Utility and telecom projects live or die on the quality of the survey that starts them.

If the ground is wrong, everything on top of it is at risk: structure locations, clearances, easements, schedules, and budgets. For owners in Arizona and the broader Southwest, that risk is amplified by tight standards from utilities like APS and SRP, complex right of way, and growing underground congestion.

ARUSI was built to close that gap. We take projects from survey to design using one integrated workflow, so the data you approve at the beginning is the same data that drives your structures, profiles, and construction drawings.

This article walks through how that works in practice and what it changes for owners, utilities, and EPC teams.

Why survey to design integration matters

In many projects, survey and design sit in different silos.

One team collects data, hands off an assortment of files, and moves on. A separate design team then spends time interpreting, cleaning, and “fixing” that data before real engineering even starts. Along the way, important context gets lost:

• Which utilities were actually potholed or verified
• How control and benchmarks were established
• Where there is uncertainty or missing information
• Which coordinate system and vertical datum should be treated as the source of truth

That disconnect shows up as:

• Rework when survey and design do not align
• Conflicts discovered late in the process
• Friction during APS, SRP, or municipal review
• Field changes during construction that were avoidable

A true survey to design workflow keeps collection, modeling, and engineering decisions on the same foundation. That is where ARUSI focuses.

How ARUSI collects accurate field data

RLS led survey services

Every project starts under the direction of a Registered Land Surveyor. For Arizona and Southwest utility work, that typically includes:

• Boundary surveys and legal descriptions to confirm ownership, easements, and encumbrances
• ALTA and topographic surveys for stations, substations, and utility served facilities
• Strip topography for transmission and fiber corridors so design teams see the full picture, not isolated snapshots
• Utility as built surveys that capture what is really installed in the field, not only what was planned
• Elevation certificates and floodplain related surveys where required for permitting or risk management

RLS oversight keeps control, boundaries, and descriptions aligned, which reduces surprises when title, legal, and engineering teams all meet at the same drawing.

Tools that support utility accuracy

ARUSI combines traditional survey practice with a toolchain tuned for utility and telecom design. Depending on the project, that may include:

• GNSS RTK GPS and total stations for precise control and detail
• Field data collection platforms such as Magnet Field to keep crews and office in sync
• CAD environments such as AutoCAD Civil 3D and MicroStation for design ready basemaps
• Specialized line design tools such as PLS CADD, PLS Pole, PLS Tower, SAG10, and O Calc
• GIS tools such as QGIS, along with Bluebeam for coordinated review

The result is not just a point cloud of measurements. It is structured data that is already thinking about where poles, structures, ducts, and fiber will go.

Turning survey into design ready models

Once field work is complete, ARUSI’s in house CAD and engineering teams translate survey into models that can be used directly for line and fiber design.

Typical steps include:

• Building a clean basemap from field data, control, and record information
• Creating 3D surfaces and corridors that reflect actual ground and critical adjacent features
• Structuring layers and attributes so PLS CADD and other tools can consume them without heavy rework
• Applying owner templates and standards, including APS and SRP requirements where applicable
• Preparing GIS ready feature classes so the same data that supports design can also support long term asset management

Because survey, CAD, and engineering sit on the same team, issues are resolved in the model instead of in long email threads. If a conflict appears, the people who ran the field work are available to clarify or, if needed, return to the site.

When survey data fails: what it looks like in practice

Owners and utilities usually call us when something is already going wrong.

A common pattern looks like this:

• A survey is outsourced on a low bid
• Field work is completed, but underground utilities are poorly located or missing
• The coordinate system or benchmarks do not align with the utility’s requirements
• Design teams build models and profiles on top of that data, then discover conflicts late in the process
• Submittals stall during utility or jurisdictional review, and construction dates start to slip

In those situations, ARUSI is often asked to step in and rebuild the foundation.

Our survey to design workflow typically includes:

• Field verification with GNSS RTK GPS and total stations to tighten control, verify critical utilities, and correct faulty locations
• Reconciliation of coordinate systems and vertical datums so survey, engineering, and owner standards match, including APS and SRP requirements where applicable
• Rebuilt CAD basemaps in Civil 3D or MicroStation structured for utility design models, including PLS CADD and other analysis tools already in use
• Updated, GIS ready deliverables that match the owner’s templates and support smoother review and long term asset management

The net result is not a “pretty drawing”, it is a constructible model that lets line, fiber, and civil design move forward without guessing where the ground or the utilities really are. That protects schedule and reduces the risk of discovering problems in the field, where fixes are most expensive.

What owners and utilities gain

For public and private owners in Arizona and the Southwest, a survey to design approach delivers benefits across the project lifecycle.

During planning

• More realistic route and siting options
• Better understanding of constraints in developed corridors
• Faster internal reviews, because drawings reflect what is actually there

During design

• Fewer RFIs between survey, engineering, and CAD
• Smoother application of APS, SRP, and municipal standards
• Cleaner packages for protection, studies, and constructability checks

During construction

• Fewer field conflicts related to unknown utilities or bad control
• Less reliance on field design “on the fly”
• Better as built information to feed back into GIS and asset records

Over time, that adds up to reduced project risk and stronger capital planning for both power and telecom programs.

Why ARUSI for Arizona and Southwest utility work

ARUSI brings a combination of local focus, utility specific experience, and team stability.

• Decades of utility experience with more than 35 years of combined practice across survey, transmission, distribution, and telecom design
• Hundreds of miles of infrastructure including more than 600 miles of power line design and more than 235 miles of fiber
• Dual expertise in power and telecom, including overhead and underground design, which is critical as corridors become more congested
• Local standards knowledge, including deep familiarity with APS, SRP, and other regional requirements
• A stable team, with a 99 percent full time employee retention rate that protects schedule continuity and institutional memory

Because ARUSI is a veteran owned firm based in the Phoenix area, your projects are supported by people who understand the region’s terrain, utilities, and regulatory environment, not just the theory.

Planning a project that depends on accurate utility data?

If you are planning transmission, distribution, or fiber projects in Arizona or the broader Southwest, and you are concerned about the quality of the data they sit on, this is where we can help.

ARUSI can support you from:

• Early strip topo and corridor survey
• Through design ready CAD and PLS CADD models
• Into final packages that align with APS, SRP, and local review requirements

If you would like to talk through an upcoming project or review an existing survey for risk, reach out to the ARUSI team and request a consultation or proposal.