Planning, securing, and managing right-of-way (ROW) data for pipeline construction generates large amounts of paperwork and data management needs. The paperwork ranges from managing high-level pipeline routing and land surveys to engineering design iterations and a myriad of documents around land ownership, easements, and leases. The initial ROW planning starts generating the paperwork, which only increases as construction begins and changes need to be documented and managed.

To manage all this data, pipeline planning teams rely on a number of pipeline project and data management systems that have evolved over the years including GIS systems, CAD applications, and a variety of off-the-shelf and homegrown project management, turnover, and document management systems. While the systems have evolved, many basic processes such as capturing data on paper and then scanning or data entry into home-grown systems haven’t changed very much in recent years.

Some 2013 data management trends, however, are poised to shake up pipeline planning and ROW data management in upcoming years. Big IT trends like tablets and the Cloud are creeping into the pipeline and ROW worlds – creating both new challenges and opportunities for teams managing and gathering ROW data.

This is also coming at a time when pipeline project teams include more and more contractors and the pipeline industry, itself, faces increased regulatory scrutiny.

Thanks for joining us for this 4 week series, next week we will kick off the 1st trend of Automating Data Capture in the Field. There are a number of devices to consider when setting out to automate data capture and sharing – when evaluating potential devices it’s important to look at the environment in which the device will be used and the amount of training you are prepared to provide your team. Tune in next week to learn more!