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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA New Approach to Construction Setting Out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditional construction setting out can be a highly manual process. Surveyors use total stations to establish individual positions before physically marking each location using nails, paint or handwritten references.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a major development, this can involve thousands of points across extensive floor areas and multiple levels. It is skilled and essential work, but it is also repetitive, physically demanding and time-consuming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Radcliff, Senior Surveyor in Plowman Craven\u2019s Australian team, has experienced this first-hand during his career in construction surveying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt my quickest, I was probably setting out around 400 nails in a day,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat is a full day working outside in the Australian heat, manually moving between every location and marking each point.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Robotic setting out changes this process by connecting the digital construction model with an autonomous site robot. Guided by a total station, the robot moves around the floor slab and prints the required information directly onto the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This can include precise crosshairs, point numbers, symbols, lines and installation instructions. As a result, construction teams receive a clear and consistent layout to work from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Delivering at Scale<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Plowman Craven Australia is preparing to use HP SitePrint on a major four-storey logistics facility in Melbourne. Approximately 120,000 points will need to be transferred from the design information onto the constructed floor slabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scale of the project makes automated setting out particularly valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HP SitePrint can print up to four marks per minute. Where suitable, more than one robot can also operate across a site. This allows the delivery model to be scaled according to the size, programme and requirements of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce multiple robots are operating, the potential increase in productivity is significant,\u201d says Chris. \u201cA surveyor might manually place one mark every couple of minutes, while a robot can deliver several within that time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This does not remove the need for experienced surveyors. Instead, it changes where their time and expertise are focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surveyors remain responsible for establishing and checking the control network, preparing the digital information, managing the equipment and verifying the completed layout. Meanwhile, automation undertakes much of the repetitive physical marking. This enables survey teams to concentrate on quality assurance, technical coordination and resolving issues before they affect the construction programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Improving Accuracy and Consistency<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Speed is only one part of the benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manual setting out relies on every point being individually located, marked and labelled. Even when delivered by an experienced surveyor, producing tens of thousands of marks consistently across a large development requires considerable concentration and physical effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robotic setting out provides a repeatable process. The robot continuously tracks its position through the total station and prints the specified information directly onto the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is a neat and consistent layout that is easier for installation teams to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is not simply a nail with a large area of spray paint around it,\u201d<\/em> Chris explains. \u201cThe robot can print a clear crosshair and place the point number alongside it. That makes the information much easier for the teams following behind us to interpret.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Greater clarity on the floor can reduce uncertainty, particularly where layouts include closely spaced services, equipment, racking systems or complex mechanical and electrical installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also creates a stronger connection between the coordinated digital design and what is physically installed on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verification Before Setting Out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before robotic printing begins, Plowman Craven\u2019s work will include a floor verification survey of the development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using laser scanning technology, the team will capture the constructed environment and compare key elements against the project design. This could include checking the positions of columns, cable trays, pipes and other installed features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The verification process provides an important quality assurance stage. It can identify differences between the coordinated design and the developing site before the next phase of installation begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This information also supports the robotic setting-out process itself. By understanding the position of existing columns and other potential obstructions, the team can plan how the robots will move safely and efficiently around each floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the client and wider project team, the survey creates a reliable digital record of the site at that point in the construction programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than treating setting out as an isolated activity, the process combines verification, spatial data and automated layout delivery. As a result, it provides greater confidence in the information being used on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reducing Physical Demands and Site Risk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Construction setting out can require surveyors to spend long periods kneeling, bending and moving repeatedly across large floor plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can also involve working near incomplete slab edges, scaffolding and other temporary construction environments. In some circumstances, surveyors may need to reach through or around site structures to place marks in difficult locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robotic technology can reduce the amount of time surveyors spend undertaking these repetitive physical tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the robot is doing much of the heavy and repetitive work, it reduces the amount of time the surveyor is exposed to those environments,\u201d says Chris. \u201cThat has the potential to improve safety and reduce the physical strain associated with traditional setting out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Surveyors will still manage and supervise the operation, but they can often do so from a safer and more practical working position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an important consideration for an industry seeking not only to increase productivity but also to improve working conditions. Moreover, it aims to create more sustainable careers for experienced technical professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharing Expertise Across a Global Business<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While robotic setting out remains relatively new within the Australian construction market, Plowman Craven has already developed significant experience using HP SitePrint on major international projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Australian team is therefore able to draw on knowledge from colleagues in the UK. These colleagues have delivered complex, large-scale robotic setting-out programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the Melbourne project, Chris and the local team are working closely with Damien Lee and Jonathan Fletcher. They are using the wider company\u2019s experience to prepare for the deployment and address technical challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving that expertise available makes a major difference,\u201d <\/em>says Chris. \u201cAlthough this will be my first time delivering a project using the technology, we are not starting from the beginning. We can use the experience and lessons already developed elsewhere in the business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This transfer of knowledge allows new technology to be introduced responsibly, supported by established survey methodology and practical delivery experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also demonstrates the value of operating as an international team. Innovation developed in one market can be adapted and applied in another. Furthermore, the lessons from each project contribute to the organisation\u2019s wider capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Supporting Construction Across the Asia-Pacific Region<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Melbourne development is expected to be one of several opportunities to introduce robotic setting out across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plowman Craven is also preparing for further activity in Asia, with floor verification work planned in Tokyo ahead of another potential robotic setting-out programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While construction practices, project requirements and site conditions vary between countries, the fundamental pressures are similar. These include tighter programmes, increasingly detailed designs and a growing need for reliable digital information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Automation provides one way to respond to these challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When combined with experienced surveyors, robust control networks, laser scanning and carefully managed project data, robotic setting out can help construction teams transfer complex designs into the physical environment. In doing so, they achieve greater speed and consistency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Changing Role of the Surveyor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The introduction of robotics does not diminish the surveyor\u2019s role. It makes their judgement, understanding and ability to manage information even more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The robot can only deliver the information it has been given. Surveyors are responsible for checking that information, establishing accurate control, monitoring the operation and verifying that the completed layout meets the required standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the technology develops, surveyors are likely to spend less time carrying out repetitive marking and more time managing digital workflows. They will also analyse survey information and support project teams with technical decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Chris, this represents a positive development for the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robotic setting out combines traditional survey expertise with new technology. This allows surveyors to deliver work at a scale and speed that would be difficult to achieve through manual methods alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The forthcoming Melbourne deployment will provide an important opportunity. It will demonstrate how this approach can support major construction projects in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More widely, it signals how surveying is evolving to meet the changing needs of the built environment. Automation is being used not as a replacement for expertise, but as a tool that allows that expertise to be applied more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insight article by Chris Radcliff, Senior Surveyor, Plowman Craven Australia pictured below: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Construction projects are becoming larger, more complex, and increasingly time critical. Against this backdrop, contractors are looking for new ways to improve efficiency, maintain accuracy, and reduce the physical demands placed on site teams. Robotic setting out is emerging as an important part of this transformation. By automating the process of transferring digital design information […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":16705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,30,15,7],"tags":[20],"class_list":["post-16701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-insights","category-life-at-pc","category-news","tag-au"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/plowmancraven.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/08\/HP-SitePrint-Interior-Contractors-Lifestyle-Photo-41.jpg\")
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