Print this pageBasic Roadway Plan Preparation
Jack Schmitt, P.E., AVS
Course Outline
This five hour on-line course discusses the process of preparation of various drawings in a typical set of plans for a Roadway Project. The presentation is generic, in that it is recognized that each client has specific requirements for plan content. The over-riding emphasis is for the engagement of input from experienced staff as well as the client. This course will enable the designer to avoid situations that provide the most potential for corrosion and subsequent deterioration of the connected metals.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to
enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
The goal of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of the usage and the reasoning that supports the variety of sheets in a typical set of contract plans. This understanding can provide the student with the basis for discussions with the client as well as with the other design team members on each assignment.
After completing this course, students will be familiar with:
- Setting up the Title or Cover Sheet and understanding the reasons or sources for the information displayed on the Sheet;
- Setting up a Typical Index Sheet in a manner that will avoid rework later in the project;
- Correlating the Title of a project with the work proposed to be constructed;
- Typical information provided on the Title and General Notes Sheet;
- The relevance of various General Notes to a project;
- How to execute a project so the Summary of Quantities Sheet is done only once;
- Structuring the Summary of Quantities Sheet to minimize discrepancies with individual discipline sheets;
- The various types of information shown on the Typical Section Sheet and how to avoid time- consuming rework of other sheets in the set of plans;
- The importance of providing coherent information provided with respect to terminology, dimensions and locations;
- Steps to utilize when providing multiple views of a project for different design disciplines;
- The steps associated with the development of Construction Layout Sheet, including field survey techniques employed and their design accuracies;
- Methods for establishing recoverable ties for the alignment of a project;
- How Construction Traffic Control and Construction Sequencing Sheets can minimize the impact of a project on local traffic and reduce potential project delays arising from construction-access issues;
- Typical information provided on the Plan, Profile and Drainage Sheets;
- How changes in elevation at the project boundaries can result in issues in the areas adjacent to the construction site; and
- Saving time and avoiding revisions when preparing a Construction Detail Sheet.
Intended
Audience
This course is intended for civil engineers, traffic engineers and construction engineers.
Benefit to Attendees
Attendee of this course will be able to avoid situations that provide the most potential for corrosion and subsequent deterioration of the connected metals. The end result of this information is intended to be a savings in both time and labor spent on corrections or revisions, and can also reduce construction change orders.
Course Introduction
Engineers, architects and contractors communicate with each other, with their clients, and with the construction trades by using words, numbers, lines and symbols which follow a format that is unique to a region, an agency or a funding source. The content and layout of each sheet or drawing in a set of contract plans has evolved over the years to adapt to the various end uses of the documents. The formal training of engineers in the preparation of construction drawings has became less a function of the institutions of higher education, and more a function of on-the-job experience under the tutelage of an experienced individual. At the same time, the numbers of students entering the field of civil engineering has not kept pace with the numbers of practicing engineers who have moved to the managerial side of the practice or retired completely from active service. Consequently, the responsibility for on-the-job training has fallen to fewer and fewer individuals in each firm, while the workload has reflected the need for more narrowly-focused, specialized input into each set of plans.
The course content is in the following PDF file:
Basic Roadway Plan Preparation
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Course Summary
This course is a "cookbook" for setting up the content and format of plan sheets at the beginning of a roadway design project. It presents guidelines and content information to assist any engineer involved in preparing roadway plans. It spans a set of drawings from Title through General Notes, Plan, Profile, Drainage, Traffic Control and Details.
The intent is to reduce the expenditure of budget on false starts as well as to minimize time researching sources of information. The knowledge gained from the course can provide specific direction to the various disciplines involved. This knowledge can also help prepare questions for the client from a proactive position.
This course provides valuable project execution tips that can save your project cost and schedule. Several low-cost activities on the front end of a project are covered that will prevent costly last minute changes.
Related Links
For additional information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:
Plans, Special Provisions and Contract Plan Reviews at http://www.e-booktime.com
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
