Project Setup and Heavy Construction Edition Version 1.20
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Introduction Trimble Business Center - Heavy Construction Edition is office software designed to help construction contractors prepare construction data for use within Trimble site positioning systems (SPS) that employ SCS900 and SCS900 Tablet Edition site controller software (SCS). In this tutorial: We will show you the power and flexibility of Trimble Business Center by guiding you through a typical workflow for setting up a project, changing the program's user interface, and importing, checking, creating, and editing data. Audience: This tutorial is for construction contractors and engineers who may be familiar with SCS900 and SCS Data Manager, but who are new to Trimble Business Center. Objectives: After working through this tutorial, you will be familiar with: Starting a project, changing settings, and saving a project template Importing multiple types of data, including point files in a custom format Viewing imported data and the properties of objects Filtering a graphic view Creating a surface from imported points Checking surfaces and alignments using specific views Editing a surface using various commands Running reports on surfaces and alignments Calculating earthwork volumes Time: This tutorial should take you 1 to 2 hours to complete. Learn and enjoy! iii
Starting a Project and Saving a Template Work in Trimble Business Center is structured in projects, which are analogous to construction projects in the real world, i.e. the work performed in fulfilling a construction contract. To begin, create a new project. 1. Click the icon on the toolbar. An unnamed project is created, and a graphic window called the plan view appears. This view will show any data that you import or create from the top, as in a map view. By default, your project is created using meters as the measurement units. You can confirm this by looking at the Status Bar at the bottom of the program window: The Status Bar also reports on the state of the current command, and gives you quick access to snap modes, project settings, and more. As you begin a new project, it's always a good idea to review your project settings and perhaps save them in a project template. 2. Select Project > Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog displays. 3. Click General Information and then Company Information in the left pane. 4. Type the name of your company in the Name box. 5. Click User Information in the left pane. 6. Type your name in the Office operator box. You know that the data you want to use is in US survey feet, so set that now. 7. Click Units and then Distance in the left pane. 8. Click in the Display box for Unit and select US survey foot. Now change the way units are displayed 9. Click Coordinate in the left pane. 10. Click in the Display order box for Coordinate and select Northing, Easting, Elevation. Feel free to explore the other project settings as well. 11. When you're done, click OK. Now save your project as a template that you can use for future projects. 12. Select File > Save Project As Template. The Save Project As Template dialog displays. 13. Type a descriptive name for the template in the Name box. iv
14. Check the Save project as default template box. 15. Click OK. Now, the units and display format you set will be used in every project created with this template, and your user information can be included in every report you run using this template. To avoid accidentally saving data in your template, start a new project now. 16. Click the icon on the toolbar again. The template you just set as the default is used. v
Importing Data Now that you have a project, import the roadway, surface, CAD, and point data you will need to stake out points along a road at your construction site. 1. Click the icon on the toolbar. The Import command pane displays. By the way, there are a variety of ways to access any command in the software, including menus, toolbars, context (right-click) menus, and the All Commands list in the Command pane. 2. Click the icon next to the Import Folder list. The Browse for Folder dialog displays. 3. Navigate to C:\SPS Tutorial\Tutorial Data, and click OK. The files in the folder appear in the Select Files list. 4. Display only those files that the importer recognizes by clicking the icon on the Import pane's toolbar. 5. Uncheck the Close command after import box near the bottom of the pane. 6. Press [Ctrl] on the keyboard and select these files: Alignment.xml CADData.dxf SiteCalibration.dc 7. Click Import. The files import and the data appears in the plan view. Notice how an icon appears next to the files that have been imported. 8. Deselect the files you have already imported. Then, press [Ctrl] and select just these files: ControlPoints.csv StakeoutPoints.csv 9. Drag-and-drop them into the plan view to import them. The Import Format Editor displays because the point files are a custom format. 10. For the control points file, scroll down the list, and select P,N,E,elev,Code (Control) in the Definition Name column, and click Import. The control point file imports with the point quality set to Control, and the Import Format Editor redisplays for the stakeout point file. 11. For the stakeout points file, select P,N,E,elev,Code (Unknown), and click Next twice. vi
12. Select Mapping in the Coordinate quality box, and click Import. 13. Click No if you are asked if you want to save the change to the format definition. The stakeout point file imports with the point quality set to Mapping, and the data appears in the plan view. So far, your data should look like this: If it does not, click select Edit > Undo to revert the import. Then make sure that your project units are set correctly, and that you imported the control point and stakeout point files with the correct definitions. 14. Finally, double-click the SurfacePoints.xml file to import it. There are a lot of surface points, so it may take a minute. When the import finishes, the data in the plan view should look like this: vii
Viewing Imported Data and its Properties Review the data that you imported using the Project Explorer, which displays your data organized in the hierarchy of a tree structure, the Properties pane, which lets you review and edit some of the attributes of objects, and a spreadsheet view, which helps you check data by sorting and filtering on different criteria. 1. If the Project Explorer is not already displayed, press [F9] on the keyboard. The explorer displays, docked on the left side of the program. 2. If needed, pin the explorer open by clicking the icon at the top of the pane. Notice that there are sections for the point and alignment data you imported, as well as a section for the actual imported files. 3. Click the icon next to each object type to expand the sections, and scroll down the list. Now you can see all of the data in your project listed. The Points section is so long that you may want to collapse it until you need to see it again. 4. If needed, click-and-drag the right, vertical edge of the Project Explorer pane to narrow or widen it. 5. Double-click the alignment object named Second Street. The alignment highlights in the plan view, and the Properties pane displays, docked on the right side of the window. viii
6. Review the properties in the Properties pane. When you need to, you can change certain properties of objects in the pane as well. 7. Right-click on the pane's titlebar and select Floating. The pane becomes undocked, enabling you to move it anywhere on the screen or even onto a second monitor. 8. Try dragging the pane wherever you want. This is helpful when you have so much data in your project that you need more room for the graphic views. 9. Right-click on the titlebar again, and uncheck Floating to redock it. 10. To review your point data using a spreadsheet view, click the icon on the toolbar. The Point Spreadsheet displays. 11. Review the points, sorting them by clicking on the Feature Code and Elevation column headings. 12. Find the stakeout point with the? elevation. This indicates that the elevation is unknown because the stakeout points were plotted in 2D. Normally, you would want to update this point and the points with 0.00 elevation with true elevations. For the sake of this tutorial, you will simply add an elevation of 0.00 to make it match the other stakeout points. 13. Double-click in the left column for the point (Point ID "Pole 2"). The row is selected and the properties for the point display in the Properties pane. 14. Try editing the elevation in the Grid Coordinate group. You will discover that you cannot edit a point's elevation directly. You actually have to edit the coordinate object for the point. In this case, the point does not have a separate coordinate object, so add one now. 15. Click the icon on the pane's toolbar. The Add Coordinate command pane displays. 16. Double-click in the Elevation box and type 0.00. 17. Click OK. The Properties pane and the Point Spreadsheet update with the new elevation. 18. Click the icon at the top of the spreadsheet view to close it. 19. Finally, you may notice an icon on the Status Bar, indicating that your data has changed and the project should be recomputed. Click the icon. The project is computed. ix
Creating a Surface Sometimes, the data you need might not come in the optimal format. For instance, you received surface data as a points file rather than as a terrain model. Use surface commands to create a surface using the points. Then, check and edit the surface. First, filter the plan view to make seeing and selecting only the point data easier. 1. Click the icon on the toolbar. The View Filter Manager displays. 2. Uncheck the Layers box. All of the data in the project is hidden because all of the layers are turned off. 3. Click the next to Layers to expand the group, and check the box for Points. All of the point data reappears. 4. Click the icon on the toolbar to zoom to the extents of the visible data. 5. Select Surface > Create Surface. The Create Surface command pane displays. 6. Type First Street Surface in the Name box. 7. Select Original in the Surface classification list. Classifications are used when comparing one surface to another surface to calculate volumes for the Earthwork Report. 8. Click in the Members to form surface box. 9. Move your cursor into the plan view, and click-and-drag a window around just the main cluster of points to select them. The points turn red after a few seconds, indicating that they are selected. 10. Click OK. The surface is formed, and a new group called Surface appears in the View Filter Manager. 11. Click a blank space in the plan view to deselect the points. x
12. To view only the new surface, uncheck the boxes for Raw Data, Flag, and Layers. The surface appears in the plan view. 13. To zoom in for a closer look, click the icon on the toolbar and click-and-drag a window around the surface. You've done too much good work to risk losing it, so save your project. 14. Click the icon on the toolbar. The Save As dialog displays. 15. Type a name for the project, such as Stakeout First Street Poles, in the File name box, and click Save. xi
Checking Alignments and Surfaces Using Views Now use specific types of views to check the surface and an alignment in your project graphically. The surface slicer view shows any cross-section of a surface by slicing vertically through the surface. 1. Select Surface > Surface Slicer View. The surface slicer view displays in a new horizontal tab group beneath the plan view. 2. Click in the surface slicer view's From box. 3. Move the cursor into the plan view and pick a point on one side of the surface as the starting point for the slice. 4. Move the cursor across the surface and pick an ending point for the slice. The slice of the surface appears in the surface slicer view. 5. Now pick another From point in the plan view. This time, instead of picking a To point immediately, simply move the cursor across the surface to view the slice as it changes dynamically. 6. Once you have a cross-section that you want to examine, click again. 7. Then click in the surface slicer view and roll the mouse wheel forward to zoom in. Slope values appear above the segments at certain magnifications. If you need to center a certain point in the view, press-and-drag the mouse wheel to pan. When you are done checking slices of the surface, use the cross-section view to check cross-sections of the surface along a coincident alignment. First, you must create a surface cross-section. To do this, you need to specify a surface and an alignment that coincide. xii
8. Click the icon on the toolbar. The Create Surface Cross-Section command pane displays. 9. Since First Street Surface is the only one in your project, it is already selected in the Surface list. 10. Select the coincident alignment First Street in the Alignment list. 11. Click OK. The cross-section has been created, but you cannot see it until you open the cross-section view. 12. Click the Project Explorer tab at the bottom of the View Filter Manager, right-click First Street under Alignments, and select New Cross-Section View from the context menu. A cross-section view displays with a new tab next to the surface slicer tab. 13. Click-and-drag the slider at the bottom of the view to check cross-sections of the surface along the alignment. 14. Now click in the box to the left of the slider, type the station value 1+50.00, and press [Enter]. The cross-section at that exact station displays. The red tic marks on the cross-section indicate where breaklines are crossed. Another helpful tool is the Coordinates scroll, which can be accessed from the Status Bar at the bottom of the program window. 15. Check the box at the far right on the Status Bar. The Coordinates scroll displays. You can click on the scroll's titlebar and drag it to a new location if needed. 16. Move the cursor along the cross-section to see the elevation and offset values in the Coordinates scroll. Notice that offset 0 is at the centerline of the alignment. 17. Now move the cursor into the plan view to see how the types of values displayed change depending on what view your cursor is in. 18. When you are done, click the icon at the top of the Coordinates scroll to close it. 19. Notice that the three graphic views each have a tab at the top, naming the view. xiii
20. Click on any of the tabs and try dragging it up or down to the other group of tabs. If you drag it too high or too low, it creates a new tab group. You can also display the views in separate tiled or cascading windows by selecting Tools > Options, and changing the Window display mode. 21. When you are done, click the icon at the top of any view you want to close, but leave the plan view open. There is another view that can help you visualize the surface, the 3D view. 22. Click the icon on the toolbar. The 3D view displays. You can pan and zoom into the view as usual, but it would help to be able to move around the surface as well. 23. Click the icon on the toolbar. This puts your left mouse button into rotate mode. 24. Click in the view and move the mouse to rotate the view and inspect the surface. It should look something like this: Notice that there are strange legs protruding from the surface. These are the stakeout points with an elevation of 0.00'; all of the other points have elevations between 4700' and 5000'. Clean up the surface by removing these points from the data that defines the surface. xiv
Editing a Surface Edit the surface in several ways to make sure it accurately reflects the topography at the job site. 1. Click the icon on the toolbar to put the mouse back into select mode. 2. Pick the surface in the 3D view, right-click and select Add/Remove Surface Members from the context menu. The Add/Remove Surface Members command pane displays. Members are not part of a surface, they are simply the objects used to define the surface. You can edit a surface by adding to, and removing from, the set of members. As a result, the surface will update to reflect the changes. 3. Confirm the surface in the Surface box. 4. Deselect the surface, and find the six points named Pole* in the Project Explorer. 5. Press [Shift] and select Pole 1 and Pole 6 so that all six are selected. 6. Click Remove in the command pane. The points are removed from the surface. 7. Click Close. If you want, zoom to the extents of the new surface in the 3D view and rotate it to review the updated elevation colors. Now continue to edit the surface. One way you can do this is to set limits for the length and angle of the triangles used. First, find out the length of the longest edge on a surface triangle. 8. Click the Plan View tab. 9. Select Tools > Measure. The Measure command pane displays. 10. Pick one end of the longest triangle edge, and then pick the other end. The distance is reported in the Results group in the pane. 11. Click Close. 12. Now pick the surface in the view, right-click and select Properties from the context menu. The Properties pane displays. 13. Click in the Maximum edge length box, and highlight the number. 14. Type a number shorter than the distance you measured (for the purposes of this tutorial, enter a value between 300 and 400) and press [Enter]. Notice how the surface triangles change. 15. Experiment with different lengths, and click Close when you are done. 16. Click a blank space in the plan view to deselect the surface. xv
17. There are still some excess triangles, so click the icon on the toolbar, and click-and-drag a window around the upper-right part of the surface. 18. Notice the unneeded triangles along the edge of the surface, as indicated in the red triangle below: 19. Select Surface > Trim Surface Edge. The Trim Surface Edge command pane displays. 20. Confirm the surface in the Surface list. 21. Click in the Outside point box. 22. Move your cursor into the plan view and click above and to the right of the excess triangles. 23. Then click a second point inside the triangles, as shown above. The excess triangles are trimmed away. 24. Pan around the edge of the surface, trimming away excess triangles as needed. Remember that you can press the mouse wheel and drag to pan the view, and roll the wheel forward to zoom in. 25. When you are done, click Close. xvi
Running Reports on Surfaces and Alignments Now that you are done editing the surface, you can further check it by running a Surface Information Report for a concise view of surface statistics. 1. Select Reports > Surface Information Report. The Surface Information Report command pane displays. 2. Confirm First Street Surface in the Surface list, and click OK. The report displays in your default Web browser. 3. Review the report. You can also generate an Alignment Geometry Report to review the geometry of each segment in an alignment. If you have station equations, they will be reported too. First, check to make sure that the report is set to show both horizontal and vertical geometry, as well as the user information you specified in Project Settings. 4. Select Reports > Report Options. The Report Options command pane displays. 5. Confirm that Alignment Geometry Report is selected in the Reports list, and that Alignment options is set to Horizontal and vertical in the Settings group. 6. Click the icon next to Header to expand the group. 7. Click in the User Information box and select Show. 8. Click Apply to save the change. Now run the Alignment Geometry Report. 9. Click the icon at the top of the pane. The Alignment Geometry Report command pane displays. 10. Select First Street in the Alignment list, and click OK. The Alignment Geometry Report displays in your default Web browser. Notice that the user information you added to your template is included in the report. 11. Close each report when you are done reviewing it. xvii
Calculating Earthwork Volumes Another report you will find handy in managing construction operations at your job site is the Earthwork Report. Use it to calculate the volume of earth you need to remove from the surface to keep new development below a specific elevation. 1. Click the icon on the toolbar. The Earthwork Report command pane displays. 2. Select Surface to elevation in the Report type group. 3. Select First Street Surface in the Surface list. The classification for the surface displays below the box. 4. Tab to the Elevation box and type 4900 to calculate the volume of material that needs to be cut above that elevation. The report will show the volumes above and below that elevation. 5. Skip the Boundary box, since you do not have lines defining a boundary. 6. Leave Use in calculation unchecked, since you have not defined surface materials in the Materials dialog. 7. Confirm that Volume totals only is selected in the Volume Breakdown group. 8. Click OK. The report displays in your default Web browser. 9. Scroll down to the Volumes from Surface Geometry section and note the Materials above [4900.000 ft] value. 10. Close the report when you are done reviewing the results. 11. Notice that a new surface named Isopach appears in the Project Explorer. This surface represents the difference between the elevations of the original surface and the elevation specified in the Earthwork Report command. If you want, you can hide or change the color of the original surface in the Properties pane to better review the new isopach surface. xviii
Here is a picture of the original surface and the isopach surface in the 3D view: 12. Click the plan view tab, and select All in the view filter list on the toolbar. It looks like this: All of the data in your project appears. 13. Click the icon on the toolbar to save your project for use in the next tutorial. Conclusion Congratulations! You have worked through a complete, basic workflow for setting up a project, changing the user interface, and importing, creating and editing data. You should now have the skills and knowledge to proceed to the SPS Data Preparation Tutorial. xix