TeraAirlift

TeraAirlift

Delivery checklist

LiDAR Dataset Delivery Checklist

Who it's for: Reality-capture crews, field leads, processing managers, and geospatial PMs moving scan packages to office or client.

When to use: Use when moving LAS, LAZ, E57, GeoTIFF, orthos, DSMs, or full scan project exports from field devices to office, processing partners, or client GIS teams.

Before you leave the site

  • Confirm project ID, site name, and capture date on the root folder
  • Write a one-line capture notes file (sensor, flight/scan method, known gaps)
  • Confirm CRS / EPSG / vertical datum notes travel with the package
  • List which tiles/flights are in this handoff vs deferred
  • Estimate total size and whether hotel/jobsite connectivity can finish overnight

Field packaging

  • Keep one coherent project tree — avoid dumping mixed sites into one root
  • Exclude unrelated flights/scans and incomplete captures from this handoff
  • Include calibration / trajectory / control notes the office needs to process
  • Add a simple manifest: folder list, file counts, and approximate GB/TB
  • Verify a sample LAS/LAZ/E57 opens on the field laptop before upload
  • Note battery and power plan if the upload machine must stay up overnight

Connectivity & timing

  • Test real upload speed from the field location (not the office pipe)
  • Plan for intermittent cellular/hotel Wi-Fi — assume at least one retry
  • Schedule upload during the strongest window (evening vs morning congestion)
  • Decide whether to stay on-site until first chunks succeed
  • If connectivity can’t finish overnight, escalate shipping/drive plan early

Handoff queue

  • Queue jobs per crew/site so office can prioritize processing
  • Assign an office owner for acceptance before registration/classification starts
  • Schedule an explicit retry window if connectivity is intermittent
  • Label critical path packages (needed for tomorrow’s processing) vs archives
  • Leave contact info for the field operator who packaged the set

Office intake

  • Confirm the package arrived under the expected project ID
  • Compare file counts and sizes to the field manifest before compute starts
  • Park incomplete transfers in a quarantine folder — don’t mix with live jobs
  • Notify processing only after integrity and spot-open checks pass

Failure / retry plan

  • Never assume a mid-field upload finished without confirmation from the console/status
  • Retry with the same package identity; avoid creating confusing duplicate roots
  • Hold registration/classification until integrity check passes
  • Document corruption or truncation symptoms for hardware/vendor follow-up
  • If field power dies mid-upload, restart from a verified incomplete state — don’t re-copy blindly
  • Escalate early if remaining field window can’t finish before demob

Recipient / access plan

  • Limit client access to the agreed deliverable subset (not raw everything)
  • Expire client links after the acceptance period
  • Keep internal processing shares separate from client review packages
  • Track which subcontractor received which tile set or product
  • Revoke temporary partner access when the processing milestone closes
  • Record who can still pull the dataset after the field team demobs

Verification plan

  • Hash or integrity-verify when the toolset supports it; fail closed on mismatch
  • Spot-open a sample of LAS/LAZ/E57 files on office systems
  • Confirm file counts and total size match the field manifest
  • Check CRS notes landed with the package before starting registration
  • Only then kick off registration / classification compute
  • Log acceptance time so rework disputes have a clear “when did office get it” mark

Send me the printable version

Soft gate — the checklist is already above. Share your details if you want a follow-up copy and workflow tips for your team.