Sonya Milonova Practicum Report

Organization: Tsogang Water and Sanitation

Peace & Thiem Street

Tzaneen, South Africa

0850

http://www.tsogang.org/

Contact Name: Mary Kings

Title: Managing director

Telephone: (27) 015 307 2673

Project: Field Practicum

Dates: July 8th

– August 5th

, 2012

Author: Sonya Milonova

http://www.tsogang.org/

Tsogang Water and Sanitation Summer Practicum 1

Table of Contents

List of Tables ..................................................................................................................................2

List of Figures .................................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................3

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................4

Background ..................................................................................................................................4

Limpopo Province ........................................................................................................................4

Host Organization Description .....................................................................................................5

Process ......................................................................................................................................6

Costs…………………………………………………………………………………………..9

Monitoring and Evaluation…………………………………………………………………...9

Methods .........................................................................................................................................10

Deliverables ................................................................................................................................10

Limitations .................................................................................................................................11

Results ...........................................................................................................................................11

Recommendations ......................................................................................................................12

Reflections and ADME Observations ........................................................................................12

Sustainability…………………………………………………………………………………...13

Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................14

Works Cited ..................................................................................................................................15

Appendices ....................................................................................................................................16

Appendix A: Trimble SketchUp Manual ...................................................................................16

Appendix B: Devilliersdale As-Built .........................................................................................33


List of Tables

Table 1. Tsogang's principles for cost-effective water and sanitation projects [2]. .................................... 8

Table 2. Field practicum outline of activities. ........................................................................................... 11

List of Figures

Figure 1. Map of South African provinces, with Limpopo province in the northern corner ........................ 5

Figure 2. Tsogang organogram. [4] ........................................................................................................... 6

Figure 3. Project flowchart for Tsogang. [5].............................................................................................. 7

Figure 4. Layout of Devilliersdale distribution system. ............................................................................ 34

Figure 5. Layout of Devilliersdale with Google Earth imagery ................................................................ 34


Executive Summary

The South African government is constitutionally mandated to provide basic water and

sanitation services to all of its citizens; however, in rural areas, the percentage of people with

access to an improved water source was 79% in 2010, and the percentage of people with access

to improved sanitation was only 67% [1]. In the province of Limpopo, a non-governmental

organization called Tsogang Water and Sanitation works to improve those numbers in rural

communities. Using the Appraisal, Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation (ADME) framework,

Tsogang partners with rural communities to determine problems, brainstorm solutions, build

systems, and set up committees to take over monitoring, evaluation, and repairs.

Tsogang requested assistance with improving the technical skills of its staff and in

creating a design handbook to show to potential donors. The staff needed training in a simple

drawing program to create and modify drawings without hiring an engineer. The staff chose

Trimble SketchUp because of its simplicity, free access, and ability to include Google Earth

imagery for large system schematics. With the feedback of the staff, a training manual for the

program was written in order to transfer knowledge in the future. The design handbook created

contains all of Tsogang’s major designs in one booklet with illustrations and explanations for

government officials and potential donors. Since many of Tsogang’s designs are hand-drawn or

slightly out of date, the new design handbook was a good opportunity to digitize, update, and

compile all of the designs.

The organization was pleased with the drawing program and the design handbook, which

is almost complete. The work done for the practicum is helping Tsogang reach its goals of

becoming more technically and financially sustainable in the coming years.


Introduction

Background Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has seen incredible progress. The post

apartheid government managed to revive a collapsing economy, restore fiscal discipline, cut the

budget deficit, reduce the national debt, bring inflation down from double figures to within a

target range of 3% to 6%, and slash interest rates from a high of 24% under apartheid to 14%.

Government services received a complete overhaul and are now more accessible to a larger

percentage of the population. The new democratic constitution is grounded in human rights.

There is free press, including newspapers, radio, and television stations.

Despite these improvements, which add to the perception of South Africa as a developed

nation, it is one of the most unequal societies in the world. Almost half of South Africans are

living below the poverty line—the unemployment rate has been among the highest in the world

for more than a decade, fueling crime, inequality, poverty, and social unrest.

Particularly in rural areas, many still suffer from lack of basic services such as clean

water, sanitation, education, and healthcare. In rural areas, the percentage of people with access

to an improved water source was 79% in 2010, up from 71% in 2000; the percentage of people in

rural areas with access to improved sanitation is only 67%, up from 63% in 2000 [1].

Because the constitution mandates the South African government to provide basic water

and sanitation services to all citizens free of cost, after 1994, the new government worked hard to

provide these services [2]. Initially, the program was spearheaded by the central government, but

in 2003, the responsibilities were devolved to local governments. An important feature that

distinguishes water policies and institutions in South Africa from most other countries in the

world is the existence of Water Boards, water institutions at the local government level that

report to the Department of Water Affairs (DWA). The Water Boards are responsible for

operating dams, some retail infrastructure, and some wastewater systems, as well as providing

technical assistance to municipalities. However, they have been subject to governance instability,

corruption, and rapid turnover [3].

Limpopo Province Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. Because it shares borders with

Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, and because of its proximity to the industrialized

Johannesburg-Pretoria area, Limpopo province is at the center of regional, national, and

international developing markets.


Source: http://www.theodora.com/wfb/south_africa/south_africa_maps.html

Figure 1. Map of South African provinces, with Limpopo province in the northern corner

The population of Limpopo consists of several ethnic groups distinguished by culture,

language and race. 97.3% of the population is black, 2.4% is white, 0.2% is coloured, and 0.1%

is Indian/Asian. The principal home language is Sesotho, spoken by roughly half the population,

followed by Tshivenda and Xitsonga. The province is a typical developing area, exporting

primary products and importing manufactured goods and services. It is also one of the poorest

regions of South Africa, especially in rural areas. Rich in natural beauty, culture and wildlife,

Limpopo has a thriving tourism industry. In addition to the Kruger National Park, there are 54

provincial reserves and several luxury private game reserves. As a result, tourism is one of the

three pillars of the Limpopo economy, along with mining and agribusiness [4].

Host organization description Tsogang Water and Sanitation is a non-governmental organization (NGO) established in

1995 to work in the Limpopo province, based in the town of Tzaneen. Tsogang focuses on the

provision of water and sanitation services and the building of houses and schools in rural and

peri-urban communities. Tsogang works in cooperation with national, provincial, and local

government, as well as civil society organizations, the private sector, and other NGOs. Tsogang

is committed to a 75/25 split between infrastructure costs and administrative and management

costs, ensuring that 75% of all funding goes to communities to improve their water and sanitation

needs.

Tsogang directly employs 11 people:

Mary Kings, managing director

Philomen Masha, project manager


Kenny Phasha, project coordinator and project manager

Velly Mamarara, bookkeeper and financial manager

Patience Chawane, office administrator and trainer

Barbara Machimana, office support

Simon Makwala, builder

M. Monwareng, supervisor

Sydney Malatiji, trainer

M. Moela, trainer

T. Bophela, trainer

Tsogang also partners with other NGOs in the area through a group called Limpopo

NGOs (LINGO). The NGOs, which specialize in different fields, work together when a project

involves several interventions and heavy training in the community.

Tsogang’s organogram is depicted in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Tsogang organogram. [4]

Process The process employed by Tsogang to carry out projects is shown in Figure 3 and closely

follows the Appraisal, Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation (ADME) development framework.


Figure 3. Project flowchart for Tsogang. [5]

To start a project, a community, through its elected councilor, approaches the local and

district municipality to request assistance from Tsogang. Tsogang staff then organize a

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), an intensive analysis of the status quo of the community.

PRA is a development approach for information sharing and data collection undertaken by local

people with outsiders acting as facilitators. Through methods such as interviews, focus group

discussions, preference ranking, mapping and modeling, and seasonal and historical

diagramming, Tsogang and the community work together to identify, prioritize, and divide

problems and possible solutions [6]. Focus groups of men, women, youth, and elderly are

conducted, each with a facilitator, observer, and a reader. The results of focus groups and

interviews are then confirmed through mapping the community and collecting information about

existing infrastructure and projects, health of residents, economy and assets, and other

information. From the results of the PRA, a project of utmost importance to the community is

chosen and is confirmed with the district and municipality. In addition, the results are submitted

alongside a business plan as a request for funds to the government and donors.

If not already in place in the community, Tsogang organizes institutions for development

(committees). The village development committee is the overarching committee, elected by the

community, and contains at least 50% females, 30% youth, and 3% people with disabilities. A

water and sanitation committee and health and hygiene committee are also required, but other

committees can be established based on the project chosen and the community’s needs.

Within the water and sanitation committee is the technical team. The technical team

works with Tsogang staff from the very beginning of the project and is fully involved in

construction. This team receives the most training and is responsible for repairs after the project

is officially “handed over” to the community.

The committees and willing community members agree to participate in training after the


project is confirmed. Trainings for committee members and the technical team run parallel to

beneficiary identification. Trainings are held by Tsogang staff and usually last about 6 weeks.

The general trainings include Organizational Skills (how to run effective meetings, goal setting

and planning, conflict resolution, etc.), Project Management (general principles, roles and tasks,

scheduling, supervising, etc.), and Bookkeeping. More specialized trainings include Health and

Hygiene Awareness Creation (disease types and impact, disease transmission, understanding

attitudes, follow up evaluations, etc.) and Operations and Maintenance of Water Systems (step-

by-step O&M procedures, inspection/monitoring of different system parts, tariff collection, etc.).

Technical trainings, such as Sanitation Implementation and Water Implementation, continue

throughout the duration of the project implementation and involve lessons about surveying,

excavation, pipe-laying, concrete mixing, reinforcement, safety and first aid, and much more.

The beneficiary group is chosen based on the budget and the need in the community.

Every household is registered and information such as number of residents, disabilities and

health problems present, social grants, etc. is collected. The results of the registration are

confirmed with the village development committee. Although it is dependent on the budget and

the project scope, typically the beneficiary group is comprised of the 30% most poor in the

community.

Tsogang has completed hundreds of projects in communities in the Limpopo province.

Completed projects include: spring protection and distribution to tap stands, windmills and

storage tanks, hand-pump replacement, garden irrigation from springs and boreholes, ventilated

improved pit (VIP) latrines, rain water harvesting systems, schools, and homes. Tsogang follows

certain principles to ensure success, which vary depending on the project. Some of the principles

for water and sanitation projects are highlighted in TableTable 1.

Table 1. Tsogang's principles for cost-effective water and sanitation projects [2].

Principle 1 Carry out PRA to ensure local knowledge is used in partnership with the community.

Principle 2 Professional geo-hydrologists to undertake desk study and site visit to ensure correct

siting of borehole.

Principle 3 Professional testing and drilling of borehole.

Principle 4 Procurement procedures are used to ensure qualified, reliable, and honest suppliers

devoted to quality management are used.

Principle 5 The design and construction for water systems should try to achieve a 30-50 year design

horizon, preferably 50 years for all components.

Principle 6 Contract management, supervision, training, and payment are properly set up to ensure

correct monitoring and payment on completion; communities paid first on completion of

project work.

Principle 7 Groundwater data and information, as-built designs, etc. are submitted to water sector

authorities.

Principle 8 Monitoring will be conducted by regular visits and feedback given.

Principle 9 Trainees and project employees will be given certificates of attendances and references.

Principle 10 Ensure all stakeholders are involved at all levels of the project cycle.


One recent story of success comes from MaSeven Village, which had a deficient water

system—water wasn’t reaching all of the taps, and the faulty reservoir leaked. Community

members were relying on the polluted Steelport River for their daily water needs. Working in

partnership with Tsogang, a supply system consisting of 9km of pipeline and 58 taps was

constructed in large part by the village builders [6]. Community members were trained to

manage the project and employ local labor. The skilled village committee, which was also

trained in operations and maintenance and health and hygiene, now works in cooperation with

the municipality over payments for bulk water use. Tsogang also trained the water committee

and helped build 120 ventilated improved pit latrines in MaSeven [6].

At the time of the field practicum, there were two pending projects: one in the community

of Ribungwani, which was in the preliminary phases of PRA; and one in the community of

Devilliersdale, a water storage and distribution project that was officially finished and passed on

to the community on July 28th

, 2012. Two projects is an unusually low number for Tsogang, but

the organization was taking some extra time to plan for future funding by applying for grants and

was also working on its website and marketing materials during this time.

Costs Because Tsogang works in extremely poor communities, donors and the local

government cover all construction costs. After the project is completed, Tsogang leaves a small

stock of supplies for minor repairs in order to give the community time to organize a fee

structure. Once the supplies are used, the community is responsible for paying the technical team

to perform repairs. Often, this means collecting fees from community members—for water

projects, it is a small price to pay compared to the cost of buying bottled water.

The government’s commitment to providing free water and sanitation services to all

South Africans gives local municipalities an incentive to partner with Tsogang, which has

independent donors as well. The partnerships make projects more cost-effective and time-saving

for the municipalities. In fact, since the national government is also trying to create more jobs,

builders in some communities are paid to help with the construction of community projects

through a government organization called the Independent Development Trust (IDT). IDT

partners with organizations like Tsogang, which organizes the labor depending on the project

being implemented and is responsible for distributing the payments. This program has only been

running for a couple of years, and although there are often problems with workers being paid on

time, there is an incentive for community members to participate in training and building with

Tsogang and other similar organizations.

Monitoring and Evaluation After construction is finished, the project is officially “handed over” to the community

during a large ceremony. Tsogang assists with monitoring and evaluation for six months after the

handover, but the community is ultimately responsible for operation and maintenance. The

municipality partners with Tsogang and the community to cover the running costs and

financially help with large, expensive repairs. Municipalities are not always quick to respond,


however, so communities use cell phones to reach Tsogang if there is an urgent problem.

Tsogang mobilizes resources to resolve the issue. For example, in one community, outsiders

managed to steal the diesel engine, so Tsogang (with the permission of the donors) used a

contingency budget to purchase a new engine and add extra fencing for additional security.

To measure project success, both Tsogang staff and independent organizations verify and

monitor progress in communities. Tsogang uses a checklist to examine projects after 1, 3, and 5

years, as well as any time the staff is working on another project in the same area. Generally,

Tsogang does not receive enough funding to have a full-scale monitoring and evaluation

program, but the communities themselves are expected to maintain the project. Occasionally, a

funder will send out an external evaluation team or Tsogang will partner with the Water

Research Commission to examine past projects. The results of these evaluations are not included

here, since monitoring and evaluation was outside the scope of this project; however, there is

opportunity for more research in this area.

Methods

Technical drawings for Tsogang’s designs were previously split into two categories:

approximately half of the drawings were hand-drawn, and the other half were done in AutoCAD

by a local civil engineer. The engineer was no longer available, and in order to become more self

sustainable, Tsogang staff wanted to have the ability to create drawings. The staff had attempted

to learn AutoCAD, but found the program too complicated and did not have the time to learn to

use it. They requested an easier program that would be free or low cost to install on five

computers in the office. Another essential aspect for the new program was the ability to use

Google Earth imagery and overlay the as-builts for large distribution systems.

Tsogang staff also requested that the hand-drawn drawings be re-created digitally and for

all of the drawings to be included in a technical handbook to be shown to potential donors. The

handbook would illustrate and explain all of Tsogang’s major designs and components,

particularly reservoirs, pumps, single and double ventilated pit latrines, and schools. Tsogang

risks losing funding in the next couple of years, which would have a devastating effect on poor

rural communities in Limpopo. The organization wanted a handbook to prove to the government

and to potential donors that many successful projects have been completed and are still

functioning two decades later, unlike most government-managed projects that fail within six

months.

Deliverables From these expressed needs of the organization, the following four deliverables were the

focus of the field practicum from July 8th

to August 5th

:

Staff training in the use of a simple drawing program.

Development of a training manual for the drawing program to pass on knowledge in the

future.


An as-built using the new program to illustrate the finished storage and distribution

system in the community of Devilliersdale.

Development of a technical handbook with explanations and drawings of Tsogang’s main

designs. This handbook will be used for reference and shown to potential donors.

o This involved editing previous AutoCAD drawings to more accurately reflect

current designs, transferring hand-drawn designs to the computer, and collecting

information about Tsogang’s work in other communities.

An outline of completed activities is shown below:

Table 2. Field practicum outline of activities.

July 8-15 July 16-22 July 23-29 July 30-Aug 5

Orientation Devilliersdale

overnight trip to

measure system

SketchUp manual SketchUp staff

training, edit manual

Community meeting

at Ribungwani

Devilliersdale as-built

completed

Edit AutoCAD

drawings

Collect information

for design handbook

Devilliersdale trip to

check on construction

Edit AutoCAD

drawings

Collect information

for design handbook

Design handbook

Research drawing

program needs

Devilliersdale

overnight trip to hand

over project

Limitations The limitations of the field practicum included:

Schedule conflicts: scheduling times for Trimble SketchUp training was difficult because

of differing staff schedules, field work, and both personal and project-related staff

emergencies.

Understanding of computers varied widely among staff members, which caused setbacks.

Travel time. The trip to Devilliersdale took approximately four hours.

Results

After conversations with Tsogang staff, Trimble SketchUp was the chosen drawing

program because of its simplicity, availability of online instruction, free access, and

compatibility with Google Earth imagery. I held a training over three days to teach the staff the

basics of the program and to lead them through creating one of Tsogang’s designs. I also created

a manual to assist the staff and pass on knowledge of the program in the future. The staff was


asked for feedback on the manual before the final copy was printed. Tsogang staff expressed

satisfaction with Trimble SketchUp concerning simplicity, training, and the manual. The manual

is included in Appendix A.

As of November 2012, Tsogang staff have not needed to use the program for any

drawings and therefore were unable to give an update concerning satisfaction with the program.

However, the staff is satisfied with the drawings done for the design handbook [5].

As-builts for Devilliersdale were presented at the hand-over ceremony. The general

layout of the water system is shown in Appendix B. The drawing is also an example of work

done using SketchUp.

The design handbook is mostly complete and is being verified by director Mary Kings.

The goal is to have the handbook finalized in the next couple of months after the busy winter

season when Tsogang is required to submit applications for funding and annual reports to Irish

Aid.

Recommendations

Hire a temporary engineer to spend more time with staff on Trimble SketchUp. The staff

need occasional workshops to ask questions and expand their understanding of the

program.

Reflections and ADME observations It was incredibly valuable to see an organization follow the development model I learned

about in my Sustainable Community Development class over the last year, and to apply it in a

difficult situation with such success. The model appears to work for Tsogang and the

communities they partner with, creating sustainable, lasting projects that greatly improve the

quality of life in rural villages. Admittedly, this perspective is one-sided, since I did not have an

opportunity to ask community members about their satisfaction with the organization without

Tsogang staff present. From my perspective, Tsogang staff were extremely well-received and

appreciated in the communities I visited. The purpose of my project was not to examine the

efficacy of the organization, but perhaps this work can be done in the future.

I failed to account for the amount of time lost dealing with administrative issues, general

disorganization, and government incompetency. For example, while I was with Tsogang, one of

their partner NGOs had to be closed because the employees had not completed any work for over

three months. The closing of the NGO took much of Tsogang’s time and resources for over a

week. In addition, the builders in both communities that I visited (Ribungwani and

Devilliersdale) had not been paid by IDT for two months, and most of the community members

stopped working. There were many meetings and delays while this issue was resolved. The night

before the Devilliersdale hand-over celebration, both of the pumps in the community broke, and

the pump operator refused to work on a Saturday to fix the pumps. When the donors arrived for

the celebration, Tsogang staff had to explain why it appeared that the entire system was not

functioning. The celebration itself began more than three hours late and was somewhat overtaken

by the municipality leaders, who invited many political figures and made most of the day a


political event rather than a community celebration. The community and Tsogang staff were

extremely frustrated but were not able to voice their dissent to the municipality, which had

agreed to help with major repairs of the system in the future.

Although there wasn’t much I could do to avoid these problems, I felt that my work could

have been better organized and efficient with more preparation. My practicum was not confirmed

until May, and most of that month Mary was in Europe for family matters. She and I had limited

communication until I arrived in July. I relied heavily on her to introduce me to the organization,

arrange trips to the communities, schedule staff time for training, and much more. This

dependence sometimes limited my ability to work when Mary was too preoccupied. I felt that

four weeks with Tsogang was too short of a time to achieve everything that had been planned,

and as I try to finish the work from the U.S., it is constantly delayed when I have questions for

Mary that must be answered via email. More preparation time and more time in country would

have been extremely beneficial.

The ADME framework was not particularly relevant for my work with Tsogang, as I did

not have much contact with the communities. In my own work with the staff, however, I tried to

understand the needs of the organization before delving into the work I was asked to do and

frequently requested feedback, and I plan to evaluate the effects of my work after several months

by receiving updates from Mary and the staff.

Sustainability Although I was impressed with Tsogang’s model and hard-working staff, I could not

easily discern their method for measuring the success of a project. It appears that Tsogang does

not have a regular program in place and only monitors past projects when funding allows it. I did

not have time or ability to investigate the validity of the organization’s reports on its own

projects, and therefore have difficulty drawing conclusions about the overall sustainability of the

organization. However, I believe the idea of partnering with local government to pay community

members is a good one—most non-profit organizations exist to compensate the inability of the

government to provide basic services to all of its people. Therefore, NGOs should function in

some ways like small governments, providing services for an affordable price and employing

community members to maintain the projects. The community takes care of small, affordable

repairs, while the local government holds responsibility for providing specialized services when

needed. It would be interesting to see this model applied in other situations where corruption is

not as rampant as it is in South Africa.

Tsogang’s financial sustainability was also slightly unclear. Although its donor, Irish Aid,

has been providing sufficient funds for all of Tsogang’s projects and are genuinely impressed

with the work of the organization, there is a possibility that they will not be able to fund Tsogang

projects for much longer. There are rumors that the South African government may be putting a

stop to all international aid, even though the government has praised many of these projects in

the past. This rumor is one of the main reasons that Tsogang requested help with a design

handbook to prove to the government that its projects are necessary, sustainable, and long-

lasting.


From my perspective, my practicum contributed to the organization’s sustainability by

helping its staff become more independent. The staff increased technical capacity by learning

how to create drawings so that they no longer depended on a local engineer who was often

unavailable. This desire came from all of the staff members and was therefore set as a priority for

my time at Tsogang. It is admirable that the organization encourages and assists its employees in

realizing their goals. For example, one of the staff members expressed an interest in project

management and is now shadowing a project manager part-time in preparation for taking on the

next project by himself. Helping each individual within an organization become as capable as

possible is a sign of a good organization that cares about its employees as much as its clients.

The desire of the staff to have the organization become as sustainable as possible is reflected in

the small steps they are taking to accomplish that goal.

Conclusions

This assignment addressed the practical needs of a community-based organization. The

organization took the time to review its weaknesses and to plan ahead by improving the technical

skills of the staff and preparing to present a design handbook to potential donors. The work

completed will help the organization be more self sustainable and organized by containing all of

their design drawings in one place.

More instruction with SketchUp is recommended in the future in order to solidify the

staff’s knowledge of the program and keep them up to date with program changes.

In addition, if the organization considers it important, further research could examine the

status of communities where Tsogang has worked in the past to confirm the long-term efficacy

of the organization.


Works Cited

[1] UNICEF and World Health Organization, "Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation,"

UNICEF and World Health Organization, 2012.

[2] Tsogang Water and Sanitation, "March 2010 - February 2011 Annual Report," Tsogang

Water and Sanitation, Tzaneen, 2011.

[3] African Ministers' Council on Water, "Water Supply and Sanitation in South Africa," 2010.

[4] SouthAfrica.info, "SouthAfrica.info," [Online]. Available:

http://www.southafrica.info/about/geography/limpopo.htm#.UGNIHI1lQXI. [Accessed 12

September 2012].

[5] M. Kings, Interviewee, Director. [Interview]. 14 July 2012.

[6] Tsogang Water and Sanitation, "Company Profile," Tsogang Water and Sanitation, Tzaneen,

2011.

[7] Department of Water Affairs, "Water Services Information Reference Framework: Water and

Sanitation," Department of Water Affairs, Limpopo Province, 2009.


Appendix A

Trimble SketchUp Manual


Trimble SketchUp Training Manual

8/1/2012


Table of Contents

Background ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Limpopo Province ................................................................................................................................... 4

Host organization description ................................................................................................................. 5

Process ................................................................................................................................................ 6

Costs ................................................................................................................................................... 9

Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................................. 9

Deliverables ...................................................................................................................................... 10

Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 12

Reflections and ADME observations ..................................................................................................... 12

Sustainability ..................................................................................................................................... 13

Works Cited .............................................................................................................................................. 15

Trimble SketchUp Manual ........................................................................................................................ 16

Download Google SketchUp ..................................................................................................................... 20

Templates ................................................................................................................................................. 20

Toolbars .................................................................................................................................................... 20

Working with the mouse .......................................................................................................................... 20

Axes .......................................................................................................................................................... 21

Tools and shortcuts ................................................................................................................................... 21

Inference types ......................................................................................................................................... 22

Layers ........................................................................................................................................................ 23

Google Earth imagery ............................................................................................................................... 23

Making figures .......................................................................................................................................... 24

Text ........................................................................................................................................................... 25

Dimensions ............................................................................................................................................... 26

Colors and Textures .................................................................................................................................. 26

Creating 3D objects ................................................................................................................................... 27


Drawing a pipe .......................................................................................................................................... 28

Title Blocks ................................................................................................................................................ 28

Printing ..................................................................................................................................................... 30

Other Resources ....................................................................................................................................... 32

Devilliersdale As-Built ............................................................................................................................... 33


Download Google SketchUp 1. Go to http://sketchup.google.com/

2. Click “Download SketchUp”

3. Download the basic version (free).

Templates The different templates you have the option of using when you open SketchUp are mostly very similar.

The important thing to consider is units. Although you can use any units in any template, it’s easier to

select the “meters” template if you’re more comfortable with meters because all of your measurements

will automatically be in meters.

Toolbars In order to have all the tools you need at your disposal, turn on toolbars and position them around your

drawing screen. Some are already shown, but there are many additional toolbars you can display.

1. Go to View > Toolbars and select the following:

Working with the mouse 1. Use the right button to select objects.

http://sketchup.google.com/


2. Use the left button to view the context menu of an object.

3. To rotate the view, press down on the mouse wheel.

4. To pan, press down on the mouse wheel and hold shift.

5. To zoom in or out, use the mouse wheel. Use the Zoom Extents Tool to zoom your view to a

distance where the whole model is visible and centered in the drawing area.

6. If you get disoriented, press the “top” button in the Views toolbar. Stay in this view when

working in 2D.

Axes 1. You will see three axes: the x axis (red line), the y axis (green line), and the z axis (blue line).

2. When drawing a line, moving an object, or using the tape measure tool, the axes will get darker

when you are along them. You can force SketchUp to stay on a specific axis by pressing one of

the following keys while using the Line tool, Move tool, or Tape Measure tool (unfortunately this

doesn’t work for other tools):

Right arrow key = red axis

Left arrow key = green axis

Up or down arrow keys = blue axis

Tools and shortcuts

Select: allows you to select one or more entities to modify.

Keyboard Shortcut: Spacebar

Eraser: allows you to erase entities from the drawing area. This tool also allows you to hide and

soften edges.

Keyboard Shortcut: E

Paint Bucket: paint individual elements, fill a number of connected faces, or replace a material in

your model.

Keyboard Shortcut: B

Move: move, manipulate, and copy geometry. This tool can also be used to rotate component

entities.

Keyboard Shortcut: M

Rotate: rotate drawing elements and single or multiple objects within a single rotation plane. The

Rotate tool can also be used to stretch and distort geometry by selecting only a portion of a model.

Keyboard Shortcut: Q

Top view

Zoom Extents


Scale: resize and stretch selected geometry relative to other elements in your SketchUp model.

Keyboard Shortcut: S

Push/Pull: manipulate faces of your model. This tool can be used to displace, extrude, re-attach, or

subtract faces, depending on the context of selected geometry.

Keyboard Shortcut: P

Follow Me: extrude faces along a path such as an edge or line drawn with the Freehand tool. This tool

is useful when adding details to a model because it allows you to draw the detail at one end of a path on

the model and then repeat that detail along the path.

Offset: create copies of co-planar lines and faces that are a uniform distance from original lines and

faces. Lines and faces can be offset either inside or outside the original face. Offsetting a face will always

create a new face.

Keyboard Shortcut: F

Tape Measure: measure the distance between two points, create guide line entities, and re-scale an

entire model to an exact dimension.

Keyboard Shortcut: T

Protractor: measure angles and create guide line entities (usually at some angle).

Axes: move the drawing axes. This tool is often used when constructing rectangular objects that are

skewed relative to one another, or to allow for more accurate scaling of entities that are not oriented

along the default coordinate planes.

Dimensions: place Dimension entities in your model.

Text: insert Text entities into your model.

3D Text: create modeled 3 dimensional text.

Section Plane: make section cuts in your model.

Inference types There are three main types of inferences: point, linear, and planar.

Point inference: A point inference is based on the exact point of your cursor in your model.

Linear Inference: A linear inference snaps along a line or direction in space. In addition to a tooltip, a

linear inference sometimes displays a temporary dotted line while you draw.


Shape Inferences: SketchUp indicates half circles, squares, and golden sections, using unique inference

indicators.

Layers Layers are useful when you have too much going on in a model. Instead of deleting components, you

can place them in a separate layer and then turn the layer off temporarily.

1. Try to draw everything in Layer 0, and change it later if necessary. To place something in a layer,

select the object and then click on the pull down tab and select a layer.

2. To turn layers on or off, use the Layer Manager. Keep in mind that SketchUp won’t let you turn

off the layer you’re currently working in (marked by the dot in the circle), so if you need to turn

off that layer, change the layer you’re in within Layer Manager.

Google Earth imagery In order to add imagery, you must be connected to the internet.

1. File > Geo location > Add location

Layer

Manager


2. Zoom in on the village you’re drawing and click “Select region.” Choose close-up, detailed

imagery and press Grab—if you add the entire village at once, the image quality will be bad. You

can add to the imagery later in small pieces to have clear photos.

3. In the layers box you will see two Google Earth layers: The Google Earth Snapshot and the

Google Earth terrain. Start with the 2D snapshot, and use the terrain layer if you want to look at

the 3D model.

4. While the terrain imagery is useful (you can calculate the total drop from your reservoir to the

village, for example), it’s difficult to work with in SketchUp because when you place an object, it

will either be skewed to stay on the surface or it will cut through the imagery (see figure below).

Use the 2D image (Google Earth Snapshot) to avoid these problems.

Making figures 1. When using the circle tool, click once at the center of your circle, then move your mouse out

from the center, type the radius (with units), and press Enter.

Layer

Manager


2. When using the line tool, click once at the start of your line, move your mouse in the direction

you want your line to go, type in the length, and press Enter. You can also write <number,

number, number> right after setting the starting point of a line to identify an ending point at

relative coordinates to the start point. For example: <1.5m, 4m, 2.75m> will draw a line from the

center to a point 1.5m along the x-axis, 4m along the y-axis, and 2.75m along the z-axis.

3. When making a rectangle, type in the x-coordinate first, then the y-coordinate.

Text 1. The Text button automatically labels the length of a line or the area of a surface. You can change

the text either by double clicking on it or by right clicking and selecting Entity Info. In the Entity

Info box, you can also change the font type and size, as well as the layer and the type of arrow.

2. There are two types of text in SketchUp. Leader text is attached to an object, whereas Screen

text remains fixed to a point on your screen.

3. When labeling a model, it’s easier to use Leader text because it will follow you when you rotate

or zoom in and out.

4. To attach Leader text to an object, click the Text icon, then click on a corner of the object and

place the text.


5. If you want to erase the arrow, right click and select Leader > Hidden. You can also do this in the

Entity Info box.

6. When labeling the screen, such as right before printing, it might be easier to use Screen text.

7. Select the Text icon and click anywhere on the screen. As long as you click on empty space, your

text will be Screen text.

Dimensions 1. Use the dimension tool to label lengths in your model. Just click the tool, select a line and drag

the dimension out to where you can see it.

Colors and Textures 1. Use the Paint Bucket tool to add colors and textures to objects.

2. For plain colors, in the Select tab, click on “In Model” in the pull-down menu.


3. To add a color you don’t see already, use the “Create Material” button at the top. Choose a

color with the color wheel and click Ok to create a new color. Once you use it in your model,

you’ll see it displayed in the Materials box.

4. To apply a texture, select the Materials option in the pull-down menu. Here you will find

concrete, bricks, metal, etc.

5. You can also import a picture to use as a texture by clicking on the Edit tab within Materials and

selecting Browse to find the picture.

Creating 3D objects 1. Draw a shape, such as a circle or rectangle.

2. Use the Push/Pull Tool to push and pull faces to add volume to or subtract volume from your

shape. Click on your object once (don’t keep the mouse button pressed down), move your

mouse in the direction you want to push/pull, then type in the dimension of how much you

want to push/pull (for example, “3m”) and hit Enter.


Drawing a pipe 1. Draw a circle

2. Draw a line from the middle of the circle in the direction you want your pipe to go.

3. Using the Follow Me tool, click on the circle and then move your mouse along the line. You don’t

have to keep the mouse button pressed down while you do this.

Title Blocks The free version of SketchUp does not allow you to make title blocks easily. The best way to make a title

block is to use another program, such as Powerpoint (you can do the same in Word), to create an image

that you can put into SketchUp as a Watermark. Follow these steps:

1. Make a title block in Powerpoint by creating a table and adding text. You can add a logo or other

images to personalize it.


2. On your keyboard, press the “Print Screen” button (sometimes abbreviated as “Prt Sc”). This will

take a picture of your screen exactly as you see it, but nothing will happen unless you paste the

picture somewhere.

3. On a new Powerpoint slide, right click and press Paste. Under the Format tab, click the Crop

button and drag the sides of the picture until only the title block is visible.

4. Right click on the image and select “Save as Picture.” Save it somewhere on your computer.

5. In SketchUp, go to Window > Styles. Click on the Edit tab, and select the Watermark Settings

button.


6. Press the Add Watermark button, which looks like a plus sign in a circle. Choose the picture that

you just saved and click Open.

7. The Create Watermark box will open. Choose the Overlay option and click next. In the last

screen, choose the “Positioned in the screen” option and choose where you want the image to

sit on the screen (the lower right corner is standard). In this window you can also scale the

image, but keep in mind that it will stay that size even if you zoom into or out of your model.

8. If you want to edit your watermark later, click Window > Styles. If you need to change the actual

image (text, logo, etc.), you will need to edit the title block in Powerpoint and take another

screen shot.

Printing 1. Make sure that the view you want to print appears in your modeling window.

Unless you’re printing to scale, SketchUp prints exactly what you see in your modeling window.

2. Choose File > Print Setup.

3. In the Print Setup dialog box, do the following:


Choose the printer you want to use.

Choose a paper size for your print.

Choose an orientation for your print; most of the time, you want to use Landscape because your

screen is usually wider than it is tall.

Click OK to close the Print Setup dialog box.

4. Choose File > Print Preview.

The Print Preview dialog box opens. As an exact copy of the Print dialog box, Print Preview lets you

see an image of what your print will look like before you send it to a printer.

5. In the Print Preview dialog box, do the following:

In the Tabbed Scene Print Range area, choose which scenes you want to print, if you have more

than one.

Tell SketchUp how many copies of each scene you need.

Make sure that the Fit to Page check box is selected.

Make sure that the Use Model Extents check box isn’t selected.

Choose a print quality for your printout.


Click OK.

If you like what you see, click the Print button in the upper-left corner of the Print Preview

window to open the Print dialog box.

In the Print dialog box (which should look exactly like the Print Preview dialog box), click OK.

Other Resources Getting Started Video Tutorials: http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/training/videos.html

If you get confused about a certain tool or can’t figure out how to draw something, refer to these videos

for more information.

http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/training/videos.html


Appendix B

Devilliersdale As-Built


Figure 4. Layout of Devilliersdale distribution system.

Figure 5. SketchUp's compatibility with Google Earth makes the creation of large scale drawings much

easier.

Sonya Milonova Practicum Report

Documents