Home List of Construction Specifications


Construction Specification

7. CONSTRUCTION SURVEYS

1. SCOPE

The work shall consist of performing all surveys, measurements and computations required by this specification.

2. EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL

Equipment for construction surveys shall be of a quality and condition to provide the required accuracy. The equipment shall be maintained in good working order and in proper adjustment at all times. Records of repairs, calibration tests, accuracy checks and adjustments shall be maintained and be available for inspection by the Engineer. Equipment shall be checked, tested, and adjusted as necessary in conformance with manufacturer’s recommendations.

Material includes all the necessary field notebooks, stakes, templates, platforms, equipment, spikes, steel pins, tools, and all other items necessary to perform the work specified.

3. QUALITY OF WORK

All work shall follow recognized professional practice and the standards of the industry unless otherwise specified in Section 9 of this specification. The work shall be performed to the accuracy and detail appropriate for the type of job. Notes, sketches, and other data shall be complete, recorded neatly, legible, reproducible and organized in a manner that facilitates ease in review and will allow reproduction of copies for job documentation. Survey equipment that requires little or no manual recording of field data shall have survey information documented as outlined in Section 9 of this specification.

All computations shall be mathematically correct and shall include information to identify the bid item, date, and who performed, checked and approved the computations. Computations shall be legible, complete and clearly document the source of all information used including assumptions and measurements collected.

If a computer program is used to perform the computations, the Contractor shall provide the Engineer with the software identification, vendor’s name, version number, and other pertinent data, prior to beginning survey activities. Computer generated computations shall show all input data including values assigned and assumptions made.

The elevations of permanent and temporary benchmarks shall be determined and recorded to the nearest 0.01 foot. Differential leveling and transit traverses shall be of such precision that the error of vertical closure in feet shall not exceed plus or minus 0.1 times the square root of the traverse distance in miles. Linear measurements shall be accurate to within 1.0 foot in 5000 feet, unless otherwise specified in Section 9 of this specification. The angular error of closure for transit traverses shall not exceed 1.0 minute times the square root of the number of angles turned.

The minimum requirements for placing slope stakes shall be at 100 foot stations for tangents, as little as 25-feet for sharp curves, breaks in the original ground surface and at any other intermediate stations necessary to insure accurate location for construction layout and measurement. Slope stakes and cross sections shall be perpendicular to the centerline. Significant breaks in grade shall be determined for cross sections. Distances shall be measured horizontally and recorded to the nearest 0.1 foot. Side shots for interim construction stakes may be taken with a hand level.

Unless otherwise specified in Section 9 of this specification, measurements for stationing and establishing the location of structures shall be made to the nearest 0.1 foot.

Elevations for concrete work, pipes and mechanical equipment shall be determined and recorded to the nearest 0.01 foot. Elevations for earthwork shall be determined and recorded to the nearest 0.1 foot.

4. PRIMARY CONTROL

The baselines and bench marks for primary control, necessary to establish lines and grades needed for construction, are shown on the drawings and have been located on the job site.

These baselines and benchmarks shall be used as the origin of all surveys, layouts and measurements to establish construction lines and grades. The Contractor shall take all necessary precautions to prevent the loss or damage of primary control points. Any stakes and/or control points lost or damaged by construction activity will be re-established by the Contractor or at Contractor expense.

5. CONSTRUCTION SURVEYS

Prior to commencement of work requiring contractor performed surveys, the Contractor shall submit in writing for Engineer’s review: the name, qualifications and experience of the individual’s to be assigned to the survey tasks.

Method 1 Contractor performed surveys shall include: (1) checking and any supplemental or interim staking, (2) performing quantity surveys, measurements and computations for progress payment, (3) other surveys as described in Section 9 of this specification.

Method 2 Contractor performed surveys shall consist of all work necessary for: (1) establishing line and grade for all work, (2) setting slope stakes for all work, (3) checking and any supplemental or interim staking, (4) establishing final grade stakes, (5) performing quantity surveys, measurements and computations for progress payment and (6) other surveys as described in Section 9 of this specification.

Method 3 Contractor performed surveys shall consist of all work necessary for: (1) establishing line and grade for all work, (2) setting slope stakes for all work, (3) checking and any supplemental or interim staking, (4) establishing final grade stakes, (5) performing quantity surveys, measurements and computations for progress payments, (6) performing original (initial) and final surveys for determinations of final quantities, and (7) other surveys as described in Section 9 of this specification.

6. STAKING

Prior to the commencement of work on any item, the construction staking required for the item shall be completed. Construction staking shall be completed as follows, or as otherwise specified in Section 9 of this specification:

a. Clearing and grubbing - The boundary of the area(s) to be cleared and grubbed shall be staked or flagged at a maximum interval of 200 feet, closer if needed, to clearly mark the limits of work. When Contractor staking is the basis for determining the area for final payment, all boundary stakes will be reviewed by the Engineer prior to start of this work item.

b. Excavation and fill - Slope stakes shall be placed at the intersection of the specified slopes and ground line. Slope stakes and the reference stakes for slopes shall be marked with the stationing, required cut or fill, slope ratio and horizontal distance from the centerline or other control line. The minimum requirements for placing slope stakes is outlined in Section 3, Quality of Work.

c. Structures - Centerline and offset reference line stakes for location, alignment and elevation shall be placed for all structures.

7. RECORDS

All survey data shall be recorded in fully identified standard hardbound engineering survey field notebooks with consecutively numbered pages. All field notes and printed data shall include the purpose or description of the work, the date the work was performed, weather data, sketches and the personnel who performed and checked the work. Electronically generated survey data and computations shall be bound, page numbered and cross-referenced in a bound field notebook containing the index for all survey activities. All work shall follow recognized professional practice.

The construction survey records shall be available at all times during the progress of the work for examination and use by the Engineer and when requested, copies shall be made available. The original field notebooks and other records shall be provided to and become the property of the owner prior to final payment and acceptance of all work.

Complete documentation of computations and supporting data for progress payments shall be submitted to the Engineer with each invoice for payment as specified in Section 9 of the specification. When the Contractor is required to conduct initial and final surveys as outlined in Section 5, CONSTRUCTION SURVEYS, notes shall be provided as soon as possible after completion to the Engineer for the purpose of determining final payment quantities.

8. PAYMENT

Method 1 For items of work for which lump sum prices are established in the contract, payment will be made as the work proceeds, after presentation of correct and accurate invoices by the Contractor showing related costs and evidence of the charges of suppliers, subcontractors, and others for supplies furnished and work performed. Invoices for the total amount of the contract price will not be accepted until all surveys are complete and required documentation has been determined complete. If the total of such payments is less than the lump sum contract price for this item, the unpaid balance will be included in the final contract payment. Payment of the lump sum contract price will constitute full compensation for completion of all work under the bid item.

Method 2 For items of work for which lump sum prices are established in the contract, payment will be made as the work proceeds with progress payment amounts determined as a percentage of the total work planned as projected from the Contractor’s approved construction schedule. Payment of the lump sum contract price will constitute full compensation for completion of all work under this bid item.

Payment will not be provided under this item for the purchase price of materials and/or equipment having a residual value.

All Methods The following provisions apply to all methods of payment. Compensation for any item of work described in the contract but not listed in the bid schedule will be included in the payment for the item of work to which it is made subsidiary. Such items and the item to which they are made subsidiary are identified in Section 9 of this specification.