Infratech Civil

Product:  Autodesk Civil 3D  |   Subject:  Surveying with Civil 3D

In this exercise, we will learn about Civil 3D Field to Finish Survey.

About Field to Finish

Field to Finish is now a buzzword in the survey industry. It is typically used to refer to the ability to automatically draw field-collected survey data straight out of the survey equipment. This process will create all the needed field features (points, lines, figures, annotations, etc.) with minimal manual intervention from a drafter. While the drawing produced during the Field to Finish process is not a final product, the drafting process is considerably reduced. Ideally, just minor touch-ups and quality checks are needed when a Field to Finish Survey process is well implemented.

We can see an example of a survey file imported into Civil 3D. The first example is a case where a Field to Finish Survey process was used with linework codes, commands, figures, etc.). The second case illustrates a case where we have imported a survey field without using any field to finish the procedure.  

For this to happen, we need a preliminary setup in both the Civil 3D and our survey controller. In this course, we will learn how to do that setup.

The Field to Finish process affords us two main benefits: workflow efficiency and reduced risk of errors. Since the field operator is the best person to describe the lay of the land, why not have her use codes that would allow to reliably represent the characteristics of the field, instead of relying completely on a separate CAD operator to connect dots and recreate the existing conditions?

Adopting a Field to Finish process is a cost/benefit analysis every firm should do. This analysis should consider the effort needed to set up the process versus the benefits of the time saved during post-processing.

Unfortunately, many companies forego Field-to-Field due to the perceived pain of the initial setup. In reality, the initial time invested in setting up the process can allow you to reap an important pay off during post-processing.

To better understand Field to Finish, in this lesson, we'll go through each of the steps of the workflow needed to set up this operation, from the initial survey in the field to the final as-built plans and reporting. This will also incorporate stages like office data processing, design, and field stakeout. We will seek to understand and efficiently implement each stage.