INTEGRATING SURVEYING AND GIS PREPARED FOR: WVAGP SEMINAR Jared D. Wilson Instructor of Land Surveying Glenville State College Glenville, WV

SURVEYING & GIS What is surveying? Surveying is the art and science of locating points on, above, or below the earth’s surface In essence, surveying is the collection and analysis of geospatial information What is GIS? Geographical Information System A collection of geospatial data and the ability to analyze the data in a detailed manner As we can see, surveying and GIS are very closely related fields!

Who Utilizes Surveying and GIS? Governments NOAA FEMA USGS Law Enforcement Agencies Private Industry Construction Mapping Private Law Enforcement General Public Again, the two disciplines share common usages.

Features of Surveying & GIS Analysis Data collection, entry, editing, validation Image analysis Map creation Data analysis and linkage Data storage

The Surveying and GIS Relationship Characteristics of the Surveyor and GIS Professional Spatial data analysis and collection Surveyors play a critical role in the supplying of geospatial data GIS has roots in land surveying with regards to automated cartography GIS, aka, LIS deals with land records and associated information GIS knowledge is included on the Surveying exams

Surveying Technology Surveying technology has rapidly evolved within recent years Computers (Portable) GPS Computer Aided Mapping Robotics Data Transfer (Cable and Wireless) This increase in technology has drastically decreased data collection time and increased productivity Fully automated mapping Client Data Transfer On Demand Production and Analysis Global Clients

A Slight Disconnect Within the Professions What is the underlying factor that puts surveyors and GIS professionals at odds? Accuracy! Survey grade accuracy has always been the biggest obstacle within GIS and surveying The “Boundary” Surveyors are always aware when boundaries overlap or gap; however, GIS professionals are not usually land surveyors, they are data analysts GIS, in its infancy, trended more towards a shotgun approach with regards to boundaries, but with its growth, more and more GIS boundaries can better withstand court challenges

Part of the Solution Robillard stated it best, “No matter the amount of precision involved in the data collection process, errors in surveying still occur” The accuracy of survey measurements is becoming increasingly better; thus, data pertaining to boundaries needs to be relayed to GIS professionals Good data in, equals, good data out Historically, GIS boundaries were digitized from tax maps, which, are a “sketch” of what the property boundary should represent Surveyors need to understand that they are responsible for preparing accurate boundaries and GIS professionals need to realize that if that data is needed, get it. It is not public information!

Another Part of the Solution Training Many of the surveyors practicing today do not have formal or informal training on the utilization of GIS technologies and may not fully be aware of the benefits that a GIS system can provide GIS professionals need to utilize surveyors knowledge concerning data acquisition and potential analysis Cross-Training Should GIS professionals and surveyors work in close conjunction with one another, each should undertake cross-training on particular skills and work development of the other This would provide an element of appreciation on what both can offer

Data Integration – The Final Frontier Fully Integrated Data System Imagine a fully functional automated database that can deliver all project documents, deeds, field notes, and coordinate system transformation Then take that functionality and translate the data into project location maps Finally, further translate the project data into cost versus time GIS and Surveying are very compatible and with proper education, a full integration of surveying and GIS can be accomplished.