OVER-SEER –A BY-GONE OPTION / POSITION

 OVER-SEER –A BY-GONE OPTION / POSITION

A category of men holding positions as over-seers was a well-known option for persons who could not pursue higher studies, being themselves not sound economically. Such men used to seek training avenues popular as “Draughtsman” offered by many authorized institutes. If my memory serves me right, such training were for just about a year before the candidates appear for examinations recognized by the government of the state. Successful candidates were ‘Certified’ personnel eligible to function as Draughtsman/ overseer under agencies carrying out civil work for projects executed by private agencies or government schemes.

Obviously, the two positions –Draughtsman and the overseer are not identical in terms of duties, responsibilities and the jurisdiction over which each has a say. In plain terms, there is some hierarchical tag for these broadly understood as for planning or for periodic assessment of progress of work daily or at predetermined intervals.  Either involves a clear perception of structural nature and the appropriate care and caution in construction   Therefore, aspirants to these functions require adequate grounding in these domains . [The basic requirement would pertain to structural stability and the scope of future expansion without changing the existing structure].  

In plain terms structural planning [Draughtsman] and closely monitoring the upkeep of critical standards during the execution of work [overseeing and the functionary= overseer] are the aspects ‘before’ and ‘during’ the execution of work respectively of ‘draughtsman and overseer.

At a functional level every project begins at the ‘Drawing tale’ as a euphemistic “plan” drawn to scale and accurate precision in relative dimensions including for details of foundation , depth , design of construction and the superstructure ‘to be’ and so on. Above all the approving authority would generally insist on ‘elevation details’ a learned coinage for ‘frontal appearance/ look. So, a draughtsman has to ‘speak’ through precise drawing sustaining scale, intricate details of columns, walls, windows, stairs and every other minute detail not listed herein.

The overseer on the other hand, takes care of implicit maintenance of critical formulations prescribed by civil engineer[s] for specific quality, proportion and curing protocol prescriptions. 

Of the two, the overseer is associated longer with a project than the draughtsman involved in the formative steps.

Many youth of our times entered these jobs after some good formal training. The present position of these avocations is not too well known as to who manages those functions.