How to prepare a field check form with survey, photos, coordinates and delivery
A field check form is a simple habit that reduces disputes by recording what was measured and how it was checked.
Field takeaways
- Project, crew, date, method, device and CRS should be recorded.
- Control points, photos and notes should not be skipped.
- Uncertainty notes improve trust.
- Delivery formats and file names should be listed.
- MapLab Survey connects field records to reports and exports.
Design before you leave
Start from the questions the data has to answer: what will appear in the report, what will change a decision? Fields that answer no question only make the field visit longer. Then fill the form in yourself at five real sites before handing it to the team — the missing options and the fields that do not apply become obvious there, while fixing them is still cheap.
What belongs on the form
- Project name, date, crew and type of work.
- Coordinate system, EPSG, height reference and units.
- Method: phone GPS, RTK, KML reference or CAD/GIS data.
- Control point difference, photo and description.
- Delivery formats: KML, DXF, GeoJSON, CSV, PDF report.
Closed lists beat free text
When every technician writes freely, "good", "sound" and "OK" end up meaning the same thing and cannot be counted. A pick list prevents that and makes the results comparable. Keep one free-text note field for the unexpected — every site has some — but let the main answers come from the list.
Everything in one record
Coordinate, attributes, photo and date have to travel together. In MapLab Survey the points, lines, polygons, photos and notes collect under the project, so the form's data is already organised when the job ends. A photo folder kept separately forces someone to rebuild the relationship by hand later.
Write the method, not just the result
Instead of "measured", write something like "measured with an RTK fixed solution, checked against a known point, in TUREF/TM33". What separates a professional delivery is rarely the measurement itself — it is how the measurement is described.
Try these steps on your own phone.
MapLab Survey handles RTK/GNSS point capture, drawing, area and volume calculations and coordinate conversion, then exports to DXF, KML/KMZ, GeoJSON, Shapefile, GeoPackage, NCZ or CSV. Capture, calculation and export work offline. Live NTRIP corrections and online basemaps need a connection.
Frequently asked questions
What is a field check form?
A record of when, how and by whom the field work was checked.
Should CRS be written?
Yes.
Are photos needed?
They are valuable evidence.
Can MapLab Survey help?
Yes.
Technical references
The field guidance in this article is aligned with the technical and official references below.
Related: Field survey checklist · Measurement report · Geotagged photo report · MapLab Survey