PLSO The Oregon Surveyor May/June 2021

13 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Featured Article approved by the National Geodetic Survey. Antennas will be oriented to north for all station occupations. • Data will not be deleted from the receiver until it has been verified in the field and office/headquarters. • Vectors shall be processed using a 15-degree elevation mask. • Where applicable, data from selected CORS stations will be incor- porated into the project. Contact will be made with CORS operators to ensure that the selected stations will be operational during the planned project observations. • A series of adjustments (both horizontal and vertical and both free and constrained) of all project data will be accomplished to ensure that all project data meet project accuracies. • Repeat project station occupations (if required) will be observed on different days with a minimum of three hours between the two times of day. • Fixed-height tripods will be used for all station occupations. All poles will be checked for plumb prior to the beginning of the project and after any event that might impact the accuracy of plumb. • Sample observation logs will be provided to ensure that all neces- sary information is obtained during tracking. • Field observers will be instructed to enter any unusual occurrences in the remarks section of the observa- tion log. • Observers will be instructed to verify station descriptions and to provide a station mark rubbing at every station occupation. • Adherence to the Milestones as indicated on the project Schedule and Task Order Statement of Work. • Internal team meetings on a minimal weekly basis to monitor progress. • Daily QA reviews and progress meetings by the project manager. • Pencil rubbings will be taken at all stations occupied along with ample digital photographs including area views, station close-ups and witness posts. All digital photo- graphs will be checked for quality (color, brightness, and contrast) prior to inclusion with the project files. Photos not meeting the quality standards will be retaken. • Daily backup of all digital data on a secure server site. Again, the above is a sample checklist for a GPS control survey and should be considered as a minimal list. You should develop a standard QC checklist for all of your survey and mapping tasks, such as boundary surveys, ALTA surveys, topo- graphic surveys, etc. Once these checklists have been developed, they should be incorporated into your work plan and adhered to as part of your QA program. This will provide the basis for the con- sistency of purpose for improving your services and for remaining competitive while providing superior customer ser- vice as stated by Deming. In subsequent columns I will expand on each of these five basic steps and provide some exam - ples of real world situations. x Fred Henstridge has more than 50 years of pro- fessional experience in geomatics engineering, surveying, mapping, transportation engineering, municipal engineering, and GIS management. After 10 years with Caltrans, he started his own geomatics and civil engineering firm, which was acquired by Psomas and Associates in 1982. Since that time, he has been a Principal of Psomas, and Corporate Director of Geospatial Services, and GIS. He is currently Director of Psomas’ Federal Programs Development. Quality Assurance Qualified Staff Adherence to Standards Project Delivery Plan Assignment of Tasks Tracking &Documentation Communication 5 Critical Steps to Quality Assurance Project Approach: Quality Focused Notice to Proceed Research & Survey Plan Mobilize Office & Field Teams Perform Required Field & Office Work Delivery to Client Ongoing Quality Control —Safety—Cost & Schedule Control Project Kickoff Progress Review&Delivery Fast Track Implementation