How do you share surveying data with other professionals?

Choosing the right format for sharing surveying data is crucial to ensure its usability and effectiveness. Different formats serve different purposes and have varying capabilities. CAD, such as DWG or DXF, provides the flexibility to create and edit drawings and models, making it a popular choice for detailed surveying data. PDF, on the other hand, is great for preserving the layout and graphics of the data, making it easy to share and view. However, keep in mind that PDFs cannot be easily edited or made interactive without conversion. If you need to exchange specific tabular data, CSV is an excellent option as it stores comma-separated values and can be imported and exported by various software.

For our ground run surveys, we will send a CSV file for the points that were collected. These can be imported into almost any CAD system. Most folks use AutoCAD DWG or other software that can use the AutoCAD format. So, our main delivery method is DWG format. For terrain models we either use Civil 3D, GeoTIFF images, or LAS point clouds. The file types depend on the clients experience and needs.

Almost all of our surveying data is produced in AutoCAD formats. We share finished ALTA survey drawings with clients using PDF format. For those who will use our data for further design work, they almost always want an AutoCAD DWG format. The most up to date survey equipment is also important to the outcome of the project. Using older, less precise equipment will not meet todays high expected standards for measurements.

Again, almost all of our surveys use the local State Plane Coordinate system for the coordinate datum. The vertical (elevation) data is tied to the NAVD 88 elevation datum. It is extremely important when communicating coordinate systems in feet (98% of our work) that you are clear if you are using the US Survey foot or International foot definition. Assuming the wrong thing can introduce significant errors into the work AND cost you or the client a LOT of money. Most contractors don't understand the difference between the US Survey Foot (39.37 in/m or 1 US foot ≈0.3048006 approximately) and the International Foot (2.54cm/in or 1 Int foot=0.3048 m).

The most important communication aspect is in the beginning - the scope of work. Being clear with your client on precisely what work is to be done AND the format of the final product will eliminate lots of frustration and confusion at the end of the survey project. Almost all of my difficulties have included either a misunderstanding about the scope of work, or not clearly defining the scope of work. The Scope of Work cannot just be in YOUR head. It must be clearly written on paper, in the contract documents. Every effort should be made to get your client to understand and agree to the written scope of work. Again, assuming that the client understands is hazardous to the project outcome.

Land surveying data @ mapping data commonly shared thru acad and pdf format to others. Be sure that only data needed for that specific task / project / area will be given to others. Unless otherwise instructed, any NDA signed or any agreement signed between the sharing party/ies.

Sharing survey data with other professionals ,ensure you have your data in the required format you want to share eg.str,dwx,.csv etc. Preferably share through mail or trusted pendrive

When sharing surveying data, it is vital to have a good understanding of the metadata. Because when data sharing, it is a requirement to share metadata with the project data itself in every case. If not, whomever the person uses this data is unable to do the required analysis on the given data, and the outputs will not be in the given standards and structures.