1.
Interpretation
1.1 For interpreting the terms of references in this Schedule, the Contractor shall consult the following documents:
British Columbia Standards, Specifications and Guidelines for Resources Surveys Using Global
Positioning System Technology Release 2.1, March, 1998 (hereinafter called the Standards).
This document provides the standards, specifications and guidelines for all line and polygon traversing projects undertaken by the government of British Columbia.
Operational Field Procedures for Forest Resource Survey and Mapping Using Global
Positioning System Version 2, January 9, 1998 (hereinafter called the Procedures). This document shall be used for interpreting the Standards and provides procedures for use of GPS in the Ministry of Forests field operations.
1.2 This schedule shall be used in all forest resource surveys and mapping using Global Positioning
System (GPS) and mixed conventional/GPS methods undertaken within the British Columbia
Ministry of Forests (the Ministry).
1.3 The Contractor is defined as a corporation, firm or individual who provides works or services to the Ministry under the terms and conditions of this contract. The Ministry Representative is defined as the Ministry of Forests' representative who has the authority for issuing and managing the contract and for receiving the items or services delivered by the Contractor.
1.4
The target accuracy for this Schedule is 10 metres in the horizontal dimension at a 95% confidence level.
2.
Contractor and Equipment Qualification
2.1 The Contractor shall have pre-qualified to the Ministry Representative's satisfaction for the current field season before the awarding the contract. Pre-qualification consists of appropriate training for all personnel and successful completion of a GPS validation survey as outlined in
Section 3 of the Procedures.
2.2 The Contractor shall demonstrate or prove to the Ministry Representative's satisfaction that the
Contractor's GPS total system including hardware/firmware and software for field and office; field and GPS reference station receivers; and a satellite prediction program is capable of meeting the accuracy requirements of the contract.
3.
Feature Identification and Mapping
3.1 The Ministry Representative shall conduct a pre-work conference with the Contractor to define what the significant features are and how these features are interpreted and mapped. The nature and quality of work expected in the contract and quality assurance methods shall be clearly defined.
3.2 If Cadastral (legal) boundaries are required to be surveyed, the Contractor shall consult with the
Ministry Representative for specific instructions. Legal boundaries and lot corners must be clearly identified before the survey. Cadastral survey boundaries in British Columbia may only be definitively and legally located on the ground by a British Columbia Land Surveyor
(BCLS) or, in specific cases, a Canada Lands Surveyor (CLS). Non-qualified persons may misinterpret boundary marks when occupying legal survey monuments. This could result in legal action being taken against the contractor or the Ministry if damages occur on adjacent lands.
3.3 All surveys shall include sufficient map ties as defined by the Ministry Representative to enable accurate geo-positioning and to provide reliability checks. These map ties shall be clearly marked on the ground. Examples of these map ties are: creek junctions, road intersections, or other significant land point features. Discrepancies between GPS field surveys and maps (or orthophotos) shall be identified and resolved using these map ties.
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3.4 All significant deflections required to delineate the feature being mapped at the required accuracy shall be marked and mapped. This includes significant vertical breaks if elevations are required.
3.5 Semi-permanent reference markers shall be established at the survey stations according to the standards defined by the Ministry . For example, the Resources Tenure and Engineering
Branch specifically requires that the reference markers be established at least every 100 metres at the survey stations along the line being surveyed. Point of Commencement (PoC) shall be tied to survey station 1 of the line or polygon line to be surveyed (see Section 4 of the
Procedures).
3.6 Other significant features, such as permanent sample plots (established by the Vegetation
Resources Inventory, Inventory Audit, and Growth and Yield programs), Point of
Commencement (PoT), and Point of Termination (PoT), shall also be marked to the standards specified by the Ministry Representative.
3.7 Static point features shall be collected at all semi-permanent reference markers (see
Section 4 of the Procedures).
3.8 Each semi-permanent reference marker at the survey station (including the significant features) shall show the date of installation, block number, type of the station (i.e. PoC, PoT, or survey stations, etc.), and a unique sequential number. The locations of these reference markers shall be included on the map submitted by the Contractor.
4.
Field GPS Data Capture
4.1 During static point-mode surveys, the minimum recording duration at each survey point shall be 30 seconds with at least 15 individual position fixes during that period. High significance features , such as sample plots, map ties, PoC and PoT, shall be a minimum of 150 seconds and at least 50 individual position fixes.
4.2 Position fixes for linear features mapped dynamically shall be no more than 25 metres apart . Maximum speed for dynamic linear feature mapping is 100 km/h with 1-second data logging
4.3 Position fixes for linear features mapped statically (i.e. static or point-to-point traverses) shall be no more than 50 metres apart, and be a minimum of 15 seconds long with at least
5 individual position fixes
4.4 Times of GPS events for interpolated points on linear traverses shall be accurate to at least 0.25 seconds
4.5 For point offsets , the field operator shall record the following particulars in their field notes: slope distance; vertical angle; and magnetic or astronomic azimuth from the GPS antenna to the feature. Magnetic Declination shall be applied to all compass observations before computing offset coordinates . The maximum distances for point offsets shall be 25 metres, and 50 metres if offset observations are measured forward and backwards . Bearings shall be accurate to at least 2 degrees, and distances to at least 1 metre.
4.6 For linear offsets, the field operator shall note the horizontal distance and the direction (left or right) perpendicular to the direction of travel. The maximum offset is 5 metres. Linear offset distances shall be checked and adjusted periodically
4.7 Supplementary traverses by conventional means shall meet these following rules:
 the supplemental traverse shall begin and end on high significance GPS Static points;
 the supplemental traverse shall close to PoC and PoT by 1:100 (10,000 ppm) of the linear distance traversed, plus + 5 metres; and
 the supplemental traverse shall be balanced (compass rule adjustment) between PoC and PoT.
4.8 The field GPS receiver shall be set to position or record observations to a minimum of four satellites (sometimes known as "3D" mode).
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4.9 The minimum satellite elevation angle/mask for the field GPS receiver is 15 degrees above the horizon. The minimum elevation angle/mask of the GPS reference station is 10 degrees. The separation distance between the GPS reference station and field receivers shall be less than
500 kilometres .
4.10 Dilution of Precision (DOP) values for both static (point) surveys and dynamic (linear traversing) surveys shall not exceed the following values:
General DOP: 10 (used if HDOP or PDOP is not available)
Position DOP:
Horizontal DOP:
Vertical DOP: 5
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5
(used if HDOP is not available)
(preferred whenever possible)
(used only when elevations are required)
5.
GPS Data Processing and Interpretation
5.1 All GPS positions shall be corrected by standard differential GPS methods (pseudorange or navigation corrections). If navigation corrections are used, the same set of GPS satellites shall be used at the GPS Reference Station as at the field receiver for all corrected positions.
5.2 All GPS Reference Stations shall be validated according to the procedures outlined in Section
D-4.3 of the Standards document. If temporary reference stations are used, they shall be approved by the Ministry Representative before the fieldwork starts.
5.3 Real-time corrections shall use a DGPS Service, or GPS Reference Station, validated by
Geographic Data BC, MoELP. Only pseudorange corrections which have associated range-rates and an overall latency of less than 10 seconds will be acceptable.
5.4 If the GPS receiver and/or post-mission software provides the option for dynamic filtering, the filters shall be set to reflect the speed of the operator or vehicle, and the software versions and filter settings noted in the project returns. If filtering is applied to GPS reference station data, that shall also be noted.
6.
Project Deliverables
6.1 The Contractor shall submit the following digital deliverables in the indicated format and datum
(see the Procedures for the details).
Deliverables
Reference Station
Format or RINEX
Datum
Proprietary WGS 84 merged if possible
WGS 84
Notes merged if possible
Raw Field
Original Corrected GPS
Proprietary WGS 84 originally downloaded or RINEX WGS 84 originally downloaded
IGDS NAD 83 unedited
Final Interpreted Data IGDS NAD 83 edited
If any data (including hardcopy) is supplied on a datum other than NAD83, the methods used to transform the data shall be explicitly described in the project report and approved by the
Ministry Representative. If the data required in NAD27, the Canadian National Transformation
(version 2 or later) must be used.
If elevations are required for submission, vertical data shall be referenced to the CVD28 using a standard geoid model with local geoid modelling if required (i.e. for high vertical accuracy projects).
6.2 The final interpreted data shall be submitted in a temporary working file in the IGDS digital format (Intergraph Version 8.0 or later, or MicroStation Version 5 or later) as follows:
Level 1:
Level 2:
All original (unedited) corrected GPS data points
All edited, corrected GPS data points
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Level 3: All polygonal shapes collected as line strings as positional data only, including attribute data for each feature. This level must be vector and polygon clean.
Level 4:
Level 5:
Level 6:
All linear features captured as line strings as positional data only, including attribute data for each feature
All point features as positional data only, including associated attribute data for each feature
Legend and any representational information regarding the positional data provided
Data dictionary table, if required Level 7:
Level 9-63: As specified by the Ministry Representative.
6.3 The Contractor shall adhere to the following Ministry IGDS standards:
 All features shall be displayed using the color, weight, line style, text size, etc. as specified by the Ministry (e.g. Volume 5 The Preparation and Creation of
F.R.G.I.S. Data Files, Published by the Resources Inventory Branch, March 1996).
 Complex shapes shall not be used.
 All files shall be delivered in NAD83 georeferenced to 1:20,000 BCGS mapsheets with MoF global origin and set to MoF working units (km/m).
6.4 Hardcopy maps at a scale of 1:20,000 shall conform to the Ministry of Forests Cartographic
Standards and shall be submitted for each survey feature as defined by the Ministry
Representative.
6.5 The Contractor shall submit a project report which includes the following information, as a minimum.
 A brief description of the Contract particulars, including the project name ; names of Contractor and Ministry Representative offices; and a Contract ID.
 A brief description of the project work (purpose, target accuracy, location, etc.).
 A schedule of events showing key dates/milestones (i.e. contract award; field data acquisition; problems encountered; data processing; delivery of results; etc.).
 A listing of all personnel (Contractor and Subcontractors) involved in the project detailing their particular duties and background (i.e. educational background; formal
GPS training details; experience on similar projects, etc.).
 A list of all hardware and software used on the project; including but not limited to:
GPS hardware and particulars (i.e. models, receivers numbers, data loggers, antennas, firmware versions, etc.); GPS software and particulars (i.e. name, version number, settings, etc.); mapping software (i.e. name, version number, settings, etc.); and utility software (i.e. name, version number, settings, etc.).
 A description of the GPS reference stations used.
 A summary of the project including planning, field data collection methods and parameters, data processing methods and parameters, any project problems, anomalies, deviations, etc.
 An explanation of deliveries (digital and hard copy) including formats, naming conventions, compress utilities, media, etc.).


A list of all features that have been mapped or surveyed.
A copy of all field notes (digital or hard copy).
6.6 The data files created by this project are the property of the Ministry and access to all files created in the completion of the works shall be made available to the Ministry.
6.7 The Ministry shall be responsible for storage or destruction of the data files in accordance with government standards.
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6.8 The Contractor shall also store a back-up copy of all the materials and survey data in the formats outlined in 7.1 for at least two years, or as defined by the Ministry Representative, following the contract completion.
6.9 The Contractor shall inform the Ministry Representative before destruction of the materials and data.
6.10 Digital deliverables shall be submitted in one of the following mediums:
 CD ROM ;
 Any other mediums specified by the Ministry Representative
7.
Quality Assurance and Audit
7.1 The Contractor shall be responsible for overall quality control of all the components of a GPS survey.
7.2 All submitted work shall be subject to Ministry of Forest's quality assurance and audit with the methods that are defined by the Ministry Representative during the pre-work conference.
7.3 For GPS traverses done in the dynamic linear mode, at least 95 % of the individual GPS position fixes shall be within 10 metres (horizontal measurement perpendicular to the line) from the true position of the line.
7.4 For GPS point features, at least 95 % of the individual position fixes shall be within 10 metres
(horizontal linear measure) of the true location of the point. If statistical methods are used to reject outliers, 2 standard deviations shall be used for the minimum level of significance.
7.5
The Contractor shall rectify at his or her own expenses all deficiencies identified by quality inspection/checks and audits.
8.
Technological/Personnel Change
8.1 If there are any changes in the Contractor's GPS system components (i.e. hardware, firmware, software, methodology, etc.) or personnel during the period of the contract, the Contractor shall consult with the Ministry Representative for a decision on whether the Contractor GPS system validation; the personnel qualification, and/or the GPS reference station validation survey are required to be repeated.
8.2 The Contractor and the Ministry Representative shall ensure that the most current versions of the
Standards and Procedures are used.
1.0
SPECIFICATIONS FOR GPS DIGITAL DELIVERABLES
These requirements are designed to ensure that GPS digital data files submitted to the
Kootenay Lake Forest District are in a standard, consistent and useable format.
All GPS work shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures contained in the most current version of “ Operational Field Procedures for Forest Resource Survey and
Mapping Using Global Positioning System Technology ”. Copies of this publication may be purchased from Superior Repro, #200 - 1112 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 2S1,
Ph. (604) 683-2181 Fax. (604) 683-2189, or digitally from the Internet at: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/ric
The Contractor shall submit the following digital deliverables in the indicated format and datum.
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Deliverables
Reference Station
Raw Field
Original Corrected GPS
Final Interpreted Data
Format
Proprietary
Proprietary
IGDS or DXF
IGDS or DXF
Datum
WGS 84
WGS 84
NAD 83
NAD 83
Notes originally downloaded originally downloaded unedited edited
The Final Interpreted Data file shall be named in accordance with the following convention:
SUPPLIER + YEAR + MONTH + DAY + TRAVERSE# .DGN or .DXF
(i.e. A980626B.DGN (Revelstoke TSA, June 26, 1998, second traverse for day)
SUPPLIER CODES:
A
B
Traverses done for
Traverses done for
Revelstoke TSA
Golden TSA
Year:
Month:
Day:
Traverse #:
Format:
1.5
Last 2 digits i.e. 98 (1998), 02 (2002)
2 digits i.e. 07 (July)
2 digits i.e. 02
A for first traverse for date, B for second etc.
Must be either DGN (preferred) or DXF as second choice
The Final Interpreted Data file shall contain data on levels as follows:
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