A little about my GIS job for those who may be interested
We are running Microstation Geographics with a database in Oracle 10g. We use a database window in Geographics to modify the data by mslink. Most of what we are doing involves digitizing features using imagery which which has a resolution of anywhere from 0.15m all the way up to 1.0m and an accuracy of anywhere from 1:1200 to upwards of 1:50000 with 1:1200 being the best. All of this is being done as prep work for a MASSIVE LiDAR project which will be started being flown toward the end of this year and will continue over a few years. Eventually we will use the LiDAR data to adjust our initial linework and database and add additional features that were not able to be located through imagery.
I started with about a decade and a half of experience in CAD but no oracle experience. After about a month and a half, I have gotten fairly good at basic SQL statements to make my job editing data easier. We are also using TOAD (Tool fOr Application Developers) for more complicated SQL stuff.
what is the scope/location of the master lidar project? what are you mapping?
Scope is approximately the eastern half the country. Lidar will be about 100-200 wide swathe. It involves PTC which is a fed mandate of 2015. I am hoping that I will get to do some of the LiDAR processing. The survey department keeps going back and forth about doing it in house or subbing it. After we get the prelim stuff done they will disperse us to other tasks until data comes back in. So there is a possibility, with my survey background that I could land in that department. Technically I am a sub of a sub of the parent company. So I am a little hesitant to go into all the details. But I can say it is not R/W, but rather actual features we are digitizing. For the most part, I would place accuracy within 2 meters. Close enough for the helicopter to be able to use to recognize what they will be using the LiDAR on, but way below accuracy required for finished project. But what I have said does not contain company secrets, so I know it is safe. This is stuff that the headhunter shared during the pre-interview interview.
I was in heaven when they let me in the map vault and in their private deed vault. And before anyone ask, no I cannot get you a copy of one of their maps. They charge for those maps and look very much down upon those trying to give them away, if you know what I mean.
I will tell you this about GIS and Surveying. As with so many things, it all depends. Would I use this method to locate a house in relation to a property line? No way. But I would think it perfectly feasible for locating trail roads on a piece of property that is in the middle of a large tract of land. For what we are doing, it is perfectly good. Once you divorce yourself from the 0.04' mindset, it is actually a great job. And the stress level is so low. For the first time in years, work issues stay at work and do not come home to wake me up in the middle of the night.
sounds like a great opportunity on a very cool project. be sure to keep us updated as it progresses.
Very interesting, Matt.
Since I know nothing about this kind of stuff, can you tell us what your activities might be on a typical day?
Thanks,
Steve
Actually, right now it is mostly boring. We are assigned an area to digitize. We look at the imaging available in house and from ESRI and use Bing and Google to verify that the road is there. Then it is a simple matter to, using special tools that put MSLink information in to associate the lines and nodes to Oracle DBase, draw a line over the top of road. We add nodes where there are switches, or end of line or if it goes from road we own to road owned by another company. every line and every switch has a MSLink (number) which uniquely identifies it in the database. Each MSLink for a line has a line in the database which tells which nodes it comes from and goes to as well as tells the length of the line in feet and in real world miles. And when a road leaves one area and goes into another, there are two nodes which must be interconnected so that the system knows that it is able to travel from one to the other. Then we have to put mileposts in. And a road mile may not be a real mile. Kind of like surveying, a mile is not always 5280'. I think after digitizing is finished, it will have a lot more analysis. I have been doing QC lately making sure what is digitized looks right.
Good deal Matt. Sounds like there will some very interesting work in your future, and in a vibrant "new" profession.
Best part: I have not taken my High Blood Pressure medicine for two months now. Sat at the machine in the grocery store today and was WELL BELOW what it used to be and in the normal range. How about that: no stress and my BP went down!:-)
