Three common jobs.
One check before any of them.
Packages for machine control models, tender quantities and overflow drafting. Each one starts with a File Health Check, so the scope is set from your actual drawings before the job starts.
Start with a File Health Check
Before anything is modelled, measured or drafted, we check whether the information is complete and consistent. A gap found at review costs an email. The same gap found with the machine on grade costs a shift.
What it checks
- Whether the drawings are the current issue, and whether the revisions agree.
- Whether you have CAD files, PDFs or both, and whether they will work for the job.
- Design and existing levels or surfaces for the layer you need.
- The coordinate system, height datum and site control.
- The limits of the work, any stages and the tie-ins.
- For machine control: the platform, controller and software version.
What you send
- Whatever you have now. It does not need to be complete.
- Drawings and revisions, levels or survey, and a marked-up plan of the area.
- The machine details, if the job is for machine control.
- The date you need the output. Timing is agreed once the information has been reviewed.
What you get back
- A short list of what is there, what is missing and what conflicts.
- What we would assume for each gap, so you can decide.
- A proposed scope: what will be produced, the output files and any open queries.
- Which package fits, or a scope of its own if none does.
The File Health Check is included in the job quote. The scope and cost are confirmed with you before any modelling, measuring or drafting starts, and that work starts only once you approve the scope. The File Health Check checks that the information is fit to work from. It is not a sign-off of the design.
Three packages, each scoped from your files
Each package is a starting point, not a fixed menu. The File Health Check sets what is in and what is out for your job.
Machine Control Ready
Design surfaces and linework built in Civil 3D from your drawings, and exported for your machine as native Trimble or Topcon files, plus LandXML and DXF.
What’s included
- File Health Check of the drawings, levels and site control.
- A surface for the layer the machine works to: finished surface, subgrade or bulk earthworks level.
- The linework the operator needs, such as edges, kerb lines and centrelines.
- Staged models, if the job is built in parts.
- Export files in the format agreed for your controller.
What you send
- The current issued drawings, with CAD files if the designer will release them.
- Design and existing levels or surfaces.
- Coordinate system, height datum, site control and any calibration file.
- Machine type, platform, controller and software version.
What you get back
- Surfaces and linework for the defined area.
- The agreed export files.
- A note of the source drawings, assumptions and open queries.
Tender Quantities
Earthworks quantities and takeoffs from the tender drawings, with the assumptions written down so you know what you are pricing.
What’s included
- File Health Check of the tender drawings for gaps and conflicts that affect quantities.
- Existing and design surfaces built in Civil 3D.
- Cut and fill and bulk earthworks quantities, broken down by area, stage or layer as agreed.
- Takeoffs of other items agreed at scope, such as pavement areas or kerb lengths.
What you send
- The tender drawings and any addenda.
- The existing survey or surface.
- The areas and items you want quantified, and how you want them broken down.
- The tender closing date.
What you get back
- Quantities in the breakdown agreed at scope.
- A list of assumptions and exclusions.
- Drawing queries for you to raise before the tender closes.
If you win the job, the same surfaces can be the starting point for the machine control model.
Takeoffs and quantities →Overflow Drafting Block
A defined block of AutoCAD or Civil 3D drafting for engineering, survey and construction teams at capacity, worked to your standards.
What’s included
- Drawing updates, revisions and plan production in AutoCAD.
- Survey drafting from supplied data, such as feature and level plans.
- Civil 3D surfaces, alignments and sections where the job needs them.
- Work to your templates, layers, title blocks and naming conventions.
- A list of tasks agreed before work starts. Updates or extra changes after that are charged by the hour.
What you send
- Your CAD template, layer standard and title blocks.
- The base files, markups and source data.
- A contact for queries.
What you get back
- Drawings and CAD files in your template and file types.
- A note of what changed and any queries raised.
Job does not fit a package? Send it anyway. We set a scope for it at the File Health Check.
File formats confirmed per job against your controller
The file a machine can load depends on the platform, the controller and its software version. Tell us what is in the cab and we confirm the file type with you before building.
| Platform | What to tell us | File types you may come across |
|---|---|---|
| Trimble | Machine type, controller and software version | TTM surfaces with DXF linework, SVD and SVL, DSZ or VCL. Which ones a machine takes depends on the system and its software version. |
| Topcon | Machine type, controller and software version | TP3 project files, and TN3 surface and LN3 linework files, depending on the controller and its software. |
| Not sure | Machine type and whatever the screen in the cab shows. A photo is fine. | We confirm the file type with you before building. |
Format names are examples only. The output files for each job are agreed before work starts. If your hirer or surveyor has given you an export specification, send it with the drawings. Trimble, Topcon and Autodesk are named only to describe the file workflows we prepare for. Elevate Site IQ is independent of these companies.
Four steps from files to issue
The same steps apply to every package.
Send what you have
Use the quote form and attach the drawings, levels and machine details you have. Gaps are fine at this stage.
File Health Check
We review the files and list what is missing, what conflicts and what we would assume.
Scope confirmed
You get the scope, the outputs, the file formats and the cost. Timing is agreed at this point. Work starts when you approve it.
Build and issue
The work is issued with a note of the source drawings, assumptions and open queries. If the design changes, send the new revision and we review the impact before anything is rebuilt.
Questions about the packages
If your question is not here, ask it on the quote form.
Do I have to pick one of the three packages?
No. They describe common jobs. If yours sits between two, or outside all three, send it anyway and we set a scope for it at the File Health Check.
What file will my machine actually need?
It depends on the platform, the controller and its software version. Tell us what is in the cab, or send a photo of the screen, and we confirm the file type with you before building.
What to send for a machine control model →Can you work from PDFs if the designer won’t release CAD?
CAD files are better if the designer will release them. PDFs alone can sometimes work. Send what you have and we will confirm at the File Health Check.
How is a job priced, and how long will it take?
Each job is quoted from the drawings, with the File Health Check included in the quote. The scope, the cost and the timing are confirmed before work starts. Drafting blocks are quoted as a list of tasks, and later updates are charged by the hour. Tell us the date you need the output when you send the files.
Do you work outside Melbourne?
Modelling, quantities and drafting are done remotely for projects in Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Onsite set-out and pickups are Melbourne only, for houses and factories, working from supplied control or a licensed surveyor’s boundary marks.
Melbourne set-out and pickups →Send the files you have
Attach the drawings and any levels or machine details to the quote form. We start with a File Health Check and come back with what is there, what is missing and a proposed scope.