MobileMap: Check Cruising
Overview
Check cruising is a special case of timber cruising, where an auditor or 'check cruiser' revisits a plot and remeasures all data for quality control purposes. MobileMap supports check cruising by providing support for denoting if a tree measurement is a standard or check cruise measurement, and by providing a tailored tree list when conducting check cruises.
Prerequisites - Data Model
In order to use MobileMap for check cruising, your data model must include a field named 'Cruise_Type' in the Trees table (and Logs table if logs are being recorded). This field should be a String data type and should use a Coded Value Domain with only two values, 'S' for standard and and 'C' for check cruise. It is also common to include some extra fields to the Stands and Plots feature classes to store data that will be entered by the check cruisers. Examples might include: 'Check_Notes', 'Check_Habitat', 'Check_Flagged_OK'. The extra fields can be hidden from cruisers by adding them to the hidden fields list (Settings > Data Model Settings > Hidden Fields).
Enabling Check Cruise
To enable check cruising go to Settings > MobileMap Cruise > Check Cruise, then check 'Check Cruise Mode'. When Check Cruise Mode is enabled, MobileMap will record a C (check cruise) in the Cruise_Type field for each tree, and it will also display a read-only tree list at the top of the editable tree list. When Check Cruise Mode is not enabled, it will record an S (standard cruise) in the Cruise_Type field for each tree, and won't have the read-only list at the top of the screen.
Optionally, you can also check 'Enable Copying of Cruise Trees into Check Cruise' which can speed up check cruise data entry.
Conducting A Check Cruise
To conduct a check cruise, first complete the standard cruise with Check Cruise Mode disabled, upload all data, and complete any data quality checks. Next, have check cruisers download the relevant data, using download filters (Actions > Edit Download Parameters) where appropriate. Some data models include a field or status with a value of ‘Needs Check’ at the Stand, Plot and Tree level help both flag plots that need to be checked, but also to support downloading just data that needs checking, rather than all cruised data.
The next step is to enable check cruise mode (Settings > MobileMap Cruise > Check Cruise > Check Cruise Mode), then use the standard cruising workflow to navigate to a plot that will be checked, open the plot for editing, then open the tree list (e.g., select Edit tool, tap on desired plot, then tap on Tree list).
Check Cruise Tree List
The Check Cruise Tree List is similar to the standard Tree List, but it is divided into two sections. The top section is a read-only tree list showing the original cruise data. The bottom list is an editable tree list that will contain the check cruise tree measurements.
If 'Enable Copying of Cruise Trees into Check Cruise' is checked in settings (Settings > MobileMap Cruise > Check Cruise > Enable Copying of Cruise Trees into Check Cruise), the check cruiser can tap the copy icon before any trees have been recorded to copy the cruise tree list to the check cruise tree list. If the cruiser collects any trees before copying the cruise trees into the check cruise and saves the tree tablet the copy tool will be disabled. You must copy the the cruise trees before adding any other trees to the check cruise table.
Check cruise trees are created and edited using the standard cruising approach. Whenever a check cruise tree row is selected in the check cruise tree list, the read-only cruise tree list will be automatically scrolled to center on the matching cruise tree, and that tree row will be highlighted in yellow to help the check cruiser easily compare the tree info they are recording with the previously collected tree measurements.
Added and Missing Trees
In order to maintain the relationship between a cruise tree and a check cruise tree, MobileMap (and InventoryManager) use the Tree ID. Thus, the order of trees in the check cruise tree list is very important, and must match the order of the trees in the read-only cruise tree list at the top of the display. Thus, added and missing trees must be handled in a specific manner.
Added Trees - If a cruiser recorded a tree as 'in', but the check cruiser has determined that the tree is actually 'out' (outside of the plot based on its distance from plot center, and possibly its DBH), the tree should be entered in the check cruise tree list in the same order that it appears in the original cruise tree list, but the tally or count field should be set to 0 to indicate that this tree should not be included in compilation. It is common for the check cruiser to also note this in the note or comment field.
Missing Trees - If an ‘in’ tree was omitted by a the cruiser, but the the check cruiser has determined that the tree is actually 'in', it should be added to the bottom of the tree list, after all matching tree records have been entered. Similar to added trees, a comment should be entered by the check cruiser.