Level 2 Setting Out for Construction

This intensive one-week programme is designed to provide students with the practical knowledge, surveying techniques and hands-on experience needed to carry out setting out activities on construction and infrastructure projects.

Ideal for junior civil engineering students and graduates, construction operatives, site supervisors, foremen, groundworkers, utility and infrastructure operatives, and anyone looking to move into a surveying career, the course combines classroom learning with practical field exercises using industry-standard equipment.

Focusing on local coordinate surveying methods (rather than GPS/GNSS), you’ll use industry-standard surveying equipment and complete practical setting out exercises commonly undertaken by engineering surveyors and site engineers.

Training is delivered using a Trimble Total Station throughout the course, unless a Leica instrument is preferred or required.

What you’ll learn

Throughout the programme, you’ll develop the knowledge and practical skills needed to carry out surveying and setting out activities with confidence.

Surveying Fundamentals

• Basic principles of land and engineering surveying
• Survey measurements and coordinate systems
• Traversing and control points
• Horizontal and vertical control
• Understanding construction drawings and setting out information

Survey Mathematics

• Coordinate calculations
• Distance, bearing and angle calculations
• Trigonometric principles used in surveying
• Level calculations and gradient computations
• Error checking and survey accuracy principles

Survey Equipment Operation

• Setting up and operating a Robotic Total Station
• Instrument check procedures
• Prism and reflectorless measurements
• Collection and management of survey data

Local Coordinate Surveying

• Establishing and working within a local coordinate grid
• Setting out using local coordinates
• Establishing site control without GPS/GNSS dependency

Data Management and Transfer

• Survey data collection techniques
• Downloading and uploading survey data
• Data transfer between instruments and office software
• Importing and exporting design files

Design Software for Setting Out

• Basic operation of engineering software
• Preparing setting out information
• Loading and checking design data, including calculations for site use

Infrastructure Setting Out

• Building and foundation setting out
• Infrastructure point stakeout
• Drainage setting out
• Curve setting out
• Alignment and profile control

Practical Training

You’ll put your learning into practice through a series of supervised field exercises using professional surveying equipment.

Practical activities include:

• Building corner stakeout
• Curve setting out
• Differential levelling and Reduced Level (RL) calculations
• Drainage alignment and profile board installation
• Invert and formation level calculations
• Establishing drainage control points
• Infrastructure point stakeout
• Survey control checks and adjustments

Important Notice

A place on your chosen course is not confirmed until enrolment is complete and any relevant fees have been paid.

Adult course times, dates, durations and fees may be subject to change, and courses may be cancelled if minimum numbers are not met.