LAYOU LAYOUT D T DATA P ATA PREPAR ARATION ATION: DATA DATA - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

LAYOU LAYOUT D T DATA P ATA PREPAR ARATION ATION:

DATA DATA SOUR URCES, WO WORKFLOWS WS & COMMO MMON PROBL BLEMS MS

ROB MILLER DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS & INTEGRATIONS TriBuild, Inc.

• Bachelors degree in Geomatics (Surveying & Mapping)
• Majority of my construction career has been spent with Trimble
• 13 ½ years in support & training and product development
• 3 ½ years at BuildingPoint
• Involved in the development of LM80 Layout Manager, RTS series instruments,

Trimble Field Link, RPT600 and many other projects

• Spent 1 ½ years working as a Topcon distributor
• Named as an inventor on multiple US patents related to construction

positioning

• Currently work in business development for TriBuild, Inc.
• Married for 19 years, two sons, volunteer with the Boy Scouts of

America

ABO ABOUT ME

LE LEAR ARNING OBJE BJECT CTIVE VES

1. Understand how a robotic total station is used for laying out on a construction site 2. Understand the different data file formats used to prepare data for layout 3. Understand some of the layout data preparation software tools available 4. Understand the basic workflow for preparing data for layout on the jobsite

IN INTROD ODUCT UCTION ION T TO CON O CONST STRUCT UCTION ION LA LAYOUT OUT

EV EVOL OLUTION TION OF OF CONS ONSTRU TRUCTION TION LAYOU YOUT

• Legacy tools & methods still dominate but are not

sufficient for many current projects

• While adoption of digital layout solutions started

around 2000, half the industry still hasn’t invested in the technology

• An aging workforce is hesitate (even obstinate) to

adopting new tools & technology

• Layout is one of the few places on a job where a

contractor can increase their margin

CO COMMON LAY LAYOUT AP APPLI LICAT CATIONS

• Foundations / Footers
• Anchor bolts
• Walls
• Hangers
• Sleeves
• Lights (poles, hanging)
• Stub-ups
• Electrical boxes
• Runs (pipe, conduit, duct, etc.)
• Equipment locations

CO CONST STRUCT CTION LAY LAYOUT WITH A A TOTAL AL ST STAT ATION

• A total station is a surveying instrument which measures angles &

distance (not satellites) to determine positions

• Each measurement from a total station is radial and independent from

the others – errors don’t compound

• Robotic total stations are motorized and only require 1 person to
• perate
• Laying out with a total station offers increased speed and accuracy
• ver traditional tools
• Investing in a robotic total station can pay for itself in only a couple of

months

• Layout is performed directly from a digital file and is not likely affected

by missing dimensions on a drawing or human errors in calculating lengths

ROB ROBOTI OTIC TOTA TOTAL S STA TATI TIONS ONS

“Tru “Truck Argu rgument” ment”

SE SETU TUP I INSTR STRUMENT A T AND M D MEASU SURE TH THE F FIRST R ST REFERENCE CE P POINT

ME MEAS ASURE RE A A SECON OND RE REFERE RENCE POI OINT TO O DETERMI RMINE THE INSTRU RUME MENT LOC OCAT ATION ON

SE SELECT A CT A P POINT TO T TO L LAY O Y OUT A T AND F D FOLLOWI WING TH THE G GUIDA DANCE CE O ON TH THE SCR SCREEN

Away: 5’ 1/4” Left 30’ 2 3/8” Forward: 0” Right 1/8”

LA LAYOUT OUT D DATA SOUR SOURCE CES & S & SOF SOFTWARE T TOOLS OOLS

DA DATA SO SOURCE CES: S: FILE LE FORMATS, S, APPLI LICA CATIONS S & People le

Architect Engineer General Contractor

DWG NWD RVT PDF DWG RVT

IMAGE

IFC DXF NWD DWG RVT DXF DWG IFC DXF

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

FABRICATION, COLLABORATION & SHARING

LAYOUT DATA PREP FIELD LAYOUT

✘

IFC

NWD DWG RVT DXF

LAYOUT DATA PREP

PDF

LAY LAYOUT DAT DATA A PREPAR ARAT ATION

• Preparing for field layout consists of creating points at

critical locations from a design (2D or 3D)

• Points serve as a task list of the work that needs to be

performed

• Organizing and managing points by assigning points

names / numbers, descriptions and groupings (layers) aids in field operations

• Creating layout points can be done in a variety of

applications

• Design applications with add-on tools
• Standalone office software
• Layout field software
• The majority of points should be created before going to

the field

LAY LAYOUT DAT DATA A PREPAR ARAT ATION (Co (Cont.)

• There are a number of software applications available to

support for a variety of file types, workflows and contractor needs

• As discussed, there are only a design file types that are

used for preparing layout data – PDF, DWG/DXF, RVT, NWD

• If a standalone application is used, they rely on libraries,

APIs, SDKs (or other means) to work with the design file

• Any time a conversion occurs, there is a potential risk

for loss of data or other errors

Lay Layout Dat Data a Prep Ap Appli licat cations

STANDALONE SOFTWARE

• Trimble Field Link Office
• Leica iCON Office
• HILTI PROFIS Layout Office
• Topcon MAGNET Layout

DESIGN PLUG-INS

• TriBuild Layout Design
• eVolve Mechanical & Electrical
• Trimble Field Points
• Autodesk Point Layout
• HILTI PROFIS Field Points
• DeWalt HangerWorks

LA LAYOUT OUT D DATA P PREPARATION ION W WOR ORKFLOW LOW

NWD DWG RVT DXF

LAYOUT DATA PREP

PDF

VE VECT CTOR VS.

• VS. RAST

ASTER PDF

• Vector PDFs are comprised of geometries and are generated by “exporting” from a design

application

• Raster PDFs are “pictures” of drawings and are generated by scanning a document or

through a software conversion

• Raster PDFs are not usable for layout because points cannot be “snapped” to locations

and drawing scales are not accurate (or consistent)

• Raster PDFs are the equivalent of other image files (TIFF, JPG, GIF)
• Stamped drawings are most likely raster format
• Some drawings are intentionally converted to raster format to prevent their use for more

than visual reference

VE VECT CTOR VS.

• VS. RAST

ASTER PDF

VE VECT CTOR OR

VE VECT CTOR VS.

• VS. RAST

ASTER PDF

RAS RASTER TER

TriBuild Layout Design Trimble Field Points HILTI PROFIS Field Points Autodesk Point Layout Trimble Field Link Office Leica iCon Office HILTI PROFIS Layout Office Topcon MAGNET Layout

PDF

“P “PDFIMP FIMPORT” ORT”

RES RESULTI TING NG L LAYERS YERS, I , IF P F PDF L F LAYERS YERS NOT P NOT PRES RESENT ENT

DWG DXF

TriBuild Layout Design Trimble Field Points HILTI PROFIS Field Points Autodesk Point Layout Trimble Field Link Office Leica iCon Office HILTI PROFIS Layout Office Topcon MAGNET Layout TriBuild Layout Design eVolve Mech. & Elec. Trimble Field Points HILTI PROFIS Field Points

RVT

Autodesk Point Layout

NWD

Autodesk Point Layout

DA DATA LO LOSS SS FROM IMPORT / CO CONVERSI SION

• Software applications use libraries, APIs or SDKs to tell it how to represent

the non-native files

• Libraries may be outdated or possibly intentionally missing capabilities (to

protect intellectual property)

• Incomplete libraries could result in inaccurate data (scale or location)
• Imported or converted files should be carefully reviewed to ensure there

are no errors which could lead to problems on the jobsite

DA DATA LO LOSS SS FROM IMPORT / CO CONVERSI SION

DA DATA LO LOSS SS FROM IMPORT / CO CONVERSI SION

“INS “INSUNITS NITS”

• Blag

WH WHERE A ERE ARE P RE POINTS OINTS A ARE C RE CREA REATED TED

• Snap locations
• Endpoints (e.g. foundation, equipment pads, walls)
• Intersections (e.g. grids)
• Arc / Circle Center (e.g. columns, sleeves, hangers, stub-ups)
• Block Insertions (e.g. sleeves, hangers, floor boxes)
• Family Insertions (e.g. sleeves, hangers, floor boxes)
• Custom locations in AutoCAD blocks (e.g. top & bottom of footers, square columns,

suspended lights)

• Custom locations in Revit families using Markers (e.g. piping transitions, square columns)

CR CREAT ATE POINTS S AT AT INTERSE SECT CTIONS

CR CREAT ATE POINTS S AT AT BLO BLOCK CK INSE SERTION

CR CREAT ATE POINTS S INSI SIDE DE A A BLO BLOCK CK

INS INSID IDE E A BLOC OCK

INS INSID IDE E A BLOC OCK

INS INSID IDE E A BLOC OCK

INS INSID IDE E A BLOC OCK

CON CONCLUSION CLUSION

KE KEY TAKE AKE-AW AWAY AYS

• Traditional layout tools are often insufficient for modern projects
• Laying out with a total station provides an opportunity to improve

profitability

• Prepare data for layout inside design applications whenever possible –

avoid unnecessary conversions

• Total station manufacturers are not the only providers of layout data prep

software

• Not all file sources and formats are created equal

TH THING NGS TO C TO CONS ONSIDER ER

• Is your current process the right process?
• Are you converting files unnecessarily?
• What are your data sources? Are you sure they are your only / best data

sources?

• What functionality do you need?
• Who / how many people will be preparing data?
• Costs

LE LEAR ARN MORE FROM EXHIBI BITORS S ABO ABOUT THEIR SO SOLU LUTIONS

Th Thank ank yo you fo for r attendi attending ng our r clas ass!

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