Linking As-Built Drawings to Road Segments and Utility Lines in ArcGIS Pro

l_al-sabbagh

I’m looking for the best approach to link a set of As-Built drawings to road segments and utility lines (e.g., water mains, storm mains, sanitary mains) in ArcGIS. From both an asset/document management perspective and an ease-of-tracking/updating perspective, what would be the most efficient method?

Specifically, I have the following questions:

1. Attachment Strategy – Is it better to attach all related documents to the road segment, or should each utility line have its own associated documents?

2. Version Control – Since these drawings are regularly updated, how can I ensure that only the most recent version is linked and accessible?

3. Alternative Layer Approach – Would it be possible to store all documents in a separate layer and use a join feature to associate them with road segments and utility lines dynamically?

4. Numbering and Referencing – If using a join feature, should the document numbering system align with road segment or utility IDs to ensure a reliable connection?

5. Real-World Applications – Have you encountered a similar challenge? If so, how did you solve it in your workflow?

I’d appreciate any insights or best practices from those who have worked with document management and GIS integration for infrastructure assets.

 

RPGIS

Hi @l_al-sabbagh 

Here are the things that I would recommend to help you along.

1. For sizable attachments or commonly associated attachments.
   1. If the attachments are fairly sizable, > 50MB or larger and database storage is potentially an issue, then it would be advisable to create a separate table that has those attachments with a unique ID per attachment that is updated automatically in that table.
   2. Create a relationship class with that table with any other features and assigning that ID will automatically have that attachment associated with it.
   3.  For small attachments then it can be attached to multiple features unless of course those features share identical information
2. Versioning is pretty straightforward so depending on when a version is edited then you can identify, using version management, what changes were made and when.
3. Answered by the first
4. Always use a separate IDs since the other features already have their own identification
5. We are currently looking to implement a similar solution and this is the route we are taking.