Advancing Setting Out Skills Across The Industry
Advancing Setting Out Skills Across The Industry
One of the main difficulties on site is distinguishing between confidence and competence.
Competence relates to how capable someone is of doing the job correctly, whereas confidence is based on how well someone feels they can do it.
Length of time spent “doing setting out” does not necessarily equate to competence. People can repeat the same processes for years without fully understanding the principles behind them.
Similarly, being highly confident in one task, such as resection and stakeout, does not mean that someone has the full range of skills required to manage setting out properly.
The same applies to technology. Being able to operate advanced equipment such as a total station does not automatically imply competence in the fundamentals.
Basic skills such as using a tape measure correctly, setting out from known reference points, or creating a right angle are still essential and are often where issues begin.
Confidence can be useful, but unchallenged confidence can also mask gaps in understanding. Some of the best engineers are those who show humility, question their results and double-check before committing.
Where competence is not clearly understood, responsibility becomes blurred.
Without clear boundaries, people either avoid responsibility or take on work they are not equipped to manage. This creates pressure, increases risk, and makes it more difficult to identify where issues have originated.
As we explore in our blog [What Can Go Wrong with Setting Out?], even small errors in control, interpretation or verification can quickly lead to programme delays, costly rework and wider commercial consequences.
Boundaries in setting out are not about limiting people. They are about enabling good decisions to be made consistently, supported by proper understanding, systems and culture.
For site managers and training managers, the key question is not simply whether the work is being completed.
It is whether the people carrying it out have the right level of competence for the responsibility they are taking on.
Confidence can often look convincing on site. The challenge is knowing when it is backed by real understanding, and when additional support or training may be needed.
In many cases, the right next step is targeted practical training.
Our 5-Day Setting Out for Construction Course is ideal for engineers and supervisors who need to strengthen their understanding of control, accuracy, verification and day-to-day setting out responsibilities.
For those already working in the role who need to demonstrate competence more formally and build long-term career progression, our ProQual Level 3 Diploma in Engineering Surveying provides a structured workplace-based pathway.
If you are responsible for a wider team and would like to assess the competence of multiple engineers, supervisors or site staff, get in touch. We have practical tools and frameworks we can share to help you review current capability levels, identify gaps and direct people towards the most appropriate development pathway.
If you are looking to assess the competence of one individual, they can complete our quick setting out competence assessment to help identify current strengths, potential gaps and the most suitable next step.
Because in setting out, the cost of assuming competence is often far greater than the cost of developing it.
