Initial survey process
Survey of the pipeline path is performed by a surveyor/engineer to establish points of intersections (PI’s) or changes in lateral direction, and ground elevations. All PI’s and ground elevation shots are recorded to a CSV file in the surveyor’s data collector and uploaded to the PLS software.
Plan and profile layout
A plan and profile layout is developed using the survey data and new design layout information. Plan views indicate centerline, PI’s, LODs, and stationing. A profile view is plotted on a grid showing elevation and stationing along with PI’s, top of ground, centerline, pipe top and bottoms, cover levels, ect.
New design layout tool
Design data and client specific information is entered in the New Design Layout Tool. In this platform all design criteria, drawing margins, and grid settings are entered for each individual design. The user has the ability to save defaults in order to streamline design time and quality control.
“The PLS software package gives the pipeline engineer complete control of the design at their fingertips, and produces results in real-time with pin-point accuracy.” Armando Ferri, Senior Project Manager, Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. Inc.