Conversion of Pipeline Alignment Sheets into GIS to Aid in Linear Referencing (Stationing)

Conversion of Pipeline Alignment Sheets into GIS to Aid in Linear Referencing (Stationing)

Bass-Trigon Software LLC, now part of American Innovations, designs and develops software for integrity management, risk assessment, pipeline compliance, and corrosion data management. The company also offers engineering services and field computer solutions for the petroleum and natural gas pipeline industry.	Original Pipeline Alignment Sheet Drawing
In order for Bass-Trigon to perform high consequence area identification of pipeline systems, there was a need for uniform and accurate pipeline information. The pipeline information, obtained from Bass-Trigon's customers, resided in either hard-copy formats or in various computer formats such as AutoCAD. Bass-Trigon approached DDS to help them with converting these different datasets into one uniform pipeline coverage so that linear referencing could be performed within the ESRI Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment.	Pipeline Alignment Sheet in AutoCAD Pipeline Alignment Sheet in ESRI ArcView
The data sources provided by Bass-Trigon included a mix of AutoCAD drawings, ESRI .shp files, and large format hard-copy alignment sheets. Additional data sources used on the project were supplied by DDS, Inc. and included high resolution aerial imagery and Public Land Survey (PLS) data.
The hard-copy alignment sheets were scanned using DDS's large format scanner. The images were then georeferenced to ground control spatial data using a minimum of 8 to 16 points control points. The pipeline features were then digitized and attributed in ArcGIS. For the AutoCAD drawings, only the pertinent layers were converted into .a shp file format and attributed accordingly. A spatial adjustment was performed using PLS and aerial imagery as control to ensure additional data accuracy. Adjacent features from the digitized maps, along with the features from the converted AutoCAD files, were edgematched and checked for errors (overshoots, undershoots). Those errors were then fixed using sophisticated analytical tools. The final deliverable to the client was ArcGIS geodatabase coverages.	Converting and Normalizing Datasets from Different Sources Registering Drawings with Limited Control into a Real World Coordinate System Ability to Analyze Critical Information within a GIS Environment
The delivered GIS files aided Bass Trigon in the completion of linear referencing (stationing) for the pipelines. This was useful for collecting and storing information regarding pipeline facilities; both inline and physical inspection histories; regulatory compliance information; risk assessment studies; work history events; and geographic information, such as environmentally sensitive areas, political boundaries (e.g., state and county), right-of-way boundaries, and various types of crossings. DDS Website	Helping you make better decisions through information... Digital Data Services, Inc.