Having trouble reading plans?

[navi98]

I am an engineer fresh out of college and I have found a job on the construction side. My background is more on the concrete side. I was hoping that someone knew of a book, article, and or website that will help me become more fluent with reading plans.

 

[JedClampett]

If you're an engineer fresh out of school, there should be someone there to help you read plans. You should be asking questions when something is unfamiliar. That's how I learned.
After you gain some experience and confidence, you'll get to a point where you can easily pick up a strange drawing and figure it out.

 

[kyruby]

I would assume you took your EIT exam and are now an "Engineer in Training". Just as the term implies you must be trained by a licensed engineer, probably your supervisor. He should take the time to train you on reading plans. Another source of information is to make friends with the job foreman. He can provide a wealth of practical knowledge, that you'll never learn in college.

A note of caution, if you plan to acquire your PE, you must work for a PE for a minmum of four years, to be eligble to set for the exam.

 

[gdmay]

Hang around the draftsman. Every drafter has their own style that you have to work with (or around). Good luck.

 

[RCEJD]

Go to the local bookstore and look for books for "Civil Technology" and "Civil Drafting". I have these in my office for reference for people and they are invaluable to the young engineers.

This takes practice and experience and as several posts have said, mentoring. Find the books they will help !

 

[henri2]

What type of blueprint drawings do you want to be able to comprehend..grading, civil structures(bridges, dams etc), building structures, highways..?

There are several ways to pick up plan reading skills. Drafting, if you mainly work in the office is one way, getting tips from the forman if you work in the field, or to cut to the chase, just attend a seminar on intepreting construction blueprints.

 

[fndn]

some of the community colleges offer various "blueprint reading" classes. As henri2 mentioned you could pick electrical, plumbing, civil etc sessions. They are mostly in the evenings and are about 10 or so sessions long. I was in your shoes several years ago and would look at all the sheets on the civil plans, talk to foreman on where they found particular information and I even used to take home all the plans that were for completed projects home and view them.

Once you're comfortable with how to interpret, then just for rounding your experience try to compute the underground pipe sizes, pavement thicknesses etc. As you've seen, some very experienced superintendents will come to you for questions, because "you're the engineer". It is fun to learn.

 

[namdac]

If you are fresh out of college they should have made you take a blueprint reading class as part of your studies. A class offered at the community college level are geared toward mechanical and electrical, but I believe I learned more from those plans, because what you are doing is training your brain to look for tables and small details. Good Luck
Namdac

 

[henri2]

CAD training is part of the CE undergrad curriculum but is civil and structural blueprint reading (ability to intepret drwgs)?

 

[LHA]

I wouldn't count on a PE being on hand to "train" you. It just doesn't usually happen.

I did not have to take a course on reading plans in college.

gdmay has it right, "Hang around the draftsman."

Good books help too, assuming you have time to read them.

I think the most realistic thing for you to expect is (unfortunately) this: you will just have to be the "new" or "green" or other derogatory adjective -person for a few months. Hang in there, ask questions, and by the year's end, you will know those plans like a pro.

Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve

 

[Hoagie]

Iha's right...hang in there and ask questions.

My two cents. If you are on a job site, watch the crews work with your plan in-hand. Compare the plan with the work (as they build it). Don't be afraid to ask, ask, ask...you can learn a lot from the contractor or craft.

Learn as much as you can on your own. At home, learn to think in 3D, learn to sketch in 3D. Plans usally have a legend with abbreviations, symbols, etc.. Learn that sort of stuff at first...learn what you can.