Enabling SUE Collaboration and Compliance Through a Centralized Geospatial Cloud Database
Transportation and infrastructure projects—such as Light Rail Transit (LRT), Rapid Bus Transit, watermain and sewer rehabilitation, and urban road reconstructions—are increasingly complex due to the density of subsurface utilities in urban environments. To navigate these challenges, design-build teams are turning to centralized, cloud-based geospatial databases that move beyond static document repositories to manage dynamic, spatially accurate underground utility data.
Platforms such as Builterra, PointMan, GPRS SiteMap, TerraFlow, and Geolantis enable the seamless integration of ASCE utility quality levels—Level A (test holes), Level B (geophysical investigations), and Level D (record data)—into a unified digital environment. These core datasets are further enriched with topographic feature and grading surveys, high-resolution orthophoto overlays, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scans, and right-of-way legal baselines to establish a complete above-and-below-ground project context.
This centralized approach enhances collaboration among public owners, engineering consultants, utility stakeholders, and design-build contractors by providing real-time access, field-enabled data collection, and structured digital workflows for review and approval.
Beyond utility data, these platforms can ingest broader geotechnical and structural datasets—including borehole logs, mobile 3D structure scans, and 360° photographic documentation—further strengthening the digital twin. This comprehensive data environment supports full alignment with ASCE 38-22 standards by enabling traceable utility records, documented quality levels, and digital closeout deliverables required for asset handover and long-term management.
By consolidating design, construction, and post-construction datasets into a single geospatial platform, SUE practitioners are empowered to deliver safer, more accurate infrastructure projects while maintaining compliance with modern utility engineering standards.
Speaker: Jeff Lyons, Account Manager, AEC Solutions Inc.
