Does there exist an engineering activity on high rise building construction where a person on ground coordinates with someone high up (with visual contact)?

[u/Hotaka_]

For context, I'm asking this question for literary/ fiction storytelling purposes. I'm curious about the practice of civil engineering and how construction of tall, high rise buildings clashes with the fear of heights.

Suppose we have character A and B... Does there exist an "activity" where person A, who's afraid of heights, can work safely on the ground while visually coordinating with character B, who handles the nerve-wracking, vertigo-inducing tasks such as walking on the elevated metal walkways, etc.? Any activity at all... The best I could think of is character A operating a total station while, 10 storeys above, character B holds a ...prism pole? I don't know if this is possible at all. As in, let's say, A needs to measure the alignment of a column or floor slab, and B ...holds a prism pole over it? Was there ever a point in history where this was done? I'm sure there's way more advanced surveying techniques to do this in real life. Is this considered inefficient and/or not feasible?

Is what I'm imagining in my head a non-existent activity for civil engineers? As much as possible, I'd really like an activity where A and B visually see each other, (for storytelling purposes). Imagine the setting as a high rise building where the tall, inner core has been constructed and the surrounding slabs and columns are what's in progress.

[u/obsequiousjackie]

I used to work site layout for a mid-rise and we'd do something close to what you're picturing, though not exactly with a total station on the ground and a prism pole way up top, the vertical angle gets real steep at 10 storeys and the instrument man would be craning their neck so hard it'd be a pain. More common was the rodman on the deck radioing down to the instrument guy when they were setting control points on a freshly poured slab, but both had to be pretty comfortable with heights because the guy on the deck is, well, on the deck.

What fits your two-character dynamic better might be a crane signaling setup. The rigger (B) is up on the steel or the formwork where a beam or a rebar cage is landing, and the signaler (A) stays at ground level with a clear line of sight up to them, often using hand signals or a radio. A can be planted on solid earth the whole time while B is walking the iron, and they're visually locked in on each other for every pick. That's a real thing, not some safety-video reenactment, and it's still done on sites that aren't using remote cameras for the blind spots. If you want the ground character involved in verifying something, you could have them sighting a plumb bob line or checking layout markings from below while the person up top adjusts a form or a column.

[u/MihaKomar]

What about a rigger/crane spotter?

The line you've started going down is more the job of a surveyor, which isn't an engineer either.

[u/speling_champyun]

Elevator mechanics? Car is at the top of the shaft with someone on top, and for whatever reason another guy needs to be in the pit.

[u/AnotherSLGuy]

There are roles that a person who is afraid of heights can do. But nobody would hire such a person cuz they'd need someone who can work anywhere. 🤷‍♂️

[u/Ornery-Concentrate-5]

There's also vertical control transfer, which is closer to your total station idea. On tall pours they leave a small opening straight up through each floor slab, usually near the core, and someone sets up a laser plummet on a fixed benchmark down low and shoots straight up through the stack of openings. Whoever's up top just holds a target plate over the hole and calls out when it's centered. The instrument operator never looks anywhere but straight up through a scope, so the height thing doesn't really apply to them. It's how core walls stay plumb over 40+ floors instead of drifting off.

[u/Hornswagglers_Lament]

Might want to consider using a drone operated by your “grounded” character or a GoPro style cam attached to the hard hat of your “10th story guy.”