File Management System for Surveyors

beats my system

Although I am a stickler for organization, too...

(2011 was when I had a laptop go belly-up)

I use folders by year for points and inside the folder is sub folders labeled import and export. Also all of my jobs are numbers and are listed in an excel spreadsheet. This makes it really easy to find specific jobs and also it allows me to know which points were exported from CAD and which were imported from field.

The key is indexing. No file organization system is going to do everything for you that indexing can. If you have any reasonable systematic way of filing things and an index to get you there, it will work.

Make a data base or spreadsheet and enter each project number, date, client, address, township-range-section or subdivision/lot number, type of work, etc so if you know one of those you can look up the item you sorted the files by.

I would suggest keeping each project in a folder with sub-folders for types of information. If the projects are under the year, fine. Once you have identified the project, it doesn't make sense to have to go fishing around the folders for the various parts; correspondence, boundary, level runs, staking info, as-built etc should be grouped under the project.

I agree with you Bill. Indexing is everything, I index by year, then project number, and then the sub file system you see above. I would say the sub-folders aren't necessary, but sometimes these projects last over a year. The paperwork and new control points pile up. Also, we usually begin each project with a boundary and then build from there to topo, construction, etc. Multiple sub-folders deem necessary. Keep the suggestions coming, this is helpfulo.O

http://imgur.com/BRl2FmB

Might not be the best, but it works for us. Every job has a unique number (D### for dranage, S### for property boundaries etc)

Our biggest managment tool is our GIS though. Every Job has it's outline and details entered. (Well, every job should...)

http://imgur.com/Q9NiBPZ

beats my system

Mine looks just like yours paden

Took me awhile but everything is by section township and range.

In my opinion, to have an effective and simple data management system, the method used have to be simple, future friendly with a good stratification that encompasses various types of work that surveyors do. Similarly to the two-letter code that many survey manufacturers offer in their raw data editors, the task ID can be dealt with at the file level.

As we are in double digits until 2099 (beyond years 00-09), making use of YYMMDD is an interesting option to consider in various areas of the data management system: project names, files names. As an example, four fictive as-built surveys of the final grade of an airstrip in the years 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2034.

AB 140316 FG Airstrip.dwg
AB 160222 FG Airstrip.dwg
AB 180111 FG Airstrip.dwg
AB 340111 FG Airstrip.dwg

Listing the projects by a sequential method should be used carefully, as it could shed light on the strength of the business at that time. If things are slow and no work is coming through, it may not be very wise to have it “advertised” in the job number for clients and other parties to see.

One way to name project could be: YYMMDD + customer classification + two letter ID of client. I mean, there is a thousand and one way to go about this kind of stuff, that’s just an idea among many.

P Private
G Government
B Businesses

Example

140314-GCD
170912-PJJ
210227-BBA

A 2014 project for the city of Dover (government)
A 2017 project for a private individual, Jimbo Jones
A 2021 project for the Bank of America

That's all the time I got right now, I should write a book on this subject of file and data management, which I find quite interesting. Maybe I could go on Ellen... “After the break, we will have a survey technician from Delaware presenting his new book “Data Management Tips for the Surveying Professionals”, don’t go anywhere." “Ellen, our ratings are dropping, why are we getting this goof ball on the air!”

http://www.agtcad.com/products/retriever/index.html

My file (job) numbers are YYMM## for example the third job to start
in december 2013 would be 131203 and them I have a database cross index
This has worked for me for 38 years.