATION
LEVEL DIRECTLY ONTO THE COLUMN BY MOVING A PENCIL UP OR
DOWN UNTIL IT CORRESPONDS WITH THE HORIZONTAL CROSSHAIRS
ON THE DUMPY. THE REQUIRED LEVEL IS THEN MEASURED FROM THIS
MARK WITH A TAPE MEASURE.

LEVEL BOOK 1

Date.

From.

BACK
SIGHT

INTERMEDIATE

FORE
SIGHT

COLLIMATION
OR H.P.C.

REDUCED LEVEL

Levels taken for..

To

DISTANCE

REMARKS

The level book is where the S.O. engineer records all measurements taken on site.
Contrary to its name it also used to hold setting out information that has been
transferred from the site drawings.
The most important aspect in using the level book is filling in the top line not only
does this make sense of all the figures entered below but also acts as a diary of all
operations that have occurred on site.
The FROM-TO lines can give additional location information but are not essential.
To use the book for levelling your first entry will be the top left cell under the
heading BACKSIGHT
This is the first time that you will look through the level and observe a reading on
the staff. The second entry will still be on the first line under the heading
REDUCED LEVEL this is not an observed reading, but a known level on which
the staff is being held, the value may come from the site drawings or from
previously calculated data from your book. The third entry on the first line is under
the heading COLLIMATION OR H.P.C. ( Height of Plane of Collimation) and is
the addition of your first two entries.

COLLIMATION = BACKSIGHT READING + THE REDUCED LEVEL

The Collimation value represents the level at which you have chose to set up the
instrument and therefore all other readings taken on the staff will tell you how far
the surveyed points are above (inverted staff) or below (upright staff) the instrument
level.
COLLIMATION VALUE = THE LEVEL OF YOUR INSTRUMENT
The final entry on the first line is under the heading REMARKS and should clarify
where the staff is held on this initial reading e.g. TBM No46 (top of kerb S.W.Car
Park).

LEVEL BOOK 2

Date.

Levels taken for..

From.

BACK
SIGHT

INTERMEDIATE

FORE
SIGHT

COLLIMATION
OR H.P.C.

REDUCED LEVEL

To

DISTANCE

REMARKS

You are now ready to move the staff to a new location wherever a level is to be
determined.
The staff is held at the new location and the instrument is turned to take the reading on
the staff. This reading is now entered on the second line under the heading INTERMEDIATE. You will then enter under the REMARKS column (on the same line) the
staff location at your reading e.g. concrete slab level at Grid line B/4.
The above procedure is repeated for all new locations and the corresponding readings
entered on a separate line of the book together with an entry in the REMARKS
column.
REMEMBER EACH NEW READING = NEW LINE OF BOOK
When you have finished taking all your readings there are 3 options open to you:
1/ Pack up the instrument and calculate the levels you have taken.
2/ RECOMMENDED ; Put the staff back on the original position that you first
started with and take a new reading this should be entered on the next line
under FORESIGHT. (This basically checks that the instrument has remained
level throughout your readings i.e. the FORESIGHT READING SHOULD BE
THE SAME AS YOUR BACKSIGHT READING 1 to 2mm.) You can then
pack up the instrument and calculate the levels you have taken.
3/ If you need to move the instrument to a new location and cannot use your
original level datum location (your initial BACKSIGHT) you can create a
CHANGE POINT. Put the staff on any desired location that is solid and
identifiable and enter the reading under the column FORESIGHT not forgetting
to enter the location of the reading under the REMARKS column highlighting that
this point is a change point (C.P.) You are now in a position to move your
instrument to a new location and use the change point as a new backsight.

LEVEL BOOK 3

We have previously calculated the level that your instrument is set at

(COLLIMATION VALUE) therefore:
REDUCED LEVEL = COLLIMATION INTER-MEDIATE or
FORESIGHT
if the staff was inverted when read then:
REDUCED LEVEL = COLLIMATION + INTER-MEDIATE OR FORESIGHT
( 2 s make a +)

Date.

Levels taken for..

From.

BACK
SIGHT

INTERMEDIATE

FORE
SIGHT

COLLIMATION
OR H.P.C.

REDUCED LEVEL

To

DISTANCE

REMARKS

EXTERNAL WORKS 1

MOST EXTERNAL WORKS ARE DESIGNED TO A FALL - SLOPE GRADIENT BECAUSE THE MAIN CONSIDERATION IS THE TRANSFER
OF WATER.

GOOD DESIGN

BAD DESIGN
WATER MOVES PROPORTIONALLY TO THE ANGLE OF THE SLOPE

QUICKER

SLOWER

DESIGN ENGINEERS WILL CALCULATE THE VARYING SLOPES

TO FIT IN WITH THE SURROUNDING GROUND AND SEWER LEVELS.
SLOPE CALCULATIONS : YOU WILL NEED EITHER

1- TWO LEVELS
PLUS A DISTANCE
(HD or SD)

90.000m

SD
80.000m

HD

EXTERNAL WORKS 2

2- ONE LEVEL
PLUS A (HD or SD)
PLUS A GRADIENT
90.000m

SD

1 in 40

VD
HD
HD
HD
WHAT IS A GRADIENT ?
1 in 40 - THE VD IS 1m WHEN THE HD IS 40m or THE VD IS 0.5m WHEN THE
HD IS 20m etc.
% - THE VD DIVIDED BY HD x 100
.
HOW TO CALCULATE A GRADIENT

1- TWO LEVELS
PLUS A DISTANCE
(HD or SD)

90.000m

VD =10.000m
80.000m
CALCULATED
HD =60.000m
FROM THE ABOVE DIAGRAM
DIVIDE TOP AND BOTTOM OF EQUATION BY VD

TO GET THE 1 IN X

VD = 10 = 10 / 10 = 1 = 1 IN 6
HD 60
60 / 10 6

EXTERNAL WORKS 3
2- ONE LEVEL
PLUS A (HD or SD)
PLUS A GRADIENT
92.000m

1 in 80

HD
HD

HD = 50.000m
TO FIND LEVEL Z
YOU ARE REDUCING LEVEL AT A
RATE OF 1m EVERY 80m
THEREFORE THE REDUCTION IN LEVEL ON THE ABOVE EXAMPLE
IS:
1 DIVIDED BY 80 = 0.0125m
THIS IS THE

x 50 METRES = 0.625 m

FALL PER METRE

YOU HAVE A STARTING LEVEL OF 92.000m THE TOTAL HD = 50m

THEREFORE LEVEL Z = 92.000m ( 50.000m x 0.0125m )
Z = 92.000m 0.625m = 91.375m
TO DOUBLE CHECK (USING PREVIOUS SHEET)
VD = 92.000 m Z
= 92.000 m 91.375m
= 0.625m
92.000m

VD =0.625m

CALCULATED

CALCULATED
91.375m
HD = 50.000m

EXTERNAL WORKS 4

TO GET THE 1 IN X

VD = 0.625 = 0.625 / 0.625 = 1 = 1 IN 80

HD 50.000 50.000 / 0.625
80

TO GET THE PERCENTAGE

% = VD x 100 = 0.625 x 100 = 1.25 %

HD
50.000

TO CONVERT 1 IN 80 TO %

1 = 0.0125 x 100 = 1.25 %

80

FINDING A LEVEL ALONG A SLOPE

96.000m

? m

VD

94.000m

HD
16m

4m

THE LEVELS ALONG A SLOPE ARE CACULATED FROM THE 1 IN X

FROM THE EXAMPLE ABOVE
VD = 2.000m (calculated)
HD = 20.000m (calculated)
1 in x = 2 = 1 in 10
20
SO YOU NOW KNOW THAT THE ABOVE GRADIENT IS 1 IN 10
FROM EXTERNAL WORKS SHEET 3 FOR EVERY 1m IN HD YOU ARE
CHANGING THE VD BY 1 = 0.100m THIS IS THE FALL PER METRE
10
THEREFORE IN 16m THE VD HAS CHANGED BY 16 x 0.100m = 1.6m
THE LEVEL AT THE TOP OF THE SLOPE WAS 96.000m AND AT 16m
ALONG THE SLOPE THE LEVEL WILL BE 96.000m 1.6m = 94.400m
AS A DOUBLE CHECK RECALCULATE FROM THE BOTTOM OF SLOPE

EXTERNAL WORKS 5
DRAINAGE

DIG WIDTH

PIPE DIAMETER
PIPE THICKNESS

INVERT LEVEL
PIPE
BEDDING

PIPE DIAMETERS WILL NORMALLY BE 100mm - 450mm ON MOST JOBS

DIG WIDTHS WILL BE GIVEN ON THE SITE DRAWINGS
INVERT LEVELS WILL BE GIVEN ON THE SITE DRAWINGS AT EACH
MANHOLE
PIPE THICKNESS VARIES ON THE PIPE DIAMETERS (MEASURE ON
SITE)

MH SW63 I.L 67.900 m

MH SW64 I.L. 68.500 m

SECTION

PLAN

EXTERNAL WORKS 6
SETTING OUT DRAIN RUNS
Manhole
areofnormally
and can
be scaled
from
theset
drawing
and
set out to positions
a tolerance
approx non
300critical
mm. Some
manholes
have
to be
out more
accurately where their location is close to other structural elements of the works.
Example kerbs, between two buildings close together, all internal manholes.
Position both manholes each end of a drain run taking consideration of the above a
pin / peg driven into the ground to mark each manhole. A string line attached to both
these pins/pegs is then spray-painted to indicate the centre of the dig - you will have
to tell the digger driver the dig width so that he can attach the correct excavating
bucket to his machine.
CONTROLLING DRAIN LEVELS
MIN REQUIREMENT IS A PROFILE AT EACH MANHOLE

PLAN

offset

MAX SPACING OF PROFILES = 30m

MH SW63 I.L 67.900 m

MH SW64 I.L. 68.500 m

Profiles

SECTION
TRAVELLER

PIPE BEDDING
88 m

DIG LEVEL

EXTERNAL WORKS 7
PROBLEM
SET OUT 5 PROFILE BOARDS AT 22m SPACINGS THE PIPE THICKNESS IS
20mm THE PIPE BEDDING IS TO BE 150mm DEEP
MH SW63 I.L 67.900 m

MH SW64 I.L. 68.500 m

SECTION
TRAVELLER
FOR DIG
PIPE BEDDING

DIG LEVEL

88 m

FROM INVERT LEVEL TO DIG LEVEL = PIPE THICKNESS + BEDDING

DEPTH = 170mm AND TAKE THIS AWAY FROM THE IL`s AT EACH END
OF THE DRAINAGE RUN.
SET OUT 5 PEGS AT AN OFFSET OF 2m FROM THE CENTRE OF PIPE
TAKE THE LEVELS OF THE TOPS OF THE FIVE PEGS
70.400
70.300

70.200

22m

22m

70.200

70.250

22m

22m
68.330m
DIG LEVEL

67.730m
DIG LEVEL

EXTERNAL WORKS 8

WORK OUT THE FALL OF THE DRAIN RUN

WORK OUT THE DIG LEVEL AT EACH OF THE PEG POSITIONS

DECIDE YOUR TRAVELLER LENGTH AND SET YOUR PROFILE RAILS

EXTERNAL WORKS 9
SETTING OUT KERBS
TOP OF KERB (TOK) IS HOW YOU CONTROL THE HEIGHT OF THE
KERB

FINISHED ROAD LEVEL (FRL)

IN RELATION TO THE
TOK VARIES ON EACH JOB
CHECK SITE DRAWINGS
(BOK)
BACK OF KERB

FACE OF KERB

NORMALLY 125 mm
FOF THE ENKA COURSE THE SITE DRAWINGS
AS:
TOP OF KERB (TOK)
125mm
FINISHED ROAD LEVEL (FRL)

ARE SPECIFIED

THE CONTROL PIN THAT YOU

WILL POSITION FOR LINE AND
LEVEL OF THE KERB
125 mm

KERB RADIUS
RADIUS POINT
T.P

T.P
TANGENT POINTS (i.e. T.P) ARE WHERE THE STRAIGHT LINE STARTS TO
TURN INTO A CURVE YOU MUST HAVE THE COORDINATES OF POINTS.
PINS MUST BE SET OUT AT THESE POINTS. TANGENT POINTS ARE AT 90
FROM THE STRAIGHT LINES TO THE RADIUS POINT.

EXTERNAL WORKS 10
KERB RADIUS CONTINUED

THE RADIUS POINT (THE CENTRE OF THE CIRCLE)

ALWAYS HAS A COORDINATES
IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PUT A PIN IN AT
THE RADIUS POINT AND THE RADIUS IS
WITHIN THE LENGTH OF YOUR LONGEST
TAPE MEASURE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
SET YOUR CONTROL PINS BY SWINGING
THE TAPE FROM THE RADIUS POINT
DONT FORGET THAT THE SITE DRAWINGS
GIVES A RADIUS TO THE FRONT OF KERB BUT
WE NEED TO SET OUT OUR CONTROL PINS TO THE BACK OF KERB SO
WE ADD OR SUBTRACT 125mm (DEPENDING ON WHICH SIDE OF
KERB THE ROAD IS )TO THE RADIUS LENGTH THAT IS GIVEN ON THE
SITE DRAWINGS
IF YOU CANNOT TAPE FROM THE RADIUS POINT

YOU WILL NOW HAVE TO USE

COORDINATES TO SET OUT
YOUR CONTROL PINS.

RADIUS =80m

PUT THE POGO WHERE YOU THINK THE BACK

OF THE KERB SHOULD BE - COORDINATE
THE POINT WITH THE EDM
THEN USING S1 W.C.B ON
THE CASIO WITH FIRST POINT
BEING THE RADIUS COORDINATES THE
SECOND POINT IS THE CURRENT
COORDINATE OF THE POGO, WHICH IS CURRENTLY
DISPLAYED ON THE EDM
LOOK AT THE DISTANCE ON THE CASIO AND
COMPARE IT WITH THE RADIUS OF THE CURVE
TELL YOUR CHAINBOY TO MOVE EITHER
IN OR OUT FROM THE RADIUS POINT
RE-COORDINATE THE POGO AND
WITHOUT EXITING S1 RE-CALCULATE THE
EDM
DISTANCE ADJUST AND REPEAT
DONT FORGET THAT THE SITE DRAWINGS
GIVE A RADIUS TO THE FRONT OF KERB

POGO

ERRORS 1
ALL SETTING OUT ENGINEERS WILL MAKE MISTAKES WE ARE
HUMAN SOME ENGINEERS THINK THEY ARE FROM A DIFFERENT
PLANET AND NEVER MAKE A MISTAKE BELIEVE THEM IF THEY
ARE GREEN AND HAVE POINTED EARS !
BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO MAKE MISTAKES WE CAN ENSURE THAT IF
WE SET OUT WRONGLY IT CAN BE PUT RIGHT BUT WHEN?
EVERYTHING YOU SET OUT ON SITE WILL BE CONSTRUCTED VERY
QUICKLY - BUT YOU MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DOUBLE.
CHECK YOUR SETTING OUT BEFORE THIS PROCESS BEGINS.
THIS IS THE TIME TO DOUBLE CHECK YOUR SETTING OUT.
FROM ALL ASPECTS: EDM INITIAL SET UP - HAVE I USED THE CORRECT STATION
AND BACKSIGHT POINT?
DID I SIGHT THE BACKSIGHT ACCURATELY ?
HAVE I READ THE SETTING OUT BEARING CORRECTLY ?
HAVE I READ THE SETTING OUT DISTANCE CORRECTLY ?
DUMPY AM I USING THE CORRECT TBM ?
HAVE I READ THE STAFF READINGS CORRECTLY ?
HAS THE DUMPY BEEN DISTURBED WHILST IV`E BEEN TAKING
STAFF READINGS ?
CASIO CALCULATOR DID I PUNCH IN THE CORRECT VALUES INTO
THE CALCULATOR.

TAPE MEASUREMENT - HAVE I READ THE TAPE MEASURE

CORRECTLY ?
DID I MAKE THE RIGHT CORRECTIONS TO THE END OF THE
TAPE MEASURE ?

ERRORS 2

COMMON SENSE
AM I USING THE LATEST REVISION OF THE SITE DRAWING?
HAVE I DOUBLE CHECKED THE SITE DRAWINGS AND
TRANSFERRED THE INFORMATION CORRECTLY TO MY LEVEL
BOOK?
DID I SET OUT BACK OF KERB & TOP OF KERB ?
HAVE I COMMUNICATED WITH THE TRADESMAN PROPERLY
AND GIVEN THEM THE LINE OR LEVEL THEY REQUIRED ?
HAVE I GIVEN THE CORRECT TRAVELLER ?

DIMENSIONAL CHECKS
IF YOU ARE SETTING OUT A SQUARE OR RECTANGLE
MEASURE BETWEEN THE POINTS YOU HAVE SET OUT
TO CONFIRM THE SQUARENESS.
CHECK DIAGONALS.

VISUAL CHECKS
LOOK ALONG THE PINS YOU HAVE JUST SET OUT FOR A KERB
LINE DO THE TOP OF TAPES THAT YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED
AS BEING TOP OF KERB LINE IN THE SAME APPLIES FOR
PROFILES.
LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE JUST SET OUT DOES IT RELATE
TO OTHER SITE FEATURES - CHECK MEASUREMENTS FROM
EXISTING COLUMNS, EDGE OF SLAB ETC. ?
LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE JUST SET OUT DOES IT RELATE
TO SITE BOUNDARIES
- USE A SCALE RULE ON THE SITE
DRAWINGS AND COMPARE TO ACTUAL
MEASURED
DISTANCES .

ERRORS 3

TOLERANCES
EVERY ELEMENT OF THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS REQUIRES
A DIFFERING AMOUNT OF ACCURACY ON THE INITIAL
SETTING OUT.
A SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT
ON EVERY SITE THERE WILL BE ONE OF THESE
THAT WILL TELL YOU THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SETTING OUT
ACCURACY.

THIS IS A TYPICAL EXAMPLE AND WILL BE USED IN THE ENKA EXAM:

PRIMARY CONTROL CHECK
3mm
LEVELS OF TBM`S THAT HAVE BEEN SUPPLIED 3mm
FOUNDATIONS - LINE
4Omm LEVEL 10 mm
GRID LINE OFFSETS 5mm
EDGE OF SLAB 10mm
LEVEL OF SLAB 6mm
FACE OF BRICKWORK 10mm
POSITION OF STEEL /CONCRETE COLUMN 5mm
CONCRETE BEAM LEVELS 10mm
POSITION OF LIFT SHAFTS 5mm
POSITION OF REINFORCEMENT BARS 10mm
DRAINAGE LEVELS 10mm
EARTHWORK CONTROL - LINE 50mm LEVEL - 15mm
MANHOLE POSITIONS 100mm
POSITION OF KERBS 20mm
HEIGHT OF KERBS 10mm
SECONDARY CONTROL
ANY
THAT YOU WILLBUT
ESTABLISH
WILL
NOT BE
INCLUDED
THE SPECIFICATION
YOU MUST
ENSURE
IT IS
WITHIN IN
3
mm WHEN CHECKED FROM THE PRIMARY STATIONS.
SIMILARLY,
YOUFROM
ESTABLISH
ON SITE
MUST
BE WITHIN ALL
3mm TBM`S
WHEN THAT
CHECKED
THE MASTER
TBM`S.

ERRORS 4

INSTRUMENT CHECKS

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU ESTABLISH A CHECK BASE LINE

SOMEWHERE ON SITE.

30M

15M

SET THE EDM OVER A CROSS/NAIL AT A.

WITH A STEEL TAPE ACCURATELY MEASURE 30 M AND SET POINT C.
SIGHT THE EDM ON POINT C & LINE IN POINT B 15m FROM POINT A.
CHECKING THE DUMPY (TWO PEG TEST)

SET THE DUMPY UP APPROXIMATELY OVER POINT B.

TAKE ACCURATE STAFF READINGS ON POINTS A & C WORK
OUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE READINGS VALUE X.
NOW SET UP THE DUMPY APPROX 5 M FROM POINT A.

5M
TAKE ACCURATE STAFF READINGS ON POINTS A & C WORK
OUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE READINGS VALUE Y.

IF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VALUES X & Y EXCEEDS 4mm

THE INSTRUMENT SHOULD BE SENT FOR SERVICE.

ERRORS 5

CHECKING THE EDM

SET UP THE EDM ON POINT B SIGHT POINT A AND ZERO THE
HA (HORIZONTAL BEARING).
MEASURE THE HD USING A MINI PRISM.
TURN THE EDM 180 AND YOU SHOULD BE SIGHTING POINT C.
MEASURE THE HD USING A MINI PRISM ( BOTH HD`S WHEN
ADDED TOGETHER SHOULD TOTAL 30M).
NOW FLIP THE TELESCOPE OVER (FACE RIGHT) AND SEE HOW
FAR FROM POINT A THE TELESCOPE IS POINTING.
NOW SIGHT A DEFINED POINT AT A FAIRLY STEEP ANGLE
LOCK THE HORIZONTAL CLAMP.
NOW TILT THE TELESCOPE SO THAT IT IS HORIZONTAL AND
MARK THE LINE OF THE VERTICAL CROSSHAIR.
NOW FLIP THE TELESCOPE OVER (FACE LEFT) AND REPEAT
NOTING THE DIFFERENCE IN THE TWO LINES.
FOR ALL THE ABOVE CHECKS
- IF ANY OF THE ERRORS
EXCEED 4mm THEN THE EDM SHOULD BE SENT FOR SERVICE.
INSTRUMENT
CHECKS
SHOULD
BE
CARRIED
OUT
FORTNIGHTLY AND IF POSSIBLE BEFORE CRITICAL SETTING
OUT.
IF THE SITE OPERATES A QUALITY ASSURANCESYSTEM (i.e.
Q.A.) IT WILL SPECIFY THE PERIOD BETWEEN CHECKS.
NOTE
EDM`S ARE SUSSEPTABLE TO VIBRATION ERROR IF YOU ARE
WORKING IN THESE CONDITIONS, CONTINUALLY CHECK YOUR
BACKSIGHT ANGLE.

SITE CHECK LIST 1

PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE
WHEN YOU WALK ONTO SITE FOR THE FIRST TIME YOUR
INITIAL ATTITUDE AND THE WAY YOU CONDUCT YOURSELF
CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOU EVEN IF YOU KNOW YOUR STUFF.
WHEN YOU MEET THE SITE MANAGER & FOREMAN YOU ARE
JOINING A SITE TEAM AND YOU WILL BE WORKING
CLOSELY WITH THESE PEOPLE FOR THE DURATION OF YOUR
CONTRACT.
NO MATTER HOW AWFUL THIS SITE TEAM IS YOU HAVE TO
GET ON WITH THEM - BE FRIENDLY BE SYMPATHETIC.
IMPORTANT
DO NOT ASK QUESTIONS THAT ARE UNNECESSARY IN
CARRYING OUT YOUR JOB
- LEARN BY OBSERVING SITE
OPERATIONS, GIVE THEM CONFIDENCE THAT YOU CAN DO
YOUR JOB.
THINGS YOU NEED TO BUY BEFORE GOING TO SITE
PROTECTIVE FOOTWEAR STEEL CAPPED & SUITABLE
CLOTHING. AN EQUIPMENT BUCKET CONTAINING A HAMMER
NAILS STRING LINE 5 OR 8 METRE TAPE ETC.
THINGS YOU NEED TO BE PROVIDED WITH FROM SITE
A - THE RELEVANT SITE DRAWINGS YOU NEED IN ORDER TO
SET OUT THE WORKS.
B - A COPY OF THE SITE DRAWING REGISTER TO CONFIRM
YOU ARE USING THE LATEST REVISION OF A DRAWING.
C - THE HORIZONTAL CONTROL OF THE SITE WHERE ARE
THE CONTROL STATIONS - WHAT ARE THEIR VALUES.
D - THE VERTICAL CONTROL OF THE SITE WHERE ARE THE
TBMS OR CONTROL POINTS - WHAT ARE THEIR VALUES.
E - WHO IS MY IMMEDIATE SUPERIOR (FOREMAN, SENIOR
ENGINEER, SITE MANAGER ETC.)
F - WHERE IS ALL THE EQUIPMENT I NEED TO CARRY OUT MY
JOB EDM, DUMPY, LONG TAPES, SPIRIT LEVEL ETC.

PROBLEM SHEET 1

ON ALL PROBLEM SHEETS TRY TO WRITE DOWN THE METHODS

YOU HAVE USED IN ACHIEVING THE ANSWER.

A
5.346 m

12.782m

CALCULATE THE DISTANCE A ?

CALCULATE THE ANGLE

Angle

PROBLEM SHEET 2

A BRICK WALL HAS TO BE BUILT SQUARELY BETWEEN TWO

EXISTING WALLS THE START OF THE WALL HAS BEEN ALREADY
MARKED ON ONE OF THE WALLS CAN THE ENGINEER PLEASE MARK
THE OPPOSITE WALL SO THAT THE NEW WALL IS BUILT CORRECTLY.

EXISTING
BRICK WALLS

THE BRICKLAYER
REQUIRES THIS MARK ON
THE FACE OF THE WALL

5.4 m

PROPOSED NEW WALL

START POSITION
OF NEW WALL
DRAW INTO THE BELOW DIAGRAM HOW YOU WOULD DO THIS ?

START POSITION
OF NEW WALL

PROBLEM SHEET 3

0 MARK

8 mm

NAIL

END RING

YOU WANT TO SET OUT A NEW NAIL AT 5.76m FROM THE NAIL
FEATURED ABOVE - THE TAPE IS HOOKED ON THE NAIL ABOVE
WHAT READING ON THE TAPE DO YOU PUT YOUR NEW NAIL AT ?

100 mm

END RING

NAIL

THE TAPE IS BEING HELD ON A NAIL AS ABOVE IF YOU NEED TO

CHECK HOW FAR ANOTHER POINT IS FROM THIS NAIL AND THE TAPE
READING OVER THAT POINT IS
3765 mm
WHAT IS THE TRUE
MEASUREMENT BETWEEN THE NAIL ABOVE AND THE POINT YOU ARE
CHECKINIG ?

0 MARK

8 mm

NAIL

END RING

YOU WANT TO SET OUT A NEW NAIL AT 49.9m FROM THE NAIL
FEATURED ABOVE - THE TAPE IS HOOKED ON THE NAIL ABOVE
WHAT READING ON THE TAPE DO YOU PUT YOUR NEW NAIL AT WHEN
THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE IS 0 ?

PROBLEM SHEET 4
LOCAL COORDINATES
3

12.250m

FACE OF BRICKWORK

NORTH
6

23.500m
1000.000 E
500.000N

WORK OUT THE COORDINATES OF THE 8 OFFSET NAILS, WHICH ARE

TO BE SET AT 2m FROM THE FACE OF BRICKWORK.

YOU HAVE A EDM STATION (1015.200E, 510.670N) & A BACKSIGHT

STATION (1025.640E, 475.900N), NOW CALCULATE THE BEARINGS AND
DISTANCES TO THE 8 OFFSET NAILS FROM THIS STATION?

PROBLEM SHEET 5
YOU WILL BE CONTROLLING THIS STRUCTURE WITH THE EDM SET
UP OVER A CONTROL STATION 2 ( 1090.480 E, 568.789 N ).
HOW WOULD YOU SET OUT ABC,D FROM STATION 2
37.250
A

A=1105.193E, 560.000N
C=1105.193E, 550.000N

E
7.2m
B

7.2m
A

4.8m
F

6.8m
1034.560 E
567.545 N

3.4m

12.5m

WORK OUT THE COORDINATES OF A TO F

PROBLEM SHEET 6
GLOBAL COORDINATES

98.500m

98.500m

1245.354 E
567.896 N

L
1378.941E
489.535N

THE GRID IS DIVIDED EQUALY INTO 3 BETWEEN THE COORDINATE

POINTS, USE THE W.C.B. PROGRAM TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCE.
WHAT ARE THE COORDINATES OF A TO L?
FINIALLY DETERMINE THE BEARING & DISTANCE FROM THE EDM
(1222.544E, 501.356N) & A BACKSIGHT STATION (1177.998E, 488.622N) TO
ALL POINTS.

PROBLEM SHEET 7

107.645m

106.985m
38.345 m
WHAT IS THE FALL PER METRE ON THE ABOVE SLOPE ?

102.823m
A
B

41
99.150m
41.205m

58.437m
149.632 m

CALCULATE THE REDUCED LEVELS AT POINTS A & B.

PROBLEM SHEET 8

4.869m

4.600m
4.780m

A
120.560 TOK

C
D

4.450m

E
119.270 TOK

WHAT ARE THE TOK LEVELS AT PIN B,C &D?

TBM = 120.500

YOU SET UP THE DUMPY NEARBY AND TAKE A STAFF READING OF

1.872 m ON THE TBM.

PUTTING THE STAFF ON TOP OF THE FIVE PINS YOU OBTAIN THE
FOLLOWING STAFF READINGS:A = 1.653m
B = 1.528m
C = 1.579m
D = 1.498m
E = 1.640m
FOR A TO E - WHAT IS THE DISTANCE DOWN FROM TOP OF PIN TO
THE CORRESPONDING TOK LEVEL?

PROBLEM SHEET 9

SWMH 123 IL . 78.560

SWMH 124
450 FALL 1 IN 120
106.670m

PEGS ABCD HAVE BEEN POSITIONED EQUALLY ALONG THE

PROPOSED DRAIN RUN.
WITH YOUR DUMPY YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THE LEVELS OF THE
TOP OF THESE PEGS AS:A = 79.510
B= 79.485
C= 79.405
D = 78.976
THE PIPE THICKNESS ON THE DRAINAGE RUN IS 32mm AND THE PIPE
BEDDING IS 300mm.
WORK OUT A SUITABLE PROFILE LEVEL AND CORRESPONDING
TRAVELLER LENGTHS FOR DIG, PIPE BEDDING AND TOP OF PIPE.

PROBLEM SHEET 10
SWMH 124 IL. 45 .870
A
THE EDM IS SET UP OVER
STN 4 - 1090.679 E
571.879
300
FALL 1 IN 150

SWMH 126

SWMH 125
E
450 FALL 1 IN 120

C
450 1 IN 100

SW 124
SW125
SW126
SW127

1089.090E 567.980 N
1077.470E 589.785 N
1081.208E 608.600 N
1065.453E 605.650 N

WORK OUT THE DISTANCE/BEARINGS FROM STN 4 TO SET OUT

THESE MANHOLES
THE DUMPY IS COLLIMATED AT 47.895 AND THE STAFF READINGS ON
THE TOP OF THE PEGS ARE:A 1.214
B - 0.768
C - 0.457
D 0.785
E - 0.122
F - 1.875
THE PIPE THICKNESS ON THIS DRAIN RUN IS 32mm FOR 300 PIPES &
45 mm FOR 450 PIPES - THE PIPE BEDDING IS 200mm THROUGHOUT.
WORK OUT A SUITABLE PROFILE LEVEL AND CORRESPONDING
TRAVELLER LENGTHS FOR DIG, PIPE BEDDING AND TOP OF PIPE.

PROBLEM SHEET 11
A CONCRETE SLAB IS TO BE CONSTRUCTED AROUND A BUILDING
(GREY SHADED AREA).
THE ARCHITECT REQUIRES THE SLAB TO FALL AWAY FROM THE
BUILDING, WITH A TOTAL FALL OF 36mm REQUIRED AT THE
OUTSIDE EDGE. THE SLAB LEVEL ADJACENT THE BUILDING IS
78.600m.
PINS HAVE BEEN SET OUT AT POINTS A TO M
2.65m
A

3.760m
B

2.5m
M

F
1.8m

THE TBM VALUE USED IS 79.150 WITH A BACKSIGHT READING OF

1.875.
STAFF READINGS FROM THE TOPS OF THE PINS ARE :
A 1.784
B 1.678
C 1.598
FOR THIS PROBLEM SHEET
D 1.975
FILL IN YOUR LEVEL BOOK AS YOU WOULD
E 1.759
DO ON SITE
F 2.360
G 1.349
WARNING - ENKA WILL BE NOW CHECKING
H 1.563
YOUR BOOKEEPING
J 1.673
K- 1.080
L 2.090
M 1.980
CALCULATE THE SLOPES & WORK OUT THE DISTANCE FROM THE
TOP OF THE PINS TO THE TOP OF THE CONCRETE SLAB.

PROBLEM SHEET 12
THE FOLLOWING GRIDS HAVE NOT BEEN DRAWN TO SCALE AND
THEREFORE YOUR ANSWER IS BASED ON YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF
COORDINATES AND BEARINGS ONLY.

A = 1205.000 E
563.500 N

B = 1467.200 E
456.400 N
INDICATE WHERE
NORTH IS ON THE GRID ?
A

C = 47295.000 E
56583.500 N
C (EDM)
D = 47237.200 E
56796.400 N
THE EDM IS SET UP ON C A ND
HAS BEEN BACKSIGHTED TO D
D
THE EDM HAS BEEN TURNED
AND IS NOW DISPLAYING A
HORIZONTAL BEARING OF 270 00'00"
INDICATE WHERE THE EDM POINTING ON THE GRID ?

APPROXIMATELY INDICATE
WHERE NORTH IS ?
STN 6 = 245678.975 E
187964.674 N
STN 7 = 245618.653 E
187842.754 N

STN 6

STN 7

SETTING OUT TECHNIQUES 1

FORMING A RIGHT-ANGLE

3M

5M

4M
90 can be set out using tapes and string lines in the proportion of the 3-4-5
PYTHAGORAS TRIANGLE. Any proportion will work e.g. 18(3x6),
24(4x6),30(5x6) or
1.5(3/2),2(4/2),2.5(5/2) the selected scale used is determined by the size of the area
available.

`
C
A

If A must be between 500mm and 700mm and B can be any length what
suitable lengths of a 3-4-5 triangle would you use to form the right angle ?

SETTING OUT TECHNIQUES 2

Suggested lengths of 3-4-5 triangle on sheet1 =

A=600mm,B=800mm,C=1000mm
FORMING SQUARES AND RECTANGLES
You can set out any square or rectangle using the 3-4-5 TRIANGLE.
C

8m

20m

To set out the above rectangle given AB we will use a 9-12-15m scale.
X
1m
Cc

E
15m

9m

9m

12m

Measure 12m along BA and mark Y. Measure 9m from B and scribe an arc.
Measure 15m from Y and scribe another arc- the intersection of these arcs
is X. String a line between X and B. Measure 1m from X towards B and
mark C.
Point E on the rectangle is achieved in the same way from A (the triangle
being handed).
There is a quicker method of forming the above rectangle using the
PYTHAGORAS THEOREM D = L + H
C

D
H
B

L
Try to set out the 8m x 20m rectangle ABCE using this method..

SETTING OUT TECHNIQUES 3

To set out the 8m x 20m rectangle ABCE

E
D

H
B

A
L

D = L + H
D = 20 + 8
D = 400 + 64
D = 464
D = 21.541m (This is not only the distance between AC but also between
BE)
You can now set out point C by measuring 8 m from B and 21.541 m from A

E by measuring either 21.541 from B and 8 m
from A
or by measuring 20 m from C and 8 m from A.
Setting out a rectangle with an E.D.M.
To set out the above rectangle you could set up the EDM on point A sight
B turn 90 and measure 8m to establish E. Then set up on point B sight
A turn 90 and measure 8m to establish C. However a more efficient
method would be to establish C & E from ONE set up of the EDM.

If we can calculate this angle

Then C can be established
D
with the EDM set on A.
H

A
L

Using the TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTION Tan

Find the angle .

= Opposite(H)
Adjacent(L)

SETTING OUT TECHNIQUES 4

Tan

=8
20

= 21.801 or 21 48 04
So now the EDM is set up on point A sighting B at 0 00 00 - the
instrument is then turned to read 21 48 04 and at a distance of 21.541m
- point C is established. The EDM is then turned to read 90 00 00 and at
8m - Point E is established.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND THE SETTING

OUT TECHNIQUES IN THESE
FIRST 4 SHEETS BEFORE WE
PROGRESS TO MORE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES.
Here is a further problem:
B

5m

C
The
EDM
sighting
pointisB set
at 0 up
00 on
00 .point A What angle and at what distance
should point C be set out to ?

If you were without an EDM but given

the line AB - how would you set out
point C ?
17m

SETTING OUT TECHNIQUES 5

SETTING OUT OFFSETS

Offset Distance

Whenever a building is set out - the initial setting out lines are very quickly destroyed
by the building process and therefore it is necessary to establish offset points so that
control can be re-established at any time.
The engineer must decide on a suitable offset distance that will be clear of excavators
and general access to the building process.
In this example a nail has been put on the offset board to correspond with the grid line
given on the site drawings but additional marks on the board can represent other
required lines that are required during the building process.

Dimensions given on site drawings

Face of cladding

GRID LINE

Inner face of Blockwork

COORDINATES 1

THE GRID
Coordinates
areeach
a numerical
lines that cross
other at value
90 . given to a grid intersection. A grid is a number of

THIS IS A
HORIZONTAL
GRID LINE

THESE ARE GRID

INTERSECTION
POINTS

THIS IS A
VERTICAL GRID
LINE

When these vertical and horizontal grid lines are given values then the grid
intersection points will have a vertical value and a horizontal value.
300
The grid intersection
Value of this point is
50 vertical and 200
Horizontal.
200

100
25

50

75

COORDINATES 2
NORTH
300

NORTHINGS
COORDINATE
200

EAST

EASTINGS

100
25

50

75

We can now change the descriptions of the grid that were given on the previous page
to:
A VERTICAL GRID LINE = AN EASTING
A HORIZONTAL GRID LINE = A NORTHING
A GRID INTERSECTION POINT = A SET OF COORDINATES
Therefore:
These COORDINATES for the point shown above are 50 EASTINGS ,200
NORTHINGS.
THIS SET OF COORDINATES CAN BE SIMPLIFIED TO 50 E, 200 N.

** ALWAYS REMEMBER **
A NORTHING IS A LINE RUNNING EAST WEST
AN EASTING IS A LINE RUNNING NORTH- SOUTH
A NORTHING VALUE INCREASES TO THE NORTH
AN EASTING VALUE INCREASES TO THE EAST

COORDINATES 3

HOW A GRID IS SET UP

On a building site, a grid would have been set up many months before construction
commenced. A land surveyor would have been employed to make a map of the land
so that the architect can produce a sensible scheme that fits into its boundaries. Below
is a plot of land that needs to be mapped.

500 m

600m

The land Surveyor has measured the approximate overall size of the land and
accordingly has decided the values in metres that the grid should cover (the scale of
the map). The land Surveyor now decides the orientation of the grid:

N?

N?

NORTH can be related to magnetic North, National Grid North and indeed could be
decided by the shape of the land and how it fits on a drawing.

COORDINATES 4
Once North has been decided the Land surveyor lays out a grid in this example the
grid SIZE is 100m. Because NORTH is arbitrary in this example the Land Surveyor
can choose where the ORIGIN of the grid lies i.e. THE COORDINATE 0 E , 0 N.
The ORIGIN (Point A) should always lie in the SW corner of the grid so that all
Eastings and Northings are POSITIVE on site.
B
NORTH
400m N

300 N
C

200 N
D
100 N

0N
A

0E

100 E

200 E

300 E

400 E

500m E

The land Surveyor now establishes CONTROL STATIONS on site at B,C & D.

This will be explained later in the course.

The COORDINATES of these CONTROL STATIONS are:

B 200 E , 300 N
C 500 E , 200 N
D 100 E , 100 N
Using these stations the Land Surveyor accurately plots out the site boundaries and
other existing features both natural and man made. He then gives the finished plan to
the architect or design engineer.

COORDINATES 5

NORTH
400m N

300 N
Y
200 N

X
100 N

0N
0E

100 E

200 E

300 E

400 E

500m E

The architect has now positioned the proposed building and has issued the coordinates
of two corners of the building X and Y.

COORDINATE X = 172.300 E , 168.550 N

COORDINATE Y = 285.000 E, 228.491 N
Notice that the above coordinates are given to the nearest millimetre although the
architect will not expect this to be the case when the building is finished (see errors).
The above information is still not sufficient for an engineer to set out the building.
Either the overall building dimensions or a third coordinate would be required.
The setting out engineer would also need to know the location and coordinate value of
at least two control stations these may be the ones established by the Land Surveyor
during the initial site survey or stations put in by an independent survey company.
These are called the PRIMARY CONTROL STATIONS and these stations will
judge all setting out disputes.

COORDINATES 6

PRIMARY CONTROL STATIONS

MAJOR PROJECTS

STATION FENCED
OFF

STATION REF.

600mm Sq CONCRETE
BLOCK

1.2m x 25mm STAINLESS STEEL

ROD THE TOP SCRIBED AND
PUNCHED
THE BASE OF THE ROD MAY
NEED ANCHORING IN SOFT
GROUND

MEDIUM SIZED PROJECTS

- NAILS IN ANY HARD SURFACE

- WOODEN PEGS

WIRE NAIL DRIVEN INTO TOP

CONCRETE SURROUND TO PEG

- THIN METAL PLATES PLUGGED AND SCREWED TO HARD SURFACE.

A CROSS IS SCRIBED AND THE INTERSECTION POINT PUNCHED

COORDINATES 7

SMALL PROJECTS
Sometimes there are no control stations instead the architect has controlled the new
works from existing buildings and or features you would then set up your own
coordinate system.
SEE COORDINATE SHEET 10

EXISTING BUILDINGS

15m

6m

THE FACE OF THE NEW

BUILDING MUST
BE AT LEAST 8m FROM FACE OF KERB AND PARALLEL TO IT

ROAD

Whatever type of Primary control stations you encounter -the first thing you must do
is check their accuracy and inform your superior if you find an error (double check
your calculations before doing this).
SEE ERRORS

SECONDARY CONTROL STATIONS

The next stage of the setting out process will be for you to create additional stations
from the primary control this will take the form of nails in pegs, pencil crosses on
smooth surfaces, hilti nails in hard surfaces or pencil mark on top of a pin and will
be placed in locations that will enable you to set out the works efficiently.
When establishing secondary control stations take into account:
1-SAFETY
Avoid putting stations near trenches or large drops in level or where machines are
constantly working.
2-BUILDING PROCESS
Try to think ahead to what will be eventually being built on your station you
want them to last as long as possible.
3-CONVENIENCE
Dont forget that for most stations you will have to set up an EDM or TARGET
over them. Always give your stations a reference and mark it clearly adjacent the
point. Try to position your station so that you can see as many Primary stations
from it-DONT FORGET YOUR BEST BACKSIGHT IS TO A PRIMARY.

COORDINATES 8

TEMPORARY CONTROL STATIONS

These stations are only established as a last resort when an element of work needs to
be set out in a location that cannot be seen from any Secondary control station.
Because of there temporary nature (they may only last minutes) there is no need to
reference these stations. Temporary control stations are not as accurate as the
secondary stations and consideration should be made to the type of work being carried
out if you have to set out an additional temporary station from a temporary station
Errors of around 20mm can be expected in your control.

REMEMBER

EDM SET UP ON

BACKSIGHT

ACCURACY

PRIMARY

PRIMARY

BEST

SECONDARY

PRIMARY

GOOD

SECONDARY

SECONDARY

TEMPORARY

SECONDARY

POOR

TEMPORARY

TEMPORARY

WORST

AVERAGE

DON`T FORGET SHORT BACKSIGHTS REDUCE ACCURACY.

SECONDARY
STATIONS SET
BY PRIMARY

TEMPORARY
STATIONS SET
BY SECONDARY

COORDINATES 9

WORK OUT THE COORDINATES OF POINTS A AND B

POINT B

POINT A
EDM SET UP ON STN 37
STN 37 =235.700 E, 100.000 N
THE EDM IS SIGHTING POINT A AT A BEARING OF 285 34 23 AND AT
A DISTANCE OF 56. 675 m.
THE EDM IS SIGHTING POINT B AT A BEARING OF 345 38 56 AND AT
A DISTANCE OF 27.468 m.
COORDINATES OF A = .E .N
COORDINATES OF B = ..E ...N

GLOBAL AND LOCAL GRID SYSTEMS

N

GLOBAL

LOCAL

COORDINATES 10
COORDINATED SETTING-OUT
THE KEY TO COORDINATED SETTING-OUT IS BEING ABLE TO
FULLY COORDINATE YOUR EDM AND BEING ABLE TO READ
COORDINATES DIRECTLY FROM THE EDM SCREEN.

WHY USE COORDINATED SETTING-OUT ?

DUE TO THE NATURE OF CONSTRUCTION - WHAT IS REQUIRED
BY TRADESMEN ARE OFTEN LINES RATHER THAN SPECIFIC
POINTS.
THESE MAY BE GRID LINES ,GRID LINE OFFSETS OR KICKER
OFFSETS FOR COLUMNS AND WALLS ETC.
YOUR EXISTING GRID SYSTEM MUST BE LOCAL TO USE THIS
SETTING OUT METHOD.
COORDINATING THE SITE DRAWINGS
THIS MAY BE YOUR FIRST JOB IN THE SITE OFFICE.
YOU WOULD WORK OUT THE EASTINGS OF EVERY GRID LINE
THAT RUNS NORTH/SOUTH AND THE NORTHINGS OF EVERY
GRID LINE THAT RUNS EAST/WEST.
YOU MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THEN WORK OUT THE
EASTINGS AND NORTHINGS OF ALL COLUMNS,WALLS, AND
EDGE OF SLABS ETC.
PREPARING YOUR LEVEL BOOK
FIRSTLY MAKE A MASTER PAGE OF GRID LINE COORDINATES
CLEARLY WRITTEN.
FOR EACH SETTING OUT JOB TRY TO USE A NEW PAGE.
SKETCH OUT THE WORK TO BE SET OUT ON THE RIGHT SIDE
OF THE BOOK INSERTING THE RELEVANT EASTINGS OR
NORTHINGS THAT YOU REQUIRE TO SET OUT.
WHEN TRANSFERRING COORDINATE INFORMATION INTO
YOUR BOOK - DOUBLE CHECK YOUR MATHS.

COORDINATES 11

A TYPICAL COORDINATED SETTING OUT JOB

TRADESMEN REQUIRE AN OFFSET LINE SO THEY CAN CONSTRUCT
A PROPOSED WALL (200mm THICK).
DUE TO SITE CONDITIONS YOU DECIDE ON A 400 mm OFFSET
GRID LINE B
1070.050 E
400mm

N
1.450m
200mm
EDM ( FULLY COORDINATED)

SIGHT PRISM - THEN ON XYZ SCREEN YOU PRESS MSR.

THIS IS NOW DISPLAYED ON THE EDM
E:
N:
Z:

1067.870 m
579.987 m
198.98 m

WHERE DO YOU DIRECT YOUR CHAINPERSON ?

YOU TELL HIM TO MOVE THE PRISM 130mm EAST ( TO INCREASE
THE EASTINGS TO THE REQUIRED VALUE OF 1068.000 ).
ONCE YOU ARE READING AN EASTING OF 1068.000 E (OR WITHIN THE
SPECIFIED TOLERANCE) TELL YOUR CHAINPERSON TO MARK THE
POINT OF THE PRISM.
YOU CAN THEN CONTINUE THE SAME PROCESS ALONG THE ENTIRE
LENGTH OF THE WALL POSSIBLY CONNECTING THE POINTS TO
GIVE A CONTINUOUS OFFSET LINE.