Why Coordinates on Civil Plans Should Be Standard Not Optional
In this blog, I want to talk about something that seems basic in construction but often isn’t: coordinates on civil plans.
It’s incredible that in this day and age, we still have to ask for coordinates. Civil designers, architects, and design managers this one’s for you. Here’s the reality, many civil drawings will provide a basis of bearings, property corners, and site plans, but they often fail to include coordinates, distances, bearings, or elevations for buildings. Architectural drawings? Forget it no coordinates there either.
So what happens? You start a back and forth with civil engineers and surveyors, trying to piece together the information. Maybe you get a CAD file, maybe you verify property corner coordinates, but locating the building accurately on site becomes a game of guesswork. At best, you’re off by a few inches; at worst, it could be six to eight inches. This is unacceptable when precision matters.
Here’s what we do on every project to fix this:
- Verify the Basis of Bearings: Start from the original survey and ensure the bearings match the property corners.
- Establish Primary Control Points: Check that control points align with the verified property corners.
- Tie Buildings to the Grid: Ensure buildings are located in the same coordinate system as the original survey.
Ideally, this is what should happen across the industry:
- The original survey should include coordinates for all property corners, monuments, and elevations, published on a deliverable sheet.
- Civil engineers must design buildings in the same coordinate system as the original survey.
- Every civil drawing should publish the coordinates of each building and key structures.
With this system in place, general contractors can verify grid systems, layout buildings, and detail components without having to constantly chase coordinates or wait for someone else to provide them. This is one of the most fundamental practices in construction that is long overdue for standardization.
By standardizing coordinates in civil plans, we eliminate inefficiencies, reduce errors, and make the construction process much smoother for everyone involved. It’s time the industry catches up.
Key Takeaway:
Coordinates should never be optional in construction projects. By standardizing and verifying civil plan coordinates for property corners, monuments, and buildings, teams ensure accuracy and consistency across all phases of a project. This approach eliminates on site guesswork, prevents costly layout errors, saves valuable time, and allows for a smoother, more efficient construction process from initial survey to final building placement, keeping projects on schedule and maintaining high quality standards.
If you want to learn more we have:
-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)
Discover Jason’s Expertise:
Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.
On we go
