kenwood
02-22-2004, 10:06 AM
I am seeking input from those of you interested in or have opinions about the current state of affairs between Land Surveyors and GIS practitioners. As the chairman of the GIS committee for the State CLSA Board of Directors, a representative of A.C.S.M has contacted me. They have asked me to put together a report for the annual A.C.S.M. conference in April out ling how the Surveyor's in California are addressing this issue.
My report will be included in a round table discussion group on how best to integrate Land Surveyors into the GIS world. Specifically, I have been asked for input from Land Surveyors in California on their opinions and ideas on the solution to bridging the gap between the two disciplines.
Food for thought (my personal opinion);
Currently the CA Land Surveyors Act (ACT) addresses the question of what the definition of "land surveying" is and who can and cannot offer land surveying services. As long as GIS practioners stay away from offering land surveying services as defined in the "ACT" there will be no problems.
The most recent attack on the current California LS Act came in the form of the "National Model Law for Land Surveyors" sponsored and written by NCEES. The "Model Law" has been adopted by several states already. California is not among them, due in no small part to the efforts of State CLSA, Howard Bruner heading up that effort. The chief reason for CA not adopting the "Law" is that it would divide land surveying into a two tier licensing system. One license for "Boundary" surveyor's and one license for all the rest. The GIS community is in favor and supports adopting the Model Law. Go figure.
My basic opinion boils down to this. The GIS community perceives what they do as non-land surveying. They are merely managing data. This "geographical data" is in the form of maps. However, these maps represent the size, shape, and locations, etc. of the earth’s surface and fixed objects thereon. Therein lies the problem.
By and large GIS practitioners don't understand basic land surveying principles, i.e. horizontal and vertical datum. All they know is their GPS receiver gives them a readout and collects the data when they push a button. They download this data into their GIS software, push a few buttons and the software produces a map. They don't understand how to interpret the mapping information and data that is being processed automatically in the GIS software.
With the advancement of data gathering tools and software used to produce these "non land surveying" GIS maps it is has become a push button world. The tools used to gather these data is not at issue. The way this data is represented and how it is marketed to an un-knowing public is at the heart of the problem.
As I said this is my opinion. If you have any ideas or opinions on the subject please fell free to contact me through this forum or directly at mford@michaelfordinc.com.
My report will be included in a round table discussion group on how best to integrate Land Surveyors into the GIS world. Specifically, I have been asked for input from Land Surveyors in California on their opinions and ideas on the solution to bridging the gap between the two disciplines.
Food for thought (my personal opinion);
Currently the CA Land Surveyors Act (ACT) addresses the question of what the definition of "land surveying" is and who can and cannot offer land surveying services. As long as GIS practioners stay away from offering land surveying services as defined in the "ACT" there will be no problems.
The most recent attack on the current California LS Act came in the form of the "National Model Law for Land Surveyors" sponsored and written by NCEES. The "Model Law" has been adopted by several states already. California is not among them, due in no small part to the efforts of State CLSA, Howard Bruner heading up that effort. The chief reason for CA not adopting the "Law" is that it would divide land surveying into a two tier licensing system. One license for "Boundary" surveyor's and one license for all the rest. The GIS community is in favor and supports adopting the Model Law. Go figure.
My basic opinion boils down to this. The GIS community perceives what they do as non-land surveying. They are merely managing data. This "geographical data" is in the form of maps. However, these maps represent the size, shape, and locations, etc. of the earth’s surface and fixed objects thereon. Therein lies the problem.
By and large GIS practitioners don't understand basic land surveying principles, i.e. horizontal and vertical datum. All they know is their GPS receiver gives them a readout and collects the data when they push a button. They download this data into their GIS software, push a few buttons and the software produces a map. They don't understand how to interpret the mapping information and data that is being processed automatically in the GIS software.
With the advancement of data gathering tools and software used to produce these "non land surveying" GIS maps it is has become a push button world. The tools used to gather these data is not at issue. The way this data is represented and how it is marketed to an un-knowing public is at the heart of the problem.
As I said this is my opinion. If you have any ideas or opinions on the subject please fell free to contact me through this forum or directly at mford@michaelfordinc.com.