The Challenge of going Global
Dealing with data and Readouts in Different Measuring Units (METRIC, ENGLISH, ETC.)
Another common problem in trying to harmonize data from
different countries or regions is the measuring units such
as Feet and Meters, Pounds and Grams, etc. This can be
best exemplified with the unfortunate accident with the
Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999 that cost NASA US$ 125M1.
The problem of mismatched units applies to both data stored
in the database and ad-hoc measurements. It is recommended
that data stored in the database, be stored under a single
measuring unit and allow the system to provide distinct
readouts of the same information for the end user
In this picture, the same database column is shown twice to display the
highlighted cable (in light blue) length – one in feet and the other in
meters.
As for the ad-hoc measurements the AM/FM/GIS system must be flexible to allow the end user to define how information will be presented.
This Options / Measurement Tab allows the end user, at any time, to define the readout measurement units. (In this example we are using feet for distances and square feet for areas.) This Options / Precision Coordinates Tab allows the user to define how coordinates will be displayed on the screen.
