BACKGROUND

Many state and federal transportation agencies have their own surveying and mapping standards, which leads to inconsistencies in measurements used in the design and construction of transportation assets. A national surveying and mapping standard would ensure spatial consistency, improve efficiency, minimize errors, and reduce duplication efforts.

There are some critical factors driving the need for consistent practices that may warrant consideration and adoption of a national standard:

1.  The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requires the U.S. DOT to promote, implement, deploy, demonstrate, showcase, support, and document the application of advanced digital construction management systems (ADCMS) to enhance project execution.

2.  The National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), a coordinate system established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation throughout the United States, is being modernized. The NSRS is required to be used by all federal agencies creating geographic information. Included in the NSRS modernization is the anticipated replacement of the North American Datum of 1983, the State Plane Coordinate System of 1983, and all existing NSRS vertical datums with new terrestrial reference frames and a new geopotential (vertical) datum. The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) announced that it will complete modernization of the NSRS by 2025.  

3.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology and NGS deprecated use of the U.S. survey foot on December 31, 2022. The international foot has been adopted for all applications throughout the United States, including the modernized NSRS. The U.S. survey foot is currently used by 44 states. 

Research is needed to identify the most effective and efficient surveying and mapping practices that may lead to adopting common practices that could be implemented in a nationwide standard. 

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to create a surveying and mapping guide for identifying positional accuracies of geospatial data used in transportation projects by state agencies and others that clearly specifies practices consistent with open data standards, the NSRS, and the deprecation of the U.S. survey foot.  

The guide will help agencies establish an appropriate level of accuracy for a given application and provide the details of practices that, if widely adopted, could ensure geospatial data are reliably and efficiently captured, shared, and reused.  

The guide should, at a minimum: 

• Define a set of common terminology;
• Consistently characterize, document, and report positional accuracy to maximize interoperability independent of specific manufacturers, vendors, products, or software;
• Ensure data is captured, shared, and reused by all stakeholders with confidence, transparency, and efficiency;
• Support future lifecycle and business uses such as building information modeling (BIM) for infrastructure, digital twins, and asset performance prediction and modeling;·       
• Discuss the overall return on investment (ROI) of positional accuracy and alignment with the NSRS;
• Present a ROI methodology that calculates the benefits and business case for positional accuracy and migration to the modernized NSRS;
• Provide recommendations for specific applications appropriate to various phases and business uses in the lifecycle of an asset or project;
• Consider the benefits and risks of data repurposing and use of geospatial data throughout the asset lifecycle;
• Include applications that consider both the spatial and temporal characteristics of the data; and
• Include a companion recommendation commentary to the guide that provides a succinct section-by-section analysis of the background, rationale, importance, and benefit of each recommendation.

TASKS:

 Phase I – Data collection and needs analysis

 Task 1 - Literature Review

 Conduct a comprehensive literature review of academic and agency-provided documentation of current terminology and practices, challenges to be met, and industry needs. The literature review will also explore state-of-the-art journals and publications to

identify cutting- edge advancements and innovations in surveying and mapping technologies. This exploration of state-of-the-art literature will provide insights into the latest tools, methodologies, and best practices that can significantly impact the effectiveness and efficiency of surveying and mapping processes in the transportation sector into the future.

 Deliverables:

·       Draft Literature Review submitted for panel comment

·       Final Literature review as needed to respond to comments

 Task 2 – Stakeholder Engagement.

 Plan for and execute stakeholder engagement of a diverse array of industry representatives from varying disciplines, business units, and areas of responsibility (including executives, managers, and practitioners) to identify institutional challenges, practices, and needs for the efficient capture, dissemination, and use of reliable geospatial data in and between agencies; how agencies might adapt to the modernized NSRS; and any issues or concerns agencies have about implementing agency adaptations.

The research team shall design a multi-tiered plan of stakeholder engagement to reach a diverse array of practitioners from varying disciplines, business units, and areas of responsibility. This plan will be shared with the panel and NCHRP for comment in advance of execution.  NCHRP approval of surveys and questionnaires will be required. 

The research team will seek the participation of representatives from State DOTs, federal agencies, professional organizations, industry experts, and international standards organizations. The research team will seek to engage members of underrepresented groups including disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs). Other groups of significance will be identified in consultation with the panel. 

The engagement activities are expected to consist of:

·       At least two virtual meetings to efficiently obtain stakeholder input from a diverse, national audience;

·       At least five presentations at local organization annual meetings, such as Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon (PLSO) and Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS); and

·       Two or more focused workshops at national or regional events with key subject matter experts, held in conjunction with events such as the multi-organization Surveying and Geomatics Conference at OSU in June 2024.

Deliverables:

·       Draft stakeholder engagement plan with a list of targeted stakeholders and stakeholder groups;

·       Revised stakeholder engagement plan, as needed to respond to panel and NCHRP comments; and

·       Stakeholder engagement report that provides detailed documentation of the engagement process, participants, data collected, and lessons learned from the stakeholder engagement. 

 Task 3 – Case Studies.

 Identify, conduct, and document at least 10 representative case studies of transportation projects that illustrate the importance of different application contexts and approaches to geospatial data management currently in use across different business units and disciplines. Several factors will be considered in the selection including (1) diversity of focus areas and technologies utilized, (2) applicability of the case study to many transportation agencies, (3) generalization of the case study to other applications, and (4) availability of high-quality information and agency responsiveness. The case studies will also include a Return on Investment (ROI) methodology that calculates the financial and logistical benefits in low, medium, and high ROI approaches in relation to minimum positional accuracy requirements (e.g., local and network), migration to the modernized NSRS, multi-use of surveying and mapping data, and recommended workflows.

 The Team will prepare a summary of each case study for submission in the interim report. These summaries will contain sections such as background, motivation, return-on-investment (ROI) considerations with desirable positional accuracies, challenges, lessons learned, additional use cases, and data management practices. The summaries will be documented for panel review and comment.

 Deliverables:

·       List of potential use cases recommended for the project by topic area

·       Documented summaries of each case study  

 Task 4 – Guide Outline and Draft Return on Investment. Prepare and submit an annotated outline of the guide. To facilitate adoption and implementation, the guide will be organized into the following two sections: (A) Manager Guide to assist management and other relevant staff to better understand techniques, applications, challenges, and Return on Investment (ROI) needed to support the business case and (B) Technical Guide or Reference Manual to provide office and field personnel with the recommended procedures and methodologies for each of the approved use cases. Appendices (Section C) will be included that include a proposed Return on Investment methodology. An outline of the format and content of the commentary matrix to support implementation of the guide recommendations shall also be provided.

 The draft guide outline will be reviewed by the panel for comment with the proposed ROI methodology. A final outline will be prepared as necessary to demonstrate a response to panel comments.

 Deliverables:

·       Draft and final guide outlines

 Task 5 – Interim Report and Interim Meeting  

 Submit a Phase I interim report documenting the process and results of the research conducted to this point and discussing additional research needs or activities that may be required in Phase II to finalize and validate the guide and its contents with practitioners. As such, the interim report will include the literature review (Task 1), summary of findings from the workshops and outreach activities (Task 2), summary case studies (Task 3), a detailed outline of the Guide and supplemental products (Task 4), and proposed workplan of additional research activities for Task 6 based on the findings of Phase I to validate the Guide with stakeholders from the practitioner community. The interim report shall provide descriptions of any other communications materials proposed for facilitating widespread recognition and implementation of guide by practitioners.

 Following a 1-month review of these deliverables, the research team will meet in person with the NCHRP project panel to discuss the Phase I interim report, Phase II work plan, and guide outline. The contractor shall document the research team’s point-by-point responses to the panel’s input. The interim report and Phase II work plan will be revised as needed to respond to panel comments.

 Deliverables:

·       Draft Interim Report

·       Final Interim Report

·       Draft Phase II Work Plan

·       Final Phase II Work Plan

·       In-person Interim Panel Meeting presentation materials (meeting to be convened by NCHRP)

·       Documented response to panel comments

 NCHRP approval will be required to advance to Phase II.

 Phase II – Product development 

 Task 6. Execute the Phase II research work plan according to the approved interim report. Finalize the ROI methodology, as needed, for inclusion in the final deliverables. 

 Deliverable:

·       Technical Memo: Return on Investment Methodology

 Task 7 – First draft guide. Develop a draft of the guide with ROI methodology for an initial panel review and comment, using the approved outline. The team shall develop a companion recommendation commentary to the Guide providing a succinct section-by-section analysis of the background, rationale, importance, and benefit of each key recommendation.

 Deliverable:

·       First draft guide

 Task 8 – Draft and Final Deliverables. Prepare a revised draft guide and drafts of all remaining deliverables (listed below) for panel review and comment.  Final deliverables will be submitted to NCHRP for publication with all required documentation as provided in Chapter V of the CRP Procedural Manual.

 Final deliverables will include:

·       A guide to surveying and mapping;

·       A final report that documents the entire research effort;

·       Communication materials describing the research and its products to a practical audience such as in a workshop or webinar; and

·       A stand-alone technical memorandum titled “Implementation of Research Findings and Products”.

 Final deliverables shall include (1) a final report that documents the entire research effort; (2) the revised guide; (3) communication materials describing the research and its products to a practical audience such as in a workshop or webinar; and (4) a stand-alone technical memorandum titled “Implementation of Research Findings and Products”.

STATUS: Project work is in Phase II and expected to be finished on time.