Description

About the Course

This hybrid course introduces students to surveying and mapping. Students are introduced to the various methods and applications of land surveying to the civil engineering design and construction industries. Students will also be introduced to the tools and methods used for differential leveling, work with an electronic distance measuring (EDM) device; and construction staking.

The online portion of the course is broken into three modules: 

• Module 1 will introduce surveying, leveling, tripod setup, how to read the level rod, and level notes.

• Module 2 will describe the equipment, procedure, and note-taking required to conduct both a simple traverse with corrections and collect topographic survey data. 

• Module 3 covers construction terms and abbreviations, plan reading, pacing, construction staking, and preparing for the construction LAB.

The in-person, three-day field lap workshop will cover level loop and measurements, angle measurement with a transit/traversing lab, and construction surveys and stakes.

Course Requirements

Students must complete the required online coursework prior to the field lab workshop.

All students will need to use their own (agency-supplied) survey equipment and must bring the following to the in-person field lab workshop:

• Total station

• Charged batteries

• Tripod

• Tribrach

• Prism

• Survey rod

• Differential level

• Level Rod

Course Objectives

After completing this course, students will be able to:

Angles & Mapping

• Set up a survey tripod

• Operate a total station

• Manually record and reduce traverse notes

• Manually record and reduce mapping notes

• Manually transfer mapping notes to paper format

Construction Staking

• Measure linear distances using their pace and survey tapes

• Set up a survey tripod

• Operate a differential level and total station

• Read a survey rod

• Read civil plans and scale distances

• Transfer data from plans to field stakes

• Set project control

Surveying and Leveling

• Set up a survey tripod

• Operate a differential level

• Read a survey rod

• Record and reduce level notes

• Determine the elevation of unknown points using a differential level

Who Should Attend

This course is meant for public agency personnel or anyone interested in learning the basics of land surveying and differential leveling. It is designed for anyone who performs civil design data collection or uses the information in their job. The techniques covered are applicable for field data collection for roadway or civil design, or for verification in the field during construction.

Course Instructor

Dan Forsberg, PLS, 

Online Coursework Access and Technical Requirements

A portion of this training is offered via the course management system Canvas. Upon completing your online registration, you will receive an email confirmation. To access the course, please visit Canvas and log in with your University of Minnesota internet ID and password. Once you have been enrolled, your course will appear on your Canvas dashboard.

If for any reason you do not have access to the course after enrolling, please contact Natalie Niskanen at niskanen@umn.edu for assistance.

Because it's built using web standards, Canvas runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, or any other device with a modern web browser. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer work best for this course.

Credit

• 3.0 Roads Scholar Program Civil Tech Level I Certificate credits.

• To the best of our knowledge, this course meets the continuing education requirements for 38.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Learn more about continuing education for professionals from the Minnesota Board of AELSLAGID.

Sponsors

This workshop is presented by Minnesota LTAP at the Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota. Minnesota LTAP is sponsored by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This course is subsidized through funding from LRRB and FHWA.