We Understand Site Engineers
We know what challenges site engineers face on a daily basis and how difficult it is to get the right information when you need it.
We have been providing setting out training for the last 15 years with consistent positive feedback.
Our trainers all have relevant industry experience combined with proven teaching capability.
Many construction employers just don’t realise a small amount of training can dramatically increase the productivity and output of their site engineers.
WE WANT to burst the misconception that modern surveying equipment precludes the need for structured training.
WE WANT to help construction businesses realise they are walking a tightrope when they assume their engineers are following best practice.
WE SPECIALISE in providing practical training in site surveying and setting out. Our training is employer-focused and based on the most common setting out tasks used every day on site. Our training helps engineers be more flexible, more productive and minimise the risk of costly errors.
WE UNDERSTAND the problems construction companies face finding and keeping good quality, reliable site engineers in a worsening skills shortage.
WE KNOW that in spite of the right qualifications, many site engineers have vital gaps in their knowledge and practical skills, and that often these gaps don’t show up until a serious mistake happens.
WE KNOW that many engineers are not building the correct checks in to their work or keeping records of their setting out in the right way.
WE KNOW that site engineers could be more productive and flexible if they had focused training on not just the powerful equipment they have available to them, but on the critical underpinning knowledge.
WE KNOW that many engineers lack confidence.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP those companies who want to ensure their site engineers are properly trained by a reputable training company.
To us, setting out is not simply about a body of knowledge. It is also about focus, skill, organisation, communication, confidence, engineering judgement and high-quality decision making.
Our training teaches best practice and places as much emphasis on correct record keeping as it does on efficiency and accuracy.
Meet our Team
Gail McEwen, BSc (Hons) Eng-Tech MICE, Director
- Experienced Civil Engineer
- Approved Trainer for the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)
- Skilled in Setting out, CAD/Survey software, GNSS and machine control
GAIL MCEWEN is the Director and Lead Trainer for Setting Out for Construction. She is an experienced Civil Engineer with ten years’ experience of the construction phase of civil engineering projects. Her site experience includes a range of hands-on and supervisory site-based roles including operating dozers, graders and excavators, site engineering and site management. She is skilled in the use of the full range of setting out equipment, CAD/survey software and machine control equipment and takes delegates on a practical learning journey through relating the physical site to the design, installing control points, appropriate tools and methods for setting out various construction elements, and carrying out as-built surveys.
Gail has a natural training and coaching style which she puts to great use in the classroom as well as when she is working with clients. As a site engineer, she trained and mentored many younger engineers which led to switching her focus to a full-time training role. Her top skills include:
- Delivering CITB-Assured courses
- Designing eLearning modules about digital construction tools
- Developing supporting resources for colleges and universities
- Working with small construction businesses to help them make cost and time savings and to help them to grow their business to the next level.
Gail is committed to ongoing personal and professional development. She is a PhD Researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University, specialising in studying the implementation of digital transformation among SME contractors within the Construction sector. In addition to numerous technical, safety and supervisory courses, she holds the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (the INLPTA-accredited Diploma in NLP) and is working towards NLP Practitioner level.
Paul Clarkson, Instructor
PAUL CLARKSON is a Civil Engineer with over 20 years’ on-site experience.
He has worked on earthworks, roads, marine, pipeline, remediation and structures projects as site engineer, senior engineer and manager.
He is skilled in the use of all surveying equipment and can combine them with CAD and surveying software to demonstrate modern, efficient workflows.
Paul uses his site experience to make training relevant to real world situations.
Saffron Grant, BEng (Hons), Founder
Saffron is an experienced Civil Engineer who, during her twenty years in the construction industry, has worked for contractors, designers and clients. She is an Approved Trainer for the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and an Associate Lecturer for Glasgow Caledonian University.
Saffron sits on the Skills Development Scotland Digital Economy Skills Group and chairs the Upskilling and Reskilling work stream of this group. She is a member of the Industry Leadership Group (ILG) for Skills and Workforce, and is the chair of the Future Skills Group. She is involved in the Digital Strategy Steering Group for Scotland’s construction industry and a number of other Recovery Plan actions.
Thirteen years ago, she set up a construction training business, Setting Out for Construction (SOFC), specialising in practical training for site engineers and providing training and consultancy to colleges, universities, construction companies, local authorities, sector skills councils and social enterprises.
Saffron is a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and is an accomplished consultant, coach and trainer in a wide range of disciplines including practical construction training, communication, employability skills and team performance. Her holistic approach to coaching, facilitating and training means that she is flexible and able to accommodate audiences of any kind. She has an exceptional ability to explain complex concepts in a simple way and to put things into a context that is relevant to the learner.
She is continually seeking new applications for her successful professional services and training models and opportunities to make a positive and lasting difference to the industry. She has recently brought together a team of partners to deliver the CITB-funded Digital Transformation through Leaders Project under the new branding of Digital Construction Skills (DCS).
Saffron is a member of the following industry groups:
- The Construction Industry Leadership Group for Skills and Training
- The Future Skills sub-group of the ILG (Chair)
- The Scottish Construction Industry Recovery Plan, diversity and future skills consultation group
- The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan focus group
- The Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Digital Technology Skills Group (DTSG).
She is also the author of the highly-acclaimed, Amazon No1 Best Seller Setting out for construction – a practical guide to site surveying.
