Outside Plant Mapping Services

Get an asset record your next project can use

Draftech delivers outside plant mapping services for operators who need to know where their infrastructure is, what each asset carries, and which records still need verification. We map poles, strand, cable, splice points, vaults, handholes, and conduit into connected GIS layers, with attributes and source documentation that make the records usable beyond the initial handoff.

A cable route without structure identifiers leaves the next engineer matching drawings by eye. A vault shown in conflicting locations can send a survey team back to the field. We reconcile those discrepancies as part of the mapping scope, so unresolved questions stay visible and verified information reaches the people making design decisions.

OSP mapping is the asset inventory discipline within our broader GIS mapping services. Draftech's engineering is 100% in-house. Field collection, mapping, and engineering review share a single point of accountability, with a defined path for resolving gaps before they become design assumptions.

Define the data model before collecting more points

An OSP inventory needs agreed rules for naming assets, recording their attributes, and connecting them. We establish the coordinate reference system, feature classes, required fields, and accepted attribute values before building the dataset. Your existing asset identifiers remain useful references when records move into the agreed structure.

The scope defines which attributes can be populated from supplied records and which require observation. Unknown ownership, missing cable counts, and uncertain conduit paths remain identifiable gaps. Filling an empty field with an unsupported value only moves the problem into the next project.

Aerial plant records

Pole features carry identifiers and available ownership, class, height, and attachment information. Strand segments connect the supporting structures, while cable records identify the plant carried along the route. Keeping strand and cable distinct makes it possible to document different cables using the same support path without merging their attributes.

Underground plant records

Vaults and handholes provide structure references for conduit segments and cable routes. Duct configuration, occupancy, and depth information are included where the source records or scoped field work support them. The dataset distinguishes a documented underground path from a route inferred between visible structures, so the apparent precision of a line does not conceal uncertainty.

Splice points and transitions

Splice identifiers connect location records to available cable and splice documentation. Aerial-to-underground transitions retain their relationship to the supporting pole, underground structure, and connecting segments. Mapping a splice location and documenting individual fiber assignments are different levels of detail; we establish the required level before production.

Check geometry, attributes, and asset relationships

A map can look continuous while its records contain disconnected segments or duplicate structures. Our QA review checks both the spatial layout and the information attached to it. The checks follow the agreed data model and the intended engineering or operational use.

• Geometry checks identify misplaced features, duplicate geometry, route gaps, and segments that do not meet their intended structures.
• Attribute checks review required fields, accepted values, ownership references, and consistency between related cable and structure records.
• Identifier checks find duplicate asset IDs and references that point to missing records.
• Relationship checks confirm that mapped cables, strand, conduit, structures, and splice points connect as documented.
• Source checks compare mapped features with field observations, available as-builts, and design records, preserving distinctions between existing and proposed plant.
• Export checks compare the delivered files with the source dataset for missing features, altered attributes, and coordinate problems.

Review findings guide corrections or additional verification. The handoff identifies remaining limitations, so your team understands where the dataset supports a decision and where more evidence is needed.

Keep the inventory current through design and as-built

A mapped inventory becomes unreliable when design revisions and installed changes stop reaching it. We establish how new structures, reroutes, cable changes, and revised splice locations enter the dataset during the project. Existing, proposed, and installed conditions remain distinguishable as work advances.

Our CAD and GIS documentation service produces the drawings and documentation used for design, permits, and construction. OSP mapping supplies and maintains the attributed plant inventory those deliverables reference. This page's scope centers on asset records; drawing production is defined separately when your project needs both.

After installation, as-built documentation supplies the verified construction changes used to update the inventory. The closeout review reconciles those changes with the mapped assets and identifies outstanding discrepancies. Your next project can start from the updated plant record instead of reconstructing what changed during the last build.