Project Setup For Field Engineers | Construction Start-Up Checklist (First 30 Days)

Project Setup For Field Engineers (Construction Start-Up Checklist: First 30 Days)

I’m going to talk to you about how a field engineer will approach a new project and literally get everything set up in the first 30 days. Now, I don’t mean the first 30 days of the construction project starting. I mean the first 30 days of the field engineers being there, which means that if you’re going to start in December and you want to have good primary and secondary working control system for December, then you should have those up in November. You should probably have field engineers on site in October. And so that first 30 days is what I’m talking about, which is typically about 2 months before the project starts at least.

If you have a mega project and a lot more lift drawings and you’re doing self-perform concrete, you might want them there even farther ahead. But we use field engineers for self-perform and non-self-performed projects. And it’s remarkable. Having them is not primarily about survey or lift drawings. Having field engineers is about building our future builders. And if we skip this step, we hurt the person and we lose the benefit of the survey, lift drawings, and frontline safety and quality management.

Let me walk you through the startup checklist.

The Pain of Field Engineers Who Don’t Set Up Properly

Here’s what happens when field engineers don’t set up properly in the first 30 days. They don’t have a startup schedule. So, they scramble. They don’t have site logistics mapped. So, the superintendent dumps a conex right on top of their control point. They don’t have utilities mapped. So, they hit a gas line or electrical line. Utility strike. Shutdown. Delay. Danger. They don’t have equipment ordered. So, they can’t do layout. The trades wait. They don’t have an FE bullpen. So, they work in isolation. No collaboration. No visual systems. And they don’t have a testing area. So, their equipment is wrong. Their tribrachs are off. Their levels are off. And the building is out of tolerance.

Field engineers who don’t set up properly hurt the project. They hurt themselves. And they hurt the craft. The first 30 days are critical. Get it right and everything flows. Get it wrong and everything breaks.

Step One: Create Your Startup Schedule

I’ve got a list here to save us time. I’m going to talk to you about each one of these one by one. What I’m talking about here is getting the project ready for the field engineering program. So, number one, your startup schedule. When you grab the macro-level Takt plan or the norm-level Takt plan or the construction schedule, you have that from the project delivery team and the superintendent. Then what you want to do is take these items and literally plan out when you want each of these things up and running so that your primary, secondary, and working control and your first lift drawings and your program are ready to go for your first trades.

Because remember, field engineers enable the foremen and the workers, the crews. Well, let me just say this. The industry is going back to field engineering, but it needs to go faster. And because for a while we didn’t have them because there was this misconception that you only need field engineers for self-perform. What happened is other techniques are popping up, like advanced work packaging, will say you need to have workface planners to plan the work for the foremen and the crews sitting in an office. No, no, no, no, no, no. We do not do that.

Field engineers with superintendent, especially assistant superintendents, do that with control, with lift drawings, helping them with information, providing an open area and working with them shoulder to shoulder. We do not delegate the preparation of work to workface planners in an office. It’s field engineers and assistant superintendents. But the first thing you do is get your startup schedule put together.

Step Two: Create Site Logistics Drawing

The second thing that I want you to do is put together a site logistics drawing. And what this is with the superintendent and the project team is a map showing where your office trailers, your conexes, your staging, your queuing areas, your morning worker huddles, your dojo, your tent power, your tent water, your hoist, your crane, your scrap-outs, your access ways, your craft bathrooms that are custom built. All of these things. This is going to show where everything is going to go.

And in case you’re like, “Jason, why would this be one of the first things that you do?” It’s because we have to design our primary, secondary, and working control around it. There’s no point in putting a point somewhere and then the superintendent just dumping a conex right on the top of it. It’s just not very practical. So eventually you are going to go out there and create a primary control network. Primary control is permanent. It surrounds the building and it enables all other layouts. Secondary control is typically a baseline, intersecting corners, intersecting baselines, intersecting inside baselines, or a box with offsets around your building, but it’s building-specific. And this is called secondary control. It allows you to basically build the building. It’s temporary and it’s building-specific.

Then working control is as if you put grid lines on the slab and then you laid out a column. Those are temporary lines for building components. So you got primary, secondary, and working control. So, you don’t want to put any of these points anywhere where the site logistics are. And that’s why site logistics is the second thing that I recommend you do during startup.

Step Three: Map Utilities (Five-Step Process)

Now the other thing here, utilities. This is crucial, and I need you to pay attention because this could make or break you when it comes to safety. What you need to do is go out and do your blue stake. Once you do your blue stake, you’re going to do a private utility locator. That means they’re going to go out there and, in addition to blue stake, find anything underground. Then you’re going to pothole. Then you are going to either with a surveyor or yourself with your field engineers as-built those intersections and know their depths. Then you’re going to create a drawing for any underground utilities so that you know with real points, real scale, where everything is on the site.

That way, when you go do your dig permits and a trade wants to go dig, you can do blue stake. And then you can also lay out anything else that may not be referenced to blue stake. You can literally be safe and hand dig or do vacuum trucks near the utilities and not have utility strikes. So this is important because additionally, not only do you want to be safe, but if you have different utilities or new utilities in there, you don’t want to put your points there as well. So those are crucial things that you have to do to set up your system. Now, later we’ll get into you actually doing your primary, secondary, working control, but for now, we’re just setting you up. That was number three.

Step Four: Order Equipment (To Spec)

Number four, you’re going to order your equipment. Now, this might seem self-explanatory, and you’re like, “J Money, why are you putting it in a video?” But I’ve got to make sure that you’re ordering the right stuff to spec:

• Three-second total station or better – Don’t settle for less accurate equipment, you’re controlling the location of the building
• Automatic level with eighth-of-an-inch error in 100 feet – Prefer 200 feet, and make sure you have really good optics on your automatic levels
• Survey bags from Home Depot like it’s Black Friday – Get your consumables: lath, hubs, 60-penny nails, whiskers, everything you need
• Computers powerful enough to run AutoCAD and Revit – Don’t skimp, field engineers need two screens and a nice open desk area with a place for drawings to the left

And so, what I want you to do is go get your survey equipment, get your bags, get your consumables, get your computers, get all decked out so that you have all of the equipment, anything that you need to go do your job. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Step Five: Take Photos (Document Everything)

The other thing that I want you to do is take photos. You need to take photos, not only to document survey, but also to document the condition of the site. This is standard. It was always standard at Hensel Phelps. It should be standard on every job.

Step Six: Set Up FE Bullpen (Open Office Space)

Now, the FE bullpen. Where are you going to take this genius and all this awesomeness? You’re going to do it in an open office space in the trailer. So you’ll have different desks. I prefer that these desks are vertical to where you can stand or sit with drafting table chairs, but you’re going to have an open office space where you have visual schedules. And this is called the FE bullpen.

Now, this FE bullpen is crucial. And you might think to yourself, “Why do we get out in the open in some kind of ratty conditions?” No, no, no. Your whole job site team should be in an open office space. If they’re just getting too arrogant or too stuffy and they ask for their own offices, they’re in an ivory castle now. They’re disconnected. They’re losing trust, and it’s hurting the overall team. You do not want offices. It is a blessing that you’re out in the open. Set up your office so that you have visual communication systems and you have a place to house everything.

Step Seven: Create Equipment Testing Area

Once you have your office, the other thing is let’s say this is your office trailer. I want you to have a testing area. You’ve got to have a testing area so you can test your prism pole inside the office, but you’ve got to have a sidewalk where you can test your chain. You’ve got to have two poles somewhere where you can peg your levels and make sure that they’re good to go. You’ve got to have a different area so that you can test your lasers, your automatic levels, your total stations, your chains, your tapes, and your tribrachs. Tribrachs, half of the time, they come out wrong. You’ve got to have a testing and calibration area for your project site in order for you to make sure this stuff is correct.

Step Eight: Don’t Skimp on Computers and Software

The other thing is don’t skimp out on computers and apps. If somebody’s like, “Oh, you’re just a field engineer, you don’t get a second screen.” Well, you better be careful because these folks are controlling the location of your building and the location of your components. Most of the time, field engineers need a nice open desk area, a place for their drawings to the left, and two screens. And make sure you have a computer that’s powerful enough to run AutoCAD and Revit.

Step Nine: Read the Field Engineering Methods Manual

Now, the last thing that I’ll say is at this point, you need to make sure everybody on your field engineering team has read chapters 1 through 8 in version 3 of the Field Engineering Methods Manual and all of version 4, book one of the fourth update that we’re putting out in the next couple of months so that all of the field engineers have a baseline understanding of what a field engineer does. And if you have these key components, you are ready to go and you’re ready to jam.

A Challenge for Field Engineers

Here’s what I want you to do this week. If you’re starting a new project, work through this checklist. Create your startup schedule. Map site logistics. Map utilities with the five-step process. Order equipment to spec. Take photos. Set up your FE bullpen. Create your testing area. Get powerful computers. And read the Field Engineering Methods Manual. That’s your first 30 days. Get it right and everything flows. As we say at Elevate, field engineer project setup first 30 days: startup schedule, site logistics, utilities mapped, equipment ordered, FE bullpen, testing area. That’s the checklist.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should field engineers arrive on a project?

About 2 months before construction starts. If you’re starting construction in December, have field engineers on site in October so you can have primary and secondary control ready in November.

Why do you need field engineers on non-self-perform projects?

Because having field engineers is about building future builders. You still need concrete layout, mason inspections, overhead and in-wall inspections, and future superintendents to train. The myth that you only need field engineers for self-perform is hurting us.

What’s the five-step process for mapping utilities?

Blue stake, private utility locator, pothole, as-built the intersections with depths, create a drawing with real points and real scale. That way you can hand dig or use vacuum trucks near utilities and avoid strikes.

Why do field engineers need an open office space instead of private offices?

Because private offices create disconnection and loss of trust. Open office space with visual communication systems creates collaboration. If people ask for private offices, they’re in an ivory castle now.

What equipment specs do field engineers need?

Three-second total station or better, automatic level with eighth-of-an-inch error in 100 feet (prefer 200 feet), two screens, computers powerful enough to run AutoCAD and Revit, and a testing area for calibration.