Measured on Monday, redrawn from guesswork on Thursday
The surveyor spends a morning on site measuring for a run of steel balustrade: stair pitch, landing lengths, fixing positions, floor finish levels, wall returns. The measurements go in a notebook with a quick sketch, and forty photos go on a phone.
Back at the office, the drafter tries to work out which number goes with which part of the sketch, and which photo shows the landing. One critical dimension is missing. The balustrade is made to an assumption, and a section does not fit when it goes up.
Why site information gets lost between site and office
Architectural metalwork is made to fit what was built, not what was drawn. That makes the site measure the most important document in the job, and it is usually the least organised.
- Measurements and sketches are in a notebook only the surveyor can read.
- Photos are not linked to the part of the sketch they show.
- Missing measurements are not noticed until drawing.
- Finishes, fixings and substrate details are not recorded consistently.
- Survey notes are not stored with the job for later reference.
What a poor site measure costs
Parts that do not fit, remade and delivered again. Return trips to site to measure something missed. Installation days lost with the fitting team on site and the metalwork not right. And the client's confidence, which is hard to rebuild when their staircase is still unfinished.
The site survey workflow we build
- Survey templates for your common products: balustrades, handrails, staircases, gates, canopies, flashings and bespoke items, each listing the measurements and details needed.
- On site, the surveyor sketches or photographs the area in the app and places each dimension on the sketch or photo, so every number has a position.
- The template checks for missing measurements, fixing details, substrate type and finish levels before the surveyor leaves site.
- Photos are tagged to the part of the survey they show, with notes and any laser measure readings entered or imported.
- The completed survey pack goes to the drawing office with the job, as one document the drafter can work from.
- Queries from the drafter are logged against the survey and answered by the surveyor, and the final drawing is sent for approval with the survey attached.
| Captured on site | Used in the drawing office |
|---|---|
| Dimensions placed on a sketch or photo | No guessing which number goes where |
| Fixing and substrate details | Choosing fixings and brackets |
| Finish levels | Setting heights correctly |
| Tagged photos | Checking awkward details |
| Missing item warnings | Fewer return trips to site |
Design decisions and anything to do with regulations for guarding and stairs stay with your designers and the project's own advisers. We build the survey and the flow.
What the drawing office and fitters see
The drafter works from a survey pack with every dimension placed and every photo labelled. Missing measurements are caught on site. The fitting team can look at the survey before they go, and know what they are walking into. And when something does not fit, you can check the survey to see whether the site changed or the drawing was wrong.
Quoting improves along the way. Many fabricators survey before quoting as well as before drawing. With the same app, the quote can be priced from the survey's lengths, number of posts, fixings and finish, and the survey carries straight through to drawing when the job is won, instead of being done twice.
It also protects you when the builder moves on. If a floor level or a wall position changes after your survey, the dated photos and measurements show what was there when you measured, which helps when the question of who pays for alterations comes up.
Is the site measure your weak link?
- Surveys are in notebooks and phone galleries.
- Return trips to site are common.
- Parts have been remade because a dimension was misread.
- Drafters guess which photo shows what.
- Survey notes are not kept with the job.