Workflow for Performing a Site Takeoff

The goal in performing a takeoff is to calculate material volumes and site improvement quantities needed at a job site, usually for the purpose of bidding on a construction job. The steps below guide you through specifying those materials and the improvements they are used to create, defining subsurface strata and topsoil areas, and then building the takeoff surfaces needed to make calculations in the Takeoff Report.

Note: Your tasks may vary from these typical steps, so feel free to use a different order or skip steps.
Note: The accuracy required for takeoff is generally less than that required for stakeout and machine control. Consider using workflows that result in a project file that can be used for both. One example would be to use digitizing for defining original ground and then creating the design by using lines defined by accurate coordinates.


Steps		Help by Command
1.	Setup your program and project.	Program and Project Setup
2.	Prepare your imported data, if needed.	Data Preparation Workflow
3.	Digitize additional data, such as topographic contours, building pad outlines, and other missing linework.	Digitizer Setup Customize Digitizer Button Profiles Digitize Contour Digitize Pad Digitize Linestring
4.	Define materials and site improvements.	Material and Site Improvement Manager
	Identify lines surrounding areas where topsoil should be stripped from your original ground surface. Pick one or more closed boundaries and specify a stripping thickness for each. Note: Before using this command, you may need to use the Create Cut/Fill Map command to determine the limits of your topsoil stripping areas if your imported linework does not explicitly indicate stripping areas. Doing so will allow you to determine the area of coverage within which material is to be either excavated or fill placed, thereby typically establishing the limits within which existing topsoil must be stripped.	Define Topsoil Stripping Areas
5.	Categorize takeoff layers and assign site improvements to them.	Categorize Takeoff Layers
	After selecting the Design takeoff category, use the Simple Subgrade Adjustments group in the Identify Site Regions command to assign subgrade adjustments to regions on your site where area-based site improvements will be built by other contractors. Site regions can be bounded by any intersecting lines found on layers designated as containing potential boundaries in the Categorize Takeoff Layers command. Define topsoil stripping and replacement areas and build takeoff surfaces. Note: If there are any area-based site improvements that you are responsible for constructing, you will wish to identify those site regions using the appropriate area-based site improvement definition.
6.	Build takeoff surfaces.	Build Takeoff Surfaces
7.	Validate the takeoff surfaces using graphic views to inspect the results of your changes. Orbit and view the surface in the 3D View. Use the Coordinates scroll to check elevations at specific locations. Slice across the surface to see a cross-section in any direction. If one of the surface members is an alignment, 'drive' down the alignment, or review a cross-section along or across the alignment. Check flagged data to see if anything needs to be fixed.	New 3D View Coordinates scroll Surface Slicer View New 3D Drive View Cross-section View Profile View Flags Pane
8.	Define the subsurface strata of earthen materials on your job site.	Define Strata
9.	Create boring logs and rebuild takeoff surfaces.	Create Boring Log Edit Boring Log
10.	Define topsoil stripping and replacement areas and build takeoff surfaces. You can derive topsoil areas and areas of interest (in the next step) by tracking the outlines of regions.	Topsoil Stripping/Replacement Track Region Outline
11.	Define areas of interest (AOIs).	Define Areas of Interest
12.	Run a Takeoff Report to calculate the earthwork volumes and site improvement quantities needed.	Takeoff Report Earthwork Report Report Options