NGET Access Plans Guide
NG Access Plans Creation 2025
There are two options when it comes to NG access plan creation, both of which can be found on our FME Server Gallery Apps:
https://fmeserver-fishergerman.fmecloud.com/fmeserver/apps/NG-Apps
- If you have no access routes and have just been asked for blank plans, use the “Access Plan Extent Using Open Roads” routine
- If you have been given access routes, use the “Generate page extents, instructions and W3W” routine
Project Set Up
In both cases, you need to set up a Pro project for the scheme. Before creating a new project, check the NGET folder for the FP code or tower line plus work type to ensure it hasn’t already been created. We can have multiple schemes for the same line – it is just the FP code and work type that we want to avoid duplicating.
If it doesn’t already exist, set up a project using the “NGET_Access_Instruction_Template” which can be found in the template folder.
This template contains:
- One layers map
- A layout for blank access plans
- A layout for access instruction plans
- The NGET poles and OHL layer
The first thing you should do is set the definition queries of the NG assets layers to show only assets that “begin with” the letters of the line you are working on.
- NG Towers = tower_asse
- OHL = ROUTE_ASSE
Blank plans – No access provided
To set up the blank plans, navigate to the “Access Plan Extent Using Open Roads” gallery app:
https://fmeserver-fishergerman.fmecloud.com/fmeserver/apps/NG-Apps/NG-Access-Plan-Extents-Using-Open-Roads
Enter the tower line you are working on and download the output zip folder. The folder will contain a shapefile of the plan extent (e.g. 4ZA_Tower_DD_Pages) which are drawn around each tower on the line and the nearest open road, and an OS_Extract shapefile.
Input the OS_Extract SHP into the VML Tile Downloader FME routine (W:\NON CLIENT DATA\FME\Ordnance Survey Data\OS VML Tile Downloader.fmw) to retrieve the relevant VML tiles for the scheme. NG have access to any VML tile that their assets cross into so there are no costs involved.
Add the DD_Pages into your project and set up a map series. It is important to show as much of the surrounding area as possible as the surveyor will be wanting to draw in the access route, so set the Margin Size to 100%.
Fill out the job information in the margin and export the plans. Requests will often only ask for specific towers, which allows you to avoid exporting the entire line.
Access Instruction Plans
Drawing Access Routes
Access routes can be sent in several different formats – KML, Google Earth screenshots or routes drawn onto your blank plans. No matter the format, the route needs to be added to your project as follows:
Create a polyline shapefile called Tower_Access_Routes, and save to the Project Imports folder. Then, add an attribute field called Tower_No.
Next, you can draw in all the access routes at once, making sure to add in the tower number to each one. IMPORTANTLY, you must start drawing from the road side and finish at the tower, as the W3W point is added from the first point.
Using the Gallery App Routine
Once your access routes are drawn, compress your shapefile into a zipped folder and navigate to the “Generate page extents, instructions and W3W” gallery app:
https://fmeserver-fishergerman.fmecloud.com/fmeserver/apps/NG-Apps/Access-Plans-Generate-W3W
Drop in your zip folder to the routine and add the name of your project. The output of the routine gives you:
- An “Access_Plans.gdb” containing the DD_Pages and W3W layers
- A “Tower_Access_Instructions.csv” for access instructions
- A VML_Extract shapefile for downloading OS
Organising the Gallery App Outputs
Using the VML Extract shapefile, download the OS VML tiles if you haven’t already, using the VML Tile Downloader FME routine (W:\NON CLIENT DATA\FME\Ordnance Survey Data\OS VML Tile Downloader.fmw).
Add the geodatabase and CSV files to the Project Exports folder. Then, open the DD_Pages and W3W layers from the gdb in Pro and export them to your Pro project gdb. Also, export your Tower_Access_Routes shapefile to your Pro project gdb. This means all of the important layers for your access plans are in one place.
You can delete the “Access_Plans.gdb” from your Project Exports folder once the layers have been exported to your Pro gdb.
Retrieving the Access Instructions
The next step is to copy the access instructions from the National Grid Maintenance tracker onto your CSV:
https://fishergermanllp.sharepoint.com/:x:/t/NG2022OHLMaintenanceWorks/EVgQD1jpqmFGhOyQfTLiCooBnPfS1EGCq6auD3TFwO9VJQ?e=siqPHK
Navigate the spreadsheet tabs (split between regions) and column filters to find the instructions for your project and copy them over to your CSV. Most instructions will contain the Grantor Name, at least one Contact Number, and Special Comments/Requirements.
The Access Type field is mandatory, however there are inconsistencies in what we receive. If the Access Type isn’t provided, assume it is ‘Vehicle’. Other than vehicle, the other two access types are polaris/ATV and Walking.
Once the instructions have all been copied over, add the CSV into your Pro project (if you haven’t already) and join it by Asset to your DD_Pages.
Styling the layers
Style the symbology of the layers as follows:
- W3W points - yellow with a black outline, size 7
- Access routes – add a new attribute field for access type and translate the details across from the CSV. If requested, you may need to split a single route up into multiple access types. The colours are as follows:
- Vehicle – red
- Polaris/ ATV – blue
- Walking – green
- DD_Pages – you have two options for DD_Pages
- Untick them so they’re not visible
- Set the fill and outline to ‘no colour’ so they’re invisible
Setting up Map Series
Once the layers are correctly styled, you can set up the map series. Use the DD_Pages as the data driven layer, with the Margin Size as 33%.
The, add a page query to the access routes and W3W to match the tower number.
For the instructions table, you need to go through each of the attributes and set up the dynamic text to retrieve the information from the CSV. It should look something like the following:
If any of the fields haven’t been provided, they are fine to be left blank.
Finally, add all of the scheme information in the margin and make sure the page name is in the drawing reference as dynamic text.
FINAL CHECKS
- The entire access route is visible
- There is one access route and W3W point per plan
- All the instructions from your CSV are shown in the plan
Once you have made the checks, you are ready to export.
Example Plan
Adding new access plans to existing projects
Drawing in new accesses
When you need to add new access plans to an existing project, you follow many of the previous steps. To begin with, after opening the existing Pro project, locate the Tower_Access_Routes shapefile layer. Delete the routes from the previous batch so the layer is empty, then draw in your new routes with the corresponding tower number.
Compress the shapefile containing these new routes, replacing the old zip file. Navigate to the “Generate page extents, instructions and W3W” gallery app:
https://fmeserver-fishergerman.fmecloud.com/fmeserver/apps/NG-Apps/Access-Plans-Generate-W3W
If any of your new routes aren’t covered by the existing VML tile coverage, you can use the VML Tiler routine to download these using the VML_Extract output from the gallery app.
Adding new routes and details to existing data
In order to combine the new data with the existing data, do the following:
- CSV access instructions
- Copy and paste the rows (containing the tower number and W3W) from the newly generated CSV into the existing CSV that’s linked to the project.
- Populate the new tower rows with instructions from the National Grid Tracker
- Access_Plans.gdb
- In the Project Exports folder, make sure the old Access_Plans.gdb has been deleted
- Open up the DD_Pages and W3W from the new GDB and copy and paste them into the corresponding layers in the project GDB
- Access routes
- Copy and paste the new routes from the Tower_Access_Routes shapefile into the Access routes feature class in the project GDB
- Make sure to fill out the access types for the new routes
FINAL CHECKS
Once the instructions have been filled out and the new layers have been copied over to the existing ones, the rest of the process should be completed automatically.
Refresh the map series page and check the new plans are there with their corresponding routes, W3W and instructions.
Finally, export the new plans.