How to Determine Volume From Contour Lines
Finding volume with contour lines is essential to your business operations. Increase precision by calculating volume from topographical 3D models. What Are Contour Lines? You can find contour lines on topographical maps. These lines define the elevation levels of a...
GPS Machine Control and Surveying
Incorporating GPS machine control into your earthmoving projects will help you in various ways. You can ensure you complete the work to the best of your ability by using machine control with 3D terrain models. Combine our services with your machines to make your...
Working with Seldom Used Commands
One of my superpowers, (maybe my only one) is the ability to find and know how to use obscure commands. I have an advantage in that I am constantly helping engineers on various projects. They may want to streamline a process or be stumped on how to get through an...
4 Ways You Can Increase Productivity on the Construction Site
The construction industry has suffered from a prolonged period of decline in productivity over the last few decades despite the consistent growth of the industry. Low productivity is the leading reason for going over budget or spending too much time on construction...
Mastering Earthwork Estimation
Creating an exact earthwork estimate is an essential first step to many takeoffs. You want a bid that accurately reflects the cost of labor and materials so you can get the project fee you deserve and minimize financial risks. At Take-off Professionals, our...
The Process of Civil Site Development
Update: March 2022 This update will go over the newer concepts for design/build on a civil site. These concepts have done a lot for large roads and in the vertical world where tenant build outs change daily. Generally, engineers that do not have enough staff and are...
Civil Engineering and Land Surveying: Collaborative Foundations for Infrastructure
When civil engineers first plan to develop a property, they require land surveyors to provide accurate measurements and information about the land. As a result, land surveyors are critical to civil engineers who want to do their job properly. By working closely with...
Can You Fix a Bad 3D Surface?
Update: May 12, 2022 - I got some questions after posting this article to address. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with questions. A common mistake, “I always use the surface from the engineer and things work fine”. Let me unpack this and discuss the reasons...
Why We Use Coordinate Systems
For this article I will go through the evolution of the way things were to the way they are today when working with local coordinates. The information is presented as fundamentals to your understanding of how GPS surveying works on a job site. Not being familiar with...
Multiple Data Types and What to Trust
Over the past 15 years we have had to sort through different types of 3D data for a job. In this presentation, I will go over some issues we find when dealing specifically with roadway rehabilitation. Issues can come up with any type of construction data. However,...