Measuring with VCL Surfaces

When a VCL surface is selected in the Measure feature, Siteworks provides real-time design comparison information and records relevant design values with measured points, similar to working with TTM and PRO designs.

Design Information in the Measure Feature

When your position is located on the active VCL surface, the following values are displayed in the information bar:

• Cut/Fill – The difference between your current position and the design surface.

• Dsn Elv – The design elevation at your current location.

• Thickness – The design thickness value where applicable.

These values are also stored with the measured point when the point is recorded.

Note: These values are only displayed while your position is located over the active surface.

Working with Corridor Surfaces and Corridor Template Surfaces

When using a Corridor Surface or Corridor Template Surface, Siteworks automatically selects the surface's associated alignment as the reference line.

This provides immediate access to station and offsets information relative to the design corridor.

Automatic Reference Line Selection

When a corridor-based surface becomes the active surface:

• The corridor alignment is automatically selected as the reference line.

• Station and offset values are calculated relative to that alignment.

Changing the Reference Line

You can manually change the reference line or remove it entirely.

If a different reference line is selected:

• The surface's alignment is displayed as a blue line.

• The selected reference line is displayed as a red line.

This makes it easy to identify which alignment belongs to the corridor surface and which alignment is currently being used as the active reference line.

Understanding Station and Offset Values

When a corridor-based surface is active, Siteworks displays two sets of station and offset values.

Surface Alignment Values

These values relate to the alignment associated with the active surface:

• Sta – Station on the surface alignment

• Off – Offset from the surface alignment

Reference Line Values

These values relate to the currently selected reference line:

• R. Sta – Reference Line Station

• R. Off – Reference Line Offset

This allows you to compare your position relative to both the corridor alignment and any separately selected reference line.

Measured Data Recording

Although both alignment values may be displayed on screen, Siteworks records only the reference line station and offset with the measured point.

This ensures consistency with existing Siteworks measurement workflows.

Surface Information Stored with Measured Points

The active design surface is recorded with each measured point.

Surface information is stored using the following format:

Example

This makes it easier to identify which design and surface were active when measurements were collected.

Best Practices

✅ Confirm the correct surface is active before beginning measurements.
✅ Verify the automatically selected corridor alignment when using corridor-based designs.
✅ Review the reference line if your workflow requires station and offset values from a different alignment.
✅ Use the colour-coded alignments to easily distinguish between the corridor alignment and reference line.
✅ Check stored point information to confirm the correct design and surface were used during measurement.

Key Points

• Cut/Fill, Design Elevation, and Thickness values are available when measuring on an active VCL surface.
• These values are recorded with measured points.
• Corridor surfaces and corridor template surfaces automatically select their associated alignment as the reference line.
• Sta/Off values relate to the surface alignment.
• R. Sta/R. Off values relate to the selected reference line.
• Only the reference line station and offset are stored with measured data.
• The active surface name is saved in the format [Design Name]:[Surface Name].