1. society
2. work
3. unions

Innovative total station training for Ironworkers launches in
California
Many jobs these days demand new
skills. It’s no longer enough for
firefighters to just fight fires. And it’s
no longer enough for ironworkers to
just tie rod and weld.
“We want ironworkers to be
involved in all phases of work, and
that is why we’re training as many as
we can in the skills to operate a total
station,” says Mike Silvey, business
manager of Ironworkers Local 433 in
Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Jason Corder, apprenticeship coordinator at Ironworkers Local 416/433
training center in Las Vegas, teaches total station instrumentation
throughout California.
A total station is a surveying
instrument that combines the
functions of a theodolite, also known
as a transit, and an electronic distance
meter. It is used by land surveyors,
civil engineers and crime scene
investigators.
Total station instruments are increasingly being used on job sites as the highest form of
construction layout as more jobs rely on Building Information Modeling, digital plans that make
available the coordinates of every beam, pipe, conduit and duct.
Ironworkers and their contractors recognize the need for the training so that they continue
providing the highest quality workmanship and skills on the job site to the benefit of project
owners, says Silvey, an early advocate for total station training within the International
Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.
Other advocates for the training were from the Ironworker Management Progressive Action
Cooperative Trust (IMPACT), including Rick Sullivan, director of education and training, and
instructors Gene Matthews, Russ Gschwind, as well as Keith Lantz of Leica Geosystems.
The new program is an asset to contractors, says instructor Jason Corder, apprenticeship
coordinator at the Ironworkers Local 416/433 training center in Las Vegas. He is traveling to
University of Iron campuses around California to teach the 40-hour course to experienced
journeymen with a firm grasp of mathematics, including trigonometry.
“Through this program, our contractors will have a team in place with the ability to check the
layout of other trades and find layout issues before work begins,” says Corder.
The high-tech instrument is a major time-saver in erecting steel and curtain-wall systems, says
Silvey. For example, when doing the layout of a curved wall with 15 segments using a transit,
measurements must be taken from 15 points. Using a total station allows the measurements to be
taken from a single center point, he says.
As building designs become more complex, the time savings increase. And, as Silvey notes,
“architects are not keeping the buildings square anymore.”
Says Silvey: “It’s my opinion that total station instruments are going to be the same thing in the
field as computers are in the office.”