R. Van Hudson November/2008

Good field notes lend confidence to all who examine your work. Good field notes set you up for a successful design. Review your companies procedures on field notes before every trip.  You will be pleaseantly surprised at how much better your field notes turn out.

Plan your trip. How many trips will it take? How many areas of the plant will you be in? How long will each take? Learn to estimate this time before you go. The more you estimate your time for activities the better you will get at it.

Dealing with retrofits, like plant expansions or plant modifications, field notes are the backbone to your success in completing an accurate project in a timely manner.  Avoid the tendancy to start measuring pipe immediately on arrival. When you locate the pipe, take note of the surrounding structure, whether it is columns or equip or both, their location is vital to your field notes. Ironcally, the structure is the first thing to go down in field notes and the last thing to go on your deliverable piping isometric. So, take the time to get it right. Take  notes and dimensions of adjacent pipe or runs parallel to your pipe.

Here is the order of sequence for taking field notes:

• Structure
• Equip
• Pipe Plan
• Elevation

The first three are overlays on the same sheet. The evelevation sheet should include notes on adjoining pipe just like your plan drawing. It should also include nomenclature showing where photos and elevation shots were taken.

Don’t forget to date, initial, number and title each page of your field notes.