How to Log Grade Shots in the Field with Sitemark

Why Grade Shot Logging Matters

Grade shots are the foundation of as-built documentation. Without them, you have no record of what was actually built versus what was designed. For public works projects, grade shot logs are often required for pay quantity approval. For private development, they are the primary defense against grading disputes between the grading contractor, the owner, and the engineer of record.

The challenge is that most crews still log grade shots on paper grade sheets or in a spreadsheet at the end of the day, creating two problems: the crew foreman has no real-time feedback on which areas are out of tolerance, and the project manager gets data hours or days after the work is done. Digital field logging solves both problems simultaneously.

Equipment Options for Grade Shot Surveys

You have three main equipment options for logging grade shots, each with different trade-offs:

• Rotary laser with receiver and grade rod — The standard setup for most grading contractors. Accurate to ±0.03 ft under good conditions. Requires a rod person to hold the rod at each shot location and read the receiver. Best for subdivisions and commercial pads where shot density is moderate and a two-person crew is available.
• GPS rover with RTK correction — One-person operation, 50+ shots per hour, real-time coordinate and elevation logging. Accuracy ±0.05 ft with a good base station or network correction. Best for large open sites (solar farms, highway corridors, agricultural grading) where speed matters more than absolute precision. Loses accuracy under tree canopy or near structures.
• Total station — Highest accuracy (±0.01 ft), works in any environment including urban infill with GPS obstructions. Slower than GPS (10–15 shots per hour in typical terrain). Best for tight-tolerance work, urban sites, and any location where GPS signal is unreliable.

Step 1: Set Up Your Job in Sitemark

Before going to the field, create a job in Sitemark and enter your benchmark information and design elevations. The benchmark entry includes the benchmark ID, elevation, and datum. Design elevations can be entered manually for each shot location, or imported if you have the data in a spreadsheet or CSV format.

Set your tolerance — the maximum acceptable deviation between as-built and design elevation. Standard grading tolerance is ±0.10 ft. Sitemark uses this value to automatically flag shots as passing or failing when you log them in the field. Setting the correct tolerance before starting ensures that the deviation report reflects your actual project specifications.

Step 2: Set Up on a Benchmark and Verify

Set up your instrument on the benchmark referenced in the design plan. For a rotary laser, set up the tripod and level the laser over the benchmark, then calculate the height of instrument (HI) based on the benchmark elevation and the measured instrument height above it. For a GPS rover, set your base station over a control point and verify the rover reads the correct elevation on a check shot before starting grade shots.

Never skip the verification shot. Always shoot a second known point — a benchmark or a previously verified control point — before logging grade shots. If the instrument is off by more than 0.02 ft on the verification shot, do not proceed until you identify and correct the error. A setup error propagates to every shot you take.

Step 3: Log Each Shot in Sitemark

As you move through the site, enter each shot location name or ID and the measured elevation into Sitemark. The app immediately calculates deviation from the design elevation for that location and shows a pass or fail status. You can add a photo and field note to any shot — this is especially valuable for borderline shots or locations where you need to document the exact conditions.

Shot entry takes 10–20 seconds per shot once the data is organized. The key is having your design elevations loaded before you go to the field so you are not looking them up one at a time. Sitemark supports QR-code labeling of shot locations for subdivision-scale projects where lots are numbered and can be scanned rather than typed.

Step 4: Review Deviations in Real Time

One of the primary advantages of digital grade shot logging over paper is real-time deviation feedback. As shots are logged, Sitemark highlights any location outside tolerance immediately. This allows the crew to identify problem areas while the equipment is still on site — rather than discovering grading failures the next day after the crew has moved on.

When you spot a flagged deviation, verify the shot with a second reading. Confirm the equipment setup has not drifted by re-shooting a check point. If the deviation is confirmed, photograph the area, note the dimensions of the affected area, and flag it for re-grading before the crew leaves. Documenting corrective actions at the time they are identified, rather than after the fact, is the cleanest way to build defensible as-built records.

Step 5: Generate and Distribute the Shot Log Report

After completing the day's shots, generate the grade shot report from Sitemark. The report includes all shot locations with design elevation, as-built elevation, deviation, and pass/fail status. Any corrective actions noted in the field are included with the shot record. The report exports as a PDF that can be attached to daily reports, submitted to the owner's inspector, or included in a PE certification package.

For recurring grade surveys (weekly grading progress checks, subgrade verification before paving, final grade before seeding), Sitemark keeps all historical shots associated with the job so you can track how the site evolved from rough grade through finish grade. This time-stamped record is particularly valuable on disputed projects.

Grade Shot Best Practices

• Always verify before starting — Shoot a check point before logging any grade shots. A setup error at the start ruins the entire day's data.
• Log corrections in the same system — When a shot fails and is re-graded, log the corrected shot in Sitemark against the same location. The deviation record shows both the failure and the correction.
• Photograph borderline shots — Any shot within 0.02 ft of the tolerance boundary should have a photo. This protects you if the shot is disputed later.
• Note instrument setup changes — If you move your instrument to a new setup point mid-survey, note it in Sitemark. Any shot logged under the new setup must be verified against the new instrument position.
• Export same day — Generate and distribute the grade shot report the same day. Same-day distribution creates a contemporaneous record that is far more defensible than reports generated days or weeks later.