Engineering Design Data Management - Practices and Framework Development (0-5246-1)

During the project development process, districts produce enormous amounts of engineering data in a variety of data formats with varying levels of accuracy and resolution on several types of storage media. Examples include aerial photography and topographic information, drawings at various levels of development, survey data, right of way and utility maps, and traffic counts. These data are a valuable asset, and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has begun to implement strategies to ensure the usability and integrity of the data. However, the amount of data that districts produce and receive is growing steadily, which makes it increasingly difficult to manage the data effectively. Although district personnel have a wealth of data at their disposal, frequent lack of data integrity, accessibility, quality control, or plain awareness makes it unnecessarily difficult to put the data to good use. These inefficiencies result in redundant data collection efforts and contribute to project delays. This report summarizes research conducted to evaluate and document current engineering design data management practices at TxDOT. The report also describes a prototype engineering data management framework to assist divisions and districts in their effort to manage engineering data effectively. The focus of the report is on data types, spatial and temporal data attributes, and associated documentation used during the design phase of typical highway improvement projects. The report summarizes procedures, practices, and systems TxDOT and other government agencies use for managing engineering design data; describes an integrated geographic information system (GIS)-based data model for engineering design data that complies with TxDOT data architecture requirements; and documents the results of tests completed on the engineering design data model by using offline and online testing environments.