DIGGS Intro
DIGGS is an acronym for Data Interchange for Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists. It is a data interchange standard developed to facilitate the sharing and transfer of geotechnical and geoenvironmental data between different software systems and organizations.
Key aspects of DIGGS include:
- An XML-based data format (schema) designed specifically for geotechnical engineering, geo-environmental, and geologic data
- A schama based on a robust and extensible data model to accommodate the storage and transfer of data from:
- Field investigations (exploration drilling, field observations, sampling, and geophysical surveys)
- Measurement-While-Drilling parameters
- In-situ testing
- Laboratory testing
- Construction Actuvues (grouting, driven pile installation)
- Leveraging of a wide array of open-source software tools for data transformation and display
- Leveraging of Geography Markup Language (GML) for standardized encoding of locations and geometries of features (eg. boreholes, samples)
- Platform and software independence
- Helps reduce data loss and transcription errors when transferring information between different systems and organizations involved in geotechnical projects
- Organizations do not have to change their databases or standards of practice to use DIGGS
Prior to the existence of DIGGS,ingegration of data between geotechnical systems has consisted of a patchwork of prprietary database systems or non-standard implementations PDF repors, spreadsheets and text files. The lack of a robust modern industry-wide standard necessitates time consuming duplication of integrations as systems change, are swapped out, or upgraded. DIGGS solves this problem. Rather than using patchwork integration systems, DIGGS allows organizations and the systems they use to implement a wheel and spoke integration model, where each individual system produces and consumes the same format of data.
