Kickers aren't being used so much in construction today, a lot of new construction engineers are learning methods that can be more risky whereas taking a little extra time and setting a template (kicker) against each column/wall can pay back in dividends when saving re-work.
I was recently involved in a project with over 300 columns (using mainly unskilled labour in the middle east), with not one single cover or steel/column alignment issue, how many people can say that?
Why?... we used kickers.
What are kickers?:
A kicker is a small concrete plinth 50-150mm (2"-6") in height placed around a column base in order for you to quickly start your next stage column pour - it sets out the alignment pre-pour rather than post-pour (because if you need to move things, you can do it there and then). It is usually cast with the floor, pad or raft foundation. Construction can be fiddly/slows concreting for the first stage foundation slightly, but lost time is usually made up in time at the column/wall erection stage (if you have crews that know what they are doing).
Having a kicker you can physically see what's not right both in terms of cover and by looking along the kicker bases gives a quick visual indication of what needs to be moved. Obviously your surveyor would set-up a local grid to set these things out. It is easier to look along a straight edge of columns than it is a long string line with wavy 32mm reinforcement starter bars (which are usually placed where they can due to base steel configuration).
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Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings..........