Masonry Magazine March 2003 Page. 32
Surveying
Getting lines and angles right, regardless of the weather, is just one benefit of using modern surveying tools, such as this Trimble Precision Laser.
Depending on the application involved, the appropriate surveying tool will vary. Smith says, "The two Trimble technologies that are most appropriate for a masonry contractor are the construction total stations and LaserStation products. The construction total station is an optical product that measures angles and distances. An example would be the Spectra Precision Optical TS305 total station from Trimble. This uses survey technology to provide simple layout or as-built checking capability for the contractor."
The TS305 can be used to layout or check as-built structures in relation to the blueprint. The LaserStation product line, on the other hand, uses two, unique laser transmitters to provide 3-D positioning on the job site. This technology was developed specifically for contractors and allows the contractor to layout or check as-built positions based on the blueprint.
Matthew Delano, a Registered Land Surveyor and product manager in the Surveying Department, Nikon Instruments, Melville N.Y. admits, "Normally when you see one of these instruments, it appears to be high tech and probably difficult to use. Many contractors feel they are outside the range of what someone who lays out walls would want to use. These workers generally want to stick with tapes and snap lines. However, technology has made these instruments a lot easier to use. Instead of just being an instrument that reads angles and distances and requires a lot of calculations to use, the instruments now have onboard systems that are menu driven and also have the ability to collect data or take electronic data from plans and load them into the instrument to use for layout."
These instruments are pretty flexible. Delano explains a typical operation by saying, "The flow works like this: your architectural or structural plans typically show all the masonry walls, structural walls, whether they be block, brick, whatever the case may be. The plans are prepared in CAD (computer-aided design) by the designing engineer or architect. If these plans can be made available in electronic format to the contractor, they can be imported into a software package called Stake It. Once the data is imported, they'll be able to browse or zoom and pan around the CAD drawing, identify the points they wish to layout, and simply drop point entities on them.
Technology has made these instruments a lot easier to use.
"For example," he continues, "I bring up the plans and see that there are a several interior or structural walls I need to layout. I can indicate that, on this intersection, I want a point, and along this wall I want a point, and on this building corner I want a point. You can place a series of points all over the drawing wherever you feel you'll need one to do layout. Once all of these points are established and you have everything you think you'll need for layout, that information can be transferred through a cable or, depending on the instrument, though a data card to the total station."
That instrument then goes out into the field to the person who is actually going to do the layout. All that is needed is to set it up and operate a very simple onboard interface that basically says, "My instrument is set up on this point, I am initializing by lining up my instrument in this reference direction, and I'm going to layout these points."
Looking through the viewfinder, the instrument will tell you, "Turn the instrument to the right 7 degrees, 12 minutes,
Call The FOM Company", Ltd....
for THE BEST foam core fill insulation for cmu's.
The Best R-Value...
The Best Pricing...
The Best Coverage...
AND
The Best Contractors!
For Information on Joining our National
Network of FOM Insulation Contractors,
CALL 1-877-381-1200
or write
The FOM Company, Ltd.
5102 West Village Green Drive, Ste. 106
Midlothian, VA 23112
www.thefomcompany.com
See Us at Masonry Showcase Booth #1023
30 Masonry CIRCLE 162 ON READER SERVICE CARD March 2003
www.masonryshowcase.com