COMPOSITION OF TAPING PARTY

 Taping is the process of directly measuring distances with the use of graduated tape
 The measurement is under-taken in fairly level ground in an open field

THE TAPING PARTY

HEAD TAPEMAN - The person responsible of the accuracy and speed of all linear measurments with the tape. He d
etermines and directs the marking of points or stations, orders the clearing out of obstructions along lines to be meas
ured, and the person who carries the zero end of the tape head.

RECORDER - keeps the record of all measurements, sketches and observations taken during the process of measure
ment. He also checks by pacing all measurements made by the tapeman for possible errors, mistakes and blunders.

FLAGMAN - the persom whose duty is to hold the range pole (or flagpole) at selected points. He also helps the tape
men in making measurements and assists in clearing out obstructions alonh the line to be measured.

REAR TAPEMAN - the person whose duty is to assist the head tapeman during a taping operation. He is the one wh
o holds the 30m end or any intermediate meter mark of the tape during measurement.

THE PROCEDURE OF TAPING

ALIGNING THE TAPE

 A line is to be measured and both ends must first be marked.
 Establish a few intermediate points to serve as guides in obtaining a straight line.
 Range poles held at both ends of the line are used as markers and chaining pins are stuck to the ground to
mark the intermediate points.
 the head tapeman hands over one chaining pin to the rear tapeman, he then takes the zero end of
the tape and move forward in the general direction of the line measured.
 At initial point the rear tapeman carefully unrolls the tape from its reel and sees to it that the tape
is not looped or unduly twisted so as to cause kinks on the tape.
 When the 30-m end of the tape comes up even with the initial point, the rear tapeman calls out "stop".
At this command the head tapeman halt and positions himself align to the line to measured by vocal or
hand signals from the rear tapeman.

STRETCHING THE TAPE

 With the 30 m mark held at the initial point, and the head tapeman aligned, the rear tapemancalls out
"all right" or "OK". The head tapeman takes his position just to the left (or right) of the line, kneels,
and pull the tape taut.
 The tape may be held between the fingers and the palm. He then sticks a chaining pin into the ground
to mark the zero-meter end of the tape. When the head tapeman sets his pin, the rear tapeman should
be holding his end of the tape precisely on the mark.
 A steady and firm pull, generally between 4 and 7 kg, is applied on one end of the tape during
 stretching. No measuremnt should be made in length only when the standard pull is applied to it.
 If the tape is stretched less than the required standard pull, all recorded measurements will jturn
out to be "too short". The tape will correspondingly be "too long" if the pull applied is greater than
the required standard pull.
 To maintain a steady pull, the leather thongs at the tape's end should wrapped comfortably around
one hand. A firm pull could also be made by holding on to a chaining pin alipped through the eye
at the end of the tape, or by using a tape clamp.
 An efficient method of communication must continue to be established between the tapeman to
obtain accurate results, save time, and avoid jerking the tape.

PLUMBING
 When the ground is covered by obstacles, weeds, low brush, and irregularities in the ground surface, it
will be difficult or impossible to lay the tape on the ground during measurement.
 Both ends of the tape should be held above the ground (about a level of the waist or chest) and in a
horizontal position. Also, each end of tape is marked by positioning a plumb line (defined by a plumb
bob and string) held by both tapeman. When the point is being plumbed over soft ground, the plumb
bob is dropped and a pim is carefully set in the hole made by the plumb bob point. If the length to be
measured is less than a full tape length, the head tapeman moves the plumb line to a selected point on
the tape where it can be stretched horizontally, or over a specified or required ground mark.
 When the tape is aligned, stretched, and ready for marking, the rear tapeman continues to hold a
plumb line over the fixed point while the head tapeman plumbs his end of the line and marks it on the
ground. A firm stance is important. The head tapeman should position the plane of his body parallel to
the tape, with his legs well spread apart. His forearm should be in line with the tape, and he should
snug it comfortably against his body.
 During the measurement, it is important to determine if the tape is held nearly horizontal. A hand level
should be used to check if the tape ends are held correctly at the same elevation so as to obtain an
accurate measurement. If a hand level is not available, the tape may be estimated to be horizontal by
eye. The task of determining if the tape is held horizontal during measurement may be assigned to the
recorder.

MARKING FULL TAPE LENGTHS

 When a full tape length is measured the rear tapeman holds his end of the tape opposite the pin earlier
set on the ground.
 The head tapeman, after being lined-in properly, exerts the required pull on the tape, notes the zero
end and sets a pin beside it. The chaining pin may be set vertically in the ground or a given a slant at
right angles to the line measured. If the head tapeman is satisfied that the point marked is accpetable.
The rear tapeman then picks up the rear pin set on the ground and both tapeman move forward. The
tape is dragged by the head tapeman who comes to a stop after pacing an equivalent tape length. This
procedure is repeated until a partial tape length is to be measured at the end of the line
 In some instances, taping would be done on a hard surface such as a concrete or asphalt road, or on
steel rails along a railroad. Since pins could not be used, the end of the tape is marked by using
colored crayons (keels), chalk, or paint. The number of tape lengths is recorded beside the mark to
 keep count of the number of full tape lengths measured.

TALLYING TAPED MEASUREMENTS

 The initial point of the rear tapeman holds one pin and the head tapeman begins with ten pins carried
in his steel ring. This is the reason why a set of eleven pins is normally used during taping operations.
The first pin which the rear tapeman holds indicates that on etaoe length has already been measured,
and the total number of pins in his possessions (not counting the pin still set in the ground) indkcates
the total number of full tape lengths that have so far been measured.
 When the head tapeman sets his last (11th) pin, a tally is made. The rear tapeman, who by then
accumulates ten pins, brings these forward and hands it over to the head tapeman. The same taping
process is then continued. Thus, the number of tallies indicates the number of tape lengths which have
been measured. If a 30m tape is used, each tally 10 pins means that 300 meters has so far been
measured.

MEASURING FRACTIONAL LENGTHS

 The last segment of the line is to be measured, this will often be a measurement which will consist of a
fractional tape length.
 Upon reaching the end of the line, the head tapeman comes to a halt and the rear tapeman positions
himself at the last pin set. The rear tapeman holds the tape in such a manner that a whole meter mark
aligned with and opposite the pin. The terminal point should fall withinnthe end meter mark of the
tape which is subdivided into smaller graduations, usually in centimeters. After the correct pull is
applied, the head tapeman observes the number of centimeters which extends beyond the terminal
point of the line measured, while the rear tapeman observes the number ofnthe meter mark he is
holding at his end of the tape. The number of centimeters which the head tapeman observes is
subtracted from the meter reading which the rear tapeman observes to obtain the measured fractional
length. Since it is at this part of the measurementnthat mistakes in taping frequently occur, tapeman
should exercise extreme care during this paricular measurement.

BREAKING TAPE
 It is standard practice to hold the tape horizontally above ground and to plumb at one or both ends
when taping on sloping or uneven terrain surfaces. This requires the measurement of shorter distances
which are accumulated to total a full tape length. The procedure is referred to as "breaking tape"
 In measuring down a slope, the zero end of the tape is carried ahead. When the full tape length is
stretched out, the head tapeman lays the tape on the ground and returns up the slope to pick up the tape
at some meter mark which will allow him to hold horizontally a convenient length between himself
and the rear tapeman. The tape is usually held at about the level of the waist or chest. After the head
tapeman plumbs his end of the tape and marks it projection on the ground, he drops the tape and
proceeds down the slope to hold the tape horizontally at some other convenient meter marl. The rear
tapeman also leaves his end of the tape behind and moves forward to hold the meter mark earlier held
by the head tapeman. The procedure is then repeated for a number of segments until the whole tape
length is measured out.
  The procedure of breaking the tape does not require any notekeeping or calculations, errors and
mistakes are likely to occur.
 There os a natural tendency to hold the down slope end of the tape too low.
 The head tapeman is often unable to exert the correct amount of pull on the tape and also finds it
difficult to drop a plumb line to mark accurately point on the ground.
 A strong winds magnifies the problem and may make accurate taping extremely difficult.
 Taping down a slope is often preffered than measuring up a slope since the rear tapeman can hold his
end of the tape steady on the ground while the other end is pulled and plumbed by the head tapeman.
 When the taping up the forward point may be set firmly on the ground but the other end held by the
rear tape man somewhatnwavers or is unsteady.
 An alternate procedure to breaking tape is to measure only by a sequence of partial lengths where the
tape can be conveniently held horizontaly.
 The measured segments, which may be equal or unequal lengths, are then added up to determine the
total length of the line,0. In this particulaf produce recoreded and carefully added.

SLOPE TAPING
 The measured slope distance is then reduced to its corresponding horizontal distance by simple
computations.
 To perform a cpmputations, eaither the difference in elevation between the two emds of the tape (or
terminal points of the line) or the angle of inclination of the slope measurement must first be
determined.
 A clinometer, transit or theodolite may be used to determine the angle of inclination.

The measured slope distance is then reduced to its corresponding horizontal distance by simple computatio
ns.

d is the horizontal distance between the two points

s is the measured slope length between the points
α is the angle inclination from the horizontal
d = s Costα
If the difference in elevation h between the ends of the line (or tape) is known, the horizontal distance is co
 mputed using the following expression derived from the pythagoreaen theorem.

d = sq.* (s*2 - h*2)

 Long tapes, 50 to 150 meters in length, are suitable for measuring along slopes. Some specially made
tapes have several extra centimeters of length graduated beyond the normal end graduation.
 In slope taping, a check is made by measuring once up the slope and once down the slope. The
average of the two measurements is reduced to the equivalent horizontal distance is taken as the final
value of the measured distance. To increase the accuracy of measurement it ,ay ne necessary to
measure the line in as many repetitions as possible.

Questions and answers:

1. He is the person who is responsible for the accuracy and speed of all linear measurements with the tape?
 => Head Tapman

2.What is another way to measure downward sloping ?

=> Break Taping

3. How many pins is usually used in taping operations?

=> 11 pins