In laying out the work the foreman marks the outlines of the trench on the ground by means of a scratch made with a pick, chalk marks, tape, or other devices. These marks are measured from offset or center stakes set by the engineer. Center stakes are less conducive to error but are more likely to be disturbed before use than are offset stakes, but careless foremen make more errors with offset than with center stakes. The inspector should assist or be present at the laying out of the trench. After the trench has been laid out each laborer should be given a certain specific portion of it to dig and this portion is marked out on the ground. In this way a check can be kept upon the performance of each laborer and the knowledge of this fact tends to a uniformly better performance. The amount of work that can be performed by one man with a pick and shovel is as shown in Table 49. Some men may exceed these rates, many will not attain them. The allotted task must be gaged on the character of the ground in order that the tasks may be equal and a spirit of competition fostered. The hard worker will set the pace for the lazy man. Some contractors have adopted the expedient of dismissing laborers for the day as soon as the allotted task is done. TABLE 49 AMOUNT OF MATERIAL MOVED BY ONE MAN WITH A PICK AND SHOVEL (From H. P. Gillette) ────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────── Material │ Cubic Yard per hour ────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────── Hardpan │ 0.33 Common earth │ 0.8 to 1.2 Stiff clay │ 0.85 Clay │ 1.00 Sand │ 1.25 Sandy soil │ 0.8 to 1.2 Clayey earth │ 1.3 Sandy soil (frozen) │ 0.75 ────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────