11138 version 5

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Determine survey vessel position

Level / 4
Credits / 5

PurposeThis unit standard is for people working in the hydrography sector of the surveying profession.

People credited with this unit standard are able to demonstrate knowledge of positional fixing systems for hydrographic surveying, and fix vessel position during survey operations.

Subfield / Surveying
Domain / Hydrography
Status / Registered
Status date / 25 February2008
Date version published / 25 February2008
Planned review date / 31 December 2012
Entry information / Open.
Accreditation / Evaluation of documentation and visit by NZQA and industry.
Standard setting body (SSB) / Infrastructure ITO
Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP) reference / 0101

This AMAP can be accessed at

Special notes

1The following legislation and documentation must be complied with:

Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992;

TH Standard 31 Standards for Hydrographic Surveys (HYSPEC) v3 (Wellington: National Topographic/Hydrographic Authority, 2001), available at

IHO Standards for Hydrographic Surveys, Special Publication No 44 (Monaco: International Hydrographic Organisation, 1998) (IHO standards), available at

job specifications;

equipment manufacturer’s instructions;

system manufacturer’s instructions.

2Definitions

GNSS stands for global navigational satellite system, and refers to satellite based positioning systems such as GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo;

Galileo refers to a European operated GNSS;

GLONASS refers to a Soviet space-based navigation system;

GPSrefers to the United States NAVSTARGPS or Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System.

Elements and performance criteria

Element 1

Demonstrate knowledge of positional fixing systems for hydrographic surveying.

Rangetwo of – range/range systems, range/bearing systems, hyperbolic systems, GNSS systems.

Performance criteria

1.1The position fixing process is explained in accordance with equipment manufacturer's instructions.

1.2The characteristics of each system are identified in terms of range, accuracy, repeatability, calibration, and limitations.

1.3The vessel positioning system is calibrated in accordance with HYSPEC and job specifications.

Element 2

Fix vessel position during survey operations.

Rangetwo of – range/range systems, range/bearing systems, hyperbolic systems, GNSS systems.

Performance criteria

2.1The vessel positioning system is calibrated in accordance with HYSPEC and job specifications.

2.2The vessel positioning system is operated in accordance with system manufacturer's instructions and HYSPEC.

2.3Positional accuracy is established in accordance with HYSPEC and job specifications.

2.4The quality of the position fix is determined by statistical analysis in accordance with job specifications.

Please note

Providers must be accredited by NZQA, or an inter-institutional body with delegated authority for quality assurance, before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.

Industry Training Organisations must be accredited by NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.

Accredited providers and Industry Training Organisations assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.

Accreditation requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The AMAP also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.

Comments on this unit standard

Please contact Infrastructure you wish to suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.

 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2018