I typically work a solo routine, and occasionally have field a guy that helps part-time. Up to this point we have used only one data collector. Keeping the DC organized with current jobs/points has been tedious but manageable. I recently purchased some new equipment. So, now I have two DCs. I can see that things are going to get interesting trying to keep track of what field data is the latest/greatest on two DCs and the office computer. I would like to get some ideas how others are managing this stuff. It seems to me the information on each field device and the office computer would need to be linked. Are you guys using the internet to connect the DCs and the office computer? For a simple transfer of data from one DC to another, can you connect them with a cable? How about using cloud type service?
We have the field crew download the data everyday when they get in. On the data collectors we have you can use a cable; or flash drive, or Bluetooth, even a FTP with WIFI. We have a shared folder called DATA COLLECTOR and the year sub folders are by date and job number.
I would just take the simple approach, check before you leave the office to make sure the data/job is in the data collector.
Now for the times when your in the field and get a call to go to another job site and you don't have that data. I have the office email me a csv file use my cellphone to check the email and use Bluetooth to transfer the points. It can be a pain reading a pdf point map on the cell phone.
I also bring with me a laptop that can access the share drive.
Maybe something useful in this old thread?
[msg=255411]Managing Coordinate Files[/msg]
I agree, simple is best.
The easiest way to share data between collectors, in generic terms, is with simple ASCII files. We use Trimble Access (on 25 or 30 TSC2, TSC3, and Tablet hardware), so we have some options; for instance, Job XML.
For an organization the size of ours especially it's very important that we keep software warranties in force and keep our collectors up to date. There are a lot of reasons for this, mainly:
- To move a job directly from one collector to another the versions must be identical.
- We use new technologies like the V10 and so must have the current firmware to run them.
- With Trimble, if your data collector has a valid software warranty you can synchronize it to TCC for free. TCC has made us much more efficient - data can be seamlessly transferred from field to office and vice versa in minutes.
At least in our case, the benefits of maintaining our software far outweigh the financial cost. Our dealer has been good about setting us up so we only have to do renewals once per quarter instead of having renewals coming in every other day - with 25 or 30 collectors, 50 or 60 receivers, and 9 TBC licenses that matters.
My old company did a great job of this. We were running as many as six crews at any given time. We had two folders on our network. Uploads and downloads. Every project folder had a log sheet inside where the instrument operator would log the date, the files downloaded, the crew members, traverse and side shots numbers used and a brief description of what was done that day.
If we were running a loop we only filled it out upon closing the loop and downloading the file. Apart from that, all construction, etc was logged daily.
It served multiple functions, let the cad tech know what was supposed to be in the downloaded file, kept athe point number s organized and let you quickly recall exactly what you did on a particular trip to a site.
It took a couple of minutes a day, but once you've succesfully implemented it, you'll never want to work with out one.
For a cloud based solution take a tour of Magnet.
http://magnet-tour.com/
The field crews could exchange jobs/job files on the fly while in the field with themselves or with the office
> We have the field crew download the data everyday when they get in. On the data collectors we have you can use a cable; or flash drive, or Bluetooth, even a FTP with WIFI. We have a shared folder called DATA COLLECTOR and the year sub folders are by date and job number.
>
> I would just take the simple approach, check before you leave the office to make sure the data/job is in the data collector.
>
> Now for the times when your in the field and get a call to go to another job site and you don't have that data. I have the office email me a csv file use my cellphone to check the email and use Bluetooth to transfer the points. It can be a pain reading a pdf point map on the cell phone.
>
> I also bring with me a laptop that can access the share drive.
Has anyone managed to bluetooth a file to the TSC3? It is still eluding me.
I am mostly solo, but when Chris and I team up, we routinely share files.
I download my data daily. I have a folder under my job folder.
for example for job number 1428 Martin
1428 Martinsurvey data 4-20-2015
under this folder, I will have the day's job file and raw data file, and I will generate an ascii point file for the points. I then import my points for that day into my CAD drawing, review the day's work, and prep for the next day's work.
I generally use the same data collector for a job from start to finish. I use TDS Survey Pro, and my two data collectors are close enough on versions that I can upload job and raw data files to either collector, or, I can use either collector without any noticeable difference in my daily work flow.
I make a new folder for each day. If I have gps data, my folder would be:
1428 Martingps data 4-20-015
I hope this helps.
