Learning Center

Surveying channel and berm

Terracing chapter of the Ditch Assist app manual. The same text is in the app under Manual.

In the app Manual › Terracing › Surveying channel and berm

The wizard walks you through both surveys back-to-back.

Channel survey:

  1. Drive to the planned channel start (one end of the terrace).
  2. Tap Start in the survey sidebar.
  3. Drive the channel centerline at a steady pace.
  4. Tap Stop at the far end.
  5. Name the channel survey (e.g. "Terrace 12 channel"). Save.

Channel survey readiness overlay — the wizard tells you what to do before recording starts.
Channel survey readiness overlay — the wizard tells you what to do before recording starts.

Recording the channel — the orange dotted track follows your machine, the profile chart fills in elevation as you drive.
Recording the channel — the orange dotted track follows your machine, the profile chart fills in elevation as you drive.

Save dialog for the channel survey — name it something memorable since you'll pair it with the berm survey by name.
Save dialog for the channel survey — name it something memorable since you'll pair it with the berm survey by name.

Survey Direction prompt — the app guesses inlet vs outlet from the elevation gradient and asks you to confirm. Wrong direction inverts the design.
Survey Direction prompt — the app guesses inlet vs outlet from the elevation gradient and asks you to confirm. Wrong direction inverts the design.

Berm survey:

  1. The wizard prompts for the berm. Drive to the planned berm centerline (parallel to the channel).
  2. Tap Start.
  3. Drive end-to-end.
  4. Tap Stop, name (e.g. "Terrace 12 berm"), save.

Berm survey readiness overlay — same pattern as the channel; just drive the berm centerline and Stop.
Berm survey readiness overlay — same pattern as the channel; just drive the berm centerline and Stop.

Save dialog for the berm survey — keep the channel/berm naming consistent.
Save dialog for the berm survey — keep the channel/berm naming consistent.

Loading saved surveys

If you already surveyed both halves on a previous trip, choose Load in the wizard. A picker dialog asks you to select the channel survey first, then the berm survey. Both must be present for the design dialog to open.

A common mistake

The berm survey should be on the downhill side of the channel. If your terrace is designed to catch water and direct it sideways, the channel sits uphill and the berm is built on the downhill side. Surveys done on the wrong side give nonsense fill volumes — review the chart in the design dialog before applying.

Step-by-step guides for this

Did this answer your question?

Still stuck? Talk to a product specialist. 1-833-DITCH-AS · support@ditchassist.com · Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Central.

Calling about a problem? Send your app logs first so support can see what happened.