Land Surveying Standards and Procedures Manual (NYSDOT)
Part 1 of 2 (Chapters 1-9)

Jonathan Terry, PLS (PA)

Course Description

The heart of this course is the publication titled, New York State Department of Transportation Land Surveying Standards and Procedures Manual. Links to additional references are provided within the Manual. Topics within the Manual cover both technical and practical matters of interest to all surveyors and related professionals, not just those participating in NYSDOT survey activities.

NYSDOT Standards provide valuable general guidelines and data. The Manual is carefully worded, well organized and thoughtfully constructed. The generously wide spectrum of covered material will benefit those surveyors who perform many types of surveys for varied purposes using numerous technologies.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this 8 hour course, the student will have studied:

  • crew composition, personnel, and equipment necessary for NYSDOT surveying
  • spatial positioning accuracy standards
  • GPS data collection methods and procedures
  • helpful reference documents and publications
  • NYSDOT coordinate systems and datums
  • horizontal datum and vertical datum related to NYSPCS zones
  • appropriate units of length
  • coordinate conversions
  • datum transformations
  • documentation required for conversions and transformations
  • control network densification and extension
  • monumentation required for horizontal and for vertical control stations
  • monumentation required for CORS
  • horizontal geodetic control minimum standards and field procedures
  • vertical geodetic control minimum standards and field procedures
  • quality control and documentation for data processing
  • minimum standards for primary project horizontal control
  • minimum standards for primary project azimuth pairs
  • minimum standards for primary project vertical control
  • primary horizontal project control procedures, equipment and techniques
  • project control network design
  • data processing of differential, trigonometric and GPS leveling
  • field notes quality control and survey reports
  • secondary project control monumentation of baseline stations and bench marks
  • secondary vertical project control standards for TPS and GPS techniques
  • secondary vertical project control standards for differential and trigonometric leveling

Course Author

In his career of over four decades, your instructor obtained registration as a surveyor in eight eastern U.S. states from Florida to Maine. He’s served as assistant construction superintendent, teacher, writer, civil engineering technician, site planner, and land surveying department head. He established and managed the construction layout division of a large commercial construction management firm in the Washington, DC area. His experience ranges from rural farm surveys in the Green Mountains of Vermont to laying out Interstate highway bridges in Florida. He has founded both successful surveying and construction layout businesses, and also served as an employee of civil, surveying, and architectural firms, developers and state government. As a training consultant, he successfully taught both EFB/CaiCE data collection and office processing to both field and office staff of several Florida firms and taught automation techniques with Land Development Desktop data collection and processing plus CAD standardization for multi-discipline firms. His surveying career began in 1963 and continues to the present.

Course Content

The publication titled, New York State Department of Transportation Land Surveying Standards and Procedures Manual will provide the primary study material for this course. Links below open this publication and others of interest, some of which are referenced within the primary study document (the Manual). Standard and guidance for all surveyors is contained within the DOT material, and most surveyors or engineers supervising survey operations in multi-discipline firms will benefit from its study and consideration.

You are required to study Chapters 1 through 9 of the document that opens with the first link listed below. Optional subjects are found in the additional links below as well as other links referenced within the Manual.

L164 Course Content (1.82 MB, 181 pages PDF file)

Related Links

For additional information related to this subject plus additional sources of general interest, please visit the following websites or web pages:

Geometric Geodetic Accuracy Standards and Specifications for Using GPS Relative Positioning Techniques, FGCC, 1989 (1.9 MB PDF file)
Standards and Specifications for Geodetic Control Networks
NOAA Manual NOS NGS 3 Geodetic Leveling (13.5 MB PDF file)
FGCS Specifications and Procedures to Incorporate Electronic Digital/Bar Code Leveling Systems (22.4 KB PDF file)
Input Formats and Specifications of the National Geodetic Survey Data Base

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

Take a Quiz


DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.



 
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