Survey Management System — QGIS Plugin for Nigerian Cadastral Records

A published QGIS plugin for digitising, archiving, and managing Nigerian land survey records — with AutoCAD DXF import, AI-powered metadata extraction, PostGIS spatial storage, traverse calculations, and three-tier access control.

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🏛️ Overview

The Survey Management System is a full-featured QGIS plugin built specifically for Nigerian surveyors and cadastral offices to replace paper-based filing systems with a robust, spatially-aware digital archive. It connects QGIS directly to a PostgreSQL/PostGIS database, enabling surveyors to store, retrieve, visualise, and verify land survey records — with 50-year archival durability and full audit trails.

Now in version 1.2.0, the plugin adds AutoCAD DXF/DWG import with AI-powered plan metadata extraction, making it possible to onboard legacy paper plans at scale.

🗺️ The Problem It Solves

Land survey records in Nigeria are overwhelmingly paper-based. Files deteriorate, get lost, or become impossible to search across thousands of records. There is no standard digital system for linking survey plans to spatial geometries, LGA boundaries, or adjoining plots. This plugin provides a complete, open-source solution built on tools surveyors already use — QGIS and PostgreSQL.

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✨ What's New in v1.2.0 (April 2026)

• 🆕 AutoCAD DXF/DWG Import — extract beacon coordinates, traverse legs, bearings, and distances directly from AutoCAD plan files
• 🆕 AI-Powered Metadata Extraction — automatically reads plan number, owner name, surveyor, LGA, state, and survey date from DXF files via a hosted inference server (no API key needed)
• 🆕 DXF Import Preview Dialog — review and confirm all extracted data before committing to the database
• 🆕 First-Run Setup Wizard — installs psycopg2 and creates the database automatically; no command line required
• 🆕 User Login & Three-Tier Access Control — superuser, surveyor, and viewer roles
• 🆕 Full Audit Trail — every action logged to audit_log with timestamp and user
• 🆕 User Administration Panel — manage users and roles from within the plugin
• 🆕 Traverse Precision Ratio — automatic 1:5000 closing error check per Nigerian Survey Regulations
• 🆕 Adjoining Survey Detection — PostGIS ST_DWithin flags neighbouring plots automatically
• 🆕 Live EPSG Validation — custom CRS input with real-time validation
• 🐛 Fixed traverse delete button index bug
• 🐛 Fixed Documents tab index using indexOf()

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🌟 Key Features

📐 Survey Data Entry & Traverse Calculation

• Enter survey points by direct Easting/Northing or via Bearing & Distance traverse
• Support for Whole Circle Bearings (WCB) — the Nigerian surveying standard
• Quadrant bearings (N45°30'E format) and DMS text shortcuts (45d30m15s)
• Real-time traverse coordinate calculation and closing error computation
• Automatic 1:5000 precision ratio check per Nigerian Survey Regulations
• Plot traverses directly on the QGIS map canvas

🏗️ AutoCAD DXF Import with AI Extraction

• Import .dxf and .dwg plan files from AutoCAD or compatible CAD software
• AI automatically extracts plan number, owner name, surveyor, LGA, state, and survey date
• Preview dialog to review, edit, and confirm before database insertion
• Eliminates manual data entry for legacy plan digitisation workflows

🗄️ PostgreSQL/PostGIS Spatial Database

• Automatic database creation and schema initialisation (8 tables)
• All geometries stored with SRID preservation via geoalchemy2
• ST_DWithin adjoining survey boundary detection
• ST_AsGeoJSON and ST_Transform for seamless QGIS layer loading
• Export search results to CSV

🔍 Multi-Level Search

• Basic Search — find records across all fields (plan number, owner, LGA, state, date range)
• Advanced Search — multiple simultaneous criteria with sorting
• Global Search — search across all database tables at once
• Quick filters: Recent surveys, no documents, Lagos State, FCT Abuja

📄 Document Management & File Integrity

• Attach PDFs, scanned images, and any file type to survey records
• MD5 checksum verification — detect file corruption or tampering
• Primary document flag per survey
• Last-verified date tracking and bulk verification

🔐 Access Control & Audit Trail

• Three roles: Superuser, Surveyor, Viewer
• Full audit log of every insert, update, and delete action with timestamps
• User administration panel for superusers
• Default credentials: admin / admin123 (change on first login)

🇳🇬 Nigerian-Specific Configuration

• CRS Presets built in:
  • EPSG:26331 — Minna / Nigeria West
  • EPSG:26332 — Minna / Nigeria Mid Belt (default for most of Nigeria)
  • EPSG:26333 — Minna / Nigeria East
  • EPSG:4326 — WGS 84 (GPS)
  • EPSG:32631 / 32632 — UTM Zone 31N / 32N
• All 36 Nigerian states + FCT in dropdown
• Local Government Area (LGA) field on every record
• Designed around NIS (Nigerian Institution of Surveyors) workflow standards

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📥 Installation

Requirements

Software	Minimum Version	Purpose
QGIS	3.28	GIS platform
PostgreSQL	12	Spatial database
PostGIS	3.0	Geometry storage & queries

Option 1: Install from QGIS Plugin Repository (Recommended)

1. Open QGIS
2. Go to Plugins → Manage and Install Plugins
3. Search for Survey Management System
4. Click Install Plugin
5. The 🏛️ icon will appear in your QGIS toolbar

Option 2: Install from ZIP

1. Download the latest ZIP from GitHub Releases
2. In QGIS: Plugins → Manage and Install Plugins → Install from ZIP
3. Select the downloaded file and click Install Plugin

First Run

On first launch the Setup Wizard will:

1. Automatically install psycopg2 if missing (no terminal needed)
2. Prompt for PostgreSQL connection details
3. Create the survey_management database
4. Enable the PostGIS extension
5. Create all required spatial tables
6. Encrypt and save your connection credentials

Default login: username admin, password admin123 — change this immediately via the User Administration panel.

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🚀 Quick Start

Create a Survey Record

1. Click the 🏛️ plugin icon in the QGIS toolbar
2. Log in with your credentials
3. Open the Survey Metadata tab
4. Enter Plan Number and Owner Name (required fields)
5. Select State, LGA, and Survey Date
6. Click Save New Survey

Import from AutoCAD DXF

1. Go to the DXF Import tab
2. Click Browse and select your .dxf or .dwg file
3. The AI engine extracts plan metadata automatically
4. Review the Import Preview dialog — edit any fields as needed
5. Click Confirm Import — coordinates, traverse legs, and metadata are saved

Add a Traverse Manually

1. Go to the Bearing/Distance tab
2. Enter the starting point coordinates (Easting, Northing)
3. Select bearing format: Spin boxes, Text shortcuts, or Decimal degrees
4. Enter each leg: bearing (e.g. 45d30m15s) and distance in metres
5. Click Add Leg after each entry
6. Click Calculate — the 1:5000 precision ratio is checked automatically
7. Click Plot on Map to verify, then Save to Database

Search for a Record

• Basic: Enter any text → click Search
• Advanced: Use multi-field queries with date ranges
• Global: Search across surveys, points, documents, and traverses simultaneously
• Double-click any result to load the full record

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🗄️ Database Schema

The plugin creates and manages the following tables in the survey_management database:

Table	Contents
surveys	Plan numbers, owner names, surveyors, LGA, state, survey dates
survey_points	Individual beacon coordinates with PostGIS geometry
survey_boundaries	Polygon boundaries with calculated area (shoelace formula)
survey_documents	File paths, MD5 checksums, primary document flags
survey_traverses	Traverse records with precision ratio and closing error
traverse_legs	Individual legs with bearings, distances, and geometry
audit_log	Full action audit trail with timestamps and user IDs
users	User accounts with hashed passwords and role assignments

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🇳🇬 Nigerian Surveying Standards Reference

Coordinate Reference Systems

Region	EPSG	Name
Nationwide (default)	26332	Minna / Nigeria Mid Belt
Western Nigeria	26331	Minna / Nigeria West
Eastern Nigeria	26333	Minna / Nigeria East
GPS / GIS general	4326	WGS 84
UTM Zone 31N	32631	WGS 84 / UTM zone 31N
UTM Zone 32N	32632	WGS 84 / UTM zone 32N

Bearing Formats Supported

You Type	Parsed As
45d30m15s	45°30'15"
45°30'15"	45°30'15"
45.5042	45.5042° decimal
N45d30mE	North 45°30' East (quadrant)
S30d15mW	South 30°15' West (quadrant)

Precision standard: 1:5000 closing error ratio per Nigerian Survey Regulations (NIS).

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🔧 Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
psycopg2 not installed	Run the Setup Wizard — it installs this automatically. Or: python -m pip install psycopg2-binary in OSGeo4W Shell
Cannot connect to database	Confirm PostgreSQL is running; verify host, port, username, and password
Permission denied creating database	Use the postgres superuser, or grant CREATEDB to your user
PostGIS not available	Windows: install via Stack Builder. Linux: sudo apt install postgis
Nothing plots on map	Check CRS matches your data; right-click layer → Zoom to Layer
Bearing parse error	Use format 45d30m15s or decimal degrees
DXF import finds no data	Ensure the file uses standard AutoCAD layer names; contact support for non-standard plans

For detailed errors, open the QGIS Python Console (Plugins → Python Console).

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📚 Documentation & Resources

• 📖 Full User Manual (Google Docs)
• 🎬 Video Walkthrough on YouTube
• 🐛 Report a Bug on GitHub
• 🔌 QGIS Plugin Repository Listing

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome from the QGIS community and Nigerian GIS practitioners:

• Report bugs — open a GitHub Issue
• Request features — describe your surveying workflow requirement
• Translate — add Hausa, Yoruba, or Igbo UI translations
• Improve DXF parsing — extend support for more CAD plan formats
• Port to other countries — Ghana, Kenya, and other nations using WCB traverse standards

# Development setup
git clone https://github.com/Sochukwumaobim/surveymanagement.git
pip install qgis-plugin-ci
qgis-plugin-ci package        # Build the plugin zip
# Load in QGIS using Plugin Reloader for live development

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📜 License

Released under the GNU General Public License v2 or later (GPL-2.0+) — free software you may use, modify, and redistribute. See LICENSE for full terms.

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🙏 Acknowledgements

• Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) for workflow and standards guidance
• The QGIS community for an outstanding open-source GIS platform
• PostgreSQL and PostGIS teams
• Datamat Nigeria Limited
• All field surveyors who provided feedback during testing

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📞 Support

Channel	Details
Email	ugwusochukwuma@gmail.com
GitHub Issues	github.com/Sochukwumaobim/surveymanagement/issues
QGIS Repository	plugins.qgis.org/plugins/surveymanagement
Author	ASTROMAT GEO-SERVICES

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"Preserving Nigeria's surveying heritage, one coordinate at a time." 🇳🇬

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