• Increase data accessibility to a wider range of users. This helps in promoting the use and alignment of geospatial data across the organization to solve problems and make better decisions.
• Reduce data duplication to save time, money, and resources.

5.2 Governing Bodies and Data Standards

FAA

Data and information are generated and used by the FAA to conduct its daily activities across organizations and collaborators at the local level and throughout the globe. Therefore, the FAA issued the Federal Data Strategy–A Framework for Consistency (Order 1375.1F), which discusses the agency’s ethical governance, conscious design, and learning culture that promotes proactive governance and management of data and information (FAA 2021). This order is in alignment with the Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act.

As the FAA transitions to a more open data environment, the agency’s protection of controlled, private, sensitive, and unclassified critical infrastructure data and information is critical. This order promotes a culture of transparency and ensures data is available and accessible across organizations and business lines. This data transparency will lead to usage of data and information in operations and decision making.

The main purpose of the order is to establish a policy for the following use cases:

• Managing and governing data and information as an enterprise asset;
• Planning and designing data and information with consideration for its current and future enterprise uses;
• Describing, assessing, and tracing data and information throughout its life cycle for quality and accountability;
• Collecting, creating, and enhancing data and information for shared use;
• Sharing and protecting data and information to create accessibility without compromising security or privacy; and
• Retaining and disposing of data, information, and associated metadata that are considered a record.

This FAA policy and its elements can be a template for airports to develop an internal data governance policy. The policy would include the following headings:

• Managing and governing;
• Planning and designing;
• Describing, assessing, and tracing;
• Collecting, creating, and enhancing;
• Sharing within the airport;
• Sharing external to the airport;
• Protecting; and
• Retaining and disposing.

AC 150/5300-18B–General Guidance and Specifications for Submission of Aeronautical Surveys to National Geodetic Survey: Field Data Collection and GIS Standards

The standards set forth in FAA AC 150/5300-18B (AAS-100 2014) are based on the older versions of the Spatial Data Standards for Facilities, Infrastructure, and Environmental (SDSFIE) and National CAD Standards. The FAA expanded on these standards to better facilitate use at aviation facilities. They tend to focus on exterior (outside the building) features and are typically lacking for interior features.

processing, storing, collecting, integrating, or providing aeronautical data and information (EUROCONTROL 2020).

Aeronautical data processes cover the data chain from data origination activities through to making products available by the AIS provider. These guidelines support a data-centric environment, recognizing advancements in automation, with the intention that the quality of the data is achieved and maintained from origination to delivery by the AIS provider through the application of a data assurance process. They provide detailed guidance and are intended to be generic enough to be applied across various platforms and organizations.

AIXM 5.1 Specification

The objective of the Aeronautical Information Exchange Model (AIXM) is to provide digitally formatted aeronautical information within the scope of EASA’s AIS. The AIS information and data flows are complex and made up of interconnected systems that involve multiple suppliers and consumers. The AIXM standard defines a data model for exchanging aeronautical information between myriad international aviation data management systems to support global air traffic management. AIXM takes advantage of established information engineering standards and supports current and future aeronautical information system requirements.

The following topics are included in the scope of the AIXM standard:

• Aerodrome/heliport including movement areas, services, facilities;
• Airspace structures;
• Organizations and units, including services;
• Points and navigational aids (NAVAIDS);
• Procedures;
• Routes; and
• Flying restrictions.

International Air Transportation Association

The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) is the entity that supports the aviation industry with standards for airline safety, security, efficiency, and sustainability. IATA, in 2020 issued an Airport Governance Guide (Reece 2020). The guide includes several best practices that are recommended to be in place at the airports. For example, the Operational Data Governance Program encompasses a multitude of collaborators associated with governing data to monitor and improve the quality of data, leading to improved operational efficiency and capacity utilization of an airport. The program can focus on the following:

• Privacy and protecting sensitive data through classification and the appropriate handling of such data,
• Enhancing data integration and analytical capabilities through management of big data, and
• Improving regulatory compliance in reporting capabilities.

International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard for Geographic Information–Metadata (ISO 19115-1) drives the internationalization of data sharing. This standard includes a comprehensive set of metadata terms and definitions that describe digital geospatial data and outlines the characteristic properties of the data being recorded. It provides information about the identification, extent, quality, spatial and temporal schema, spatial reference, and distribution of digital geographic data (ISO 2014). There are many other ISO standards that pertain to geospatial concepts, including two other parts of ISO 19115 (19115-2 for gridded

data set metadata and 19115-3 for schema implementation). The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) endorsed the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS)/ISO 19115-1:2014 Geographic Information–Metadata–Part 1: Fundamentals (2014) and INCITS/ISO 19157:2013 (2013) Geographic Information–Data Quality in December 2016. The FGDC website provides links and a list of commonly used GIS-related standards on their website at https://www.fgdc.gov/standards. INCITS has a catalog of their standards at https://www.incits.org/standards-information/catalog-of-standards.

FGDC

In 2018, the Geospatial Data Act (GDA) was signed into law. GDA was included as a component of the FAA Reauthorization Act. The GDA codifies the committees, processes, and tools used to develop, drive, and manage the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The Act established the FGDC as the lead entity in the executive branch to develop, implement, and review policies, procedures, practices, and standards in relation to geospatial data.

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

FGDC authored the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) to provide a common set of terminology and definitions for the documentation of digital geospatial data. Through this standard, the names of data elements and compound elements are established. This standard supports the collection and processing of geospatial metadata relied on by users internal or external to the organization (NSDI 1998). The main objectives of the CSDGM include

• Maintaining the investment in geospatial data by the organization,
• Presenting details regarding the data information, and
• Enabling data to be shared with and interpreted by external sources.

The FGDC Standards Working Group interacts with other federal standardization activities and external standards organizations to ensure the best possible technical foundation for data and web services, consistent with standards policies. Many ISO standards have been adopted by the FGDC, and in some cases, an FGDC standard has been adopted for use by ISO as well. Table 5-1 contains standards applicable to geospatial data governance, and for ease of reference, indicates the number of the ISO Standard.

In addition to the INCITS website, searching for these standards through ISO’s website (ISO.org) or the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) website (ANSI.org) for the latest standard will help. The standards are constantly undergoing revision, and not all parts or amendments are captured here.

NSDI

The NSDI is a body authorized by the FGDC that leverages investments in people, technology, data, and procedures to create and provide the geospatial knowledge required to understand, protect, and promote our national and global interests. Many public, private, and non-profit organizations collect and distribute geospatial data. Most of this data is appropriate for public release and consumption. NSDI provides a place-based framework for connecting public and private data for understanding and decision making. The FGDC develops or adopts geospatial standards for implementing the NSDI, in consultation and cooperation with state, local, and tribal governments, the private sector and academic community, and—to the extent feasible—the international community.

NSDI developed a standard procedure guide (NSDI 2005) to identify sensitive data and information content of geospatial data that pose a risk to security, which is covered in greater detail in Chapter 8.

help build facilities based on detailed data models, and then deliver the building model data used in design for use in commissioning and operation. The BIM data can help maintain asset data throughout the life cycle of the facility. In 2022, NIBS developed an implementation and launch plan for the U.S. National Building Information Management (BIM) Program. The BIM program’s aim is to achieve a new level of industrial efficiency through digitalization.

There is a difference between the NCS and the NBIMS. The NCS addresses traditional drafting used to develop design and construction drawings on paper. NBIMS defines the data standards for electronic exchange of data created and managed for building conception, creation, and facility operation. NCS will continue to be the standard to define design and construction drawing output from the BIM process.

Construction-Operations Building Information Exchange

The Construction-Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) standard defines a data exchange approach to take data from an electronic design file assembled by building designers and contractors and harvest applicable information for loading directly into an electronic asset management system to better maintain assets over their life cycle. Prior to electronic design files and the COBie data exchange standard, new asset information was typically imported manually, requiring time and manual resources.

Apple

The Indoor Mapping Data Format (IMDF) was developed by Apple and approved in 2021 by the Open Geospatial Consortium, a voluntary geospatial industry group. The IMDF standard enables an organization to develop map data using standard tools for their facility interiors and has the data displayed in the Apple Maps application so users can view and navigate mapped buildings using a mobile phone. Data collection uses the facilities’ Wi-Fi networks to establish locational accuracy.

Esri

Building Interior Space Data Model (BISDM)

The Building Interior Space Data Model (BISDM) goal is to define a standard for GIS-based interior space data. The data model is designed to be inclusive, accommodating common data from various disciplines, including site and architectural design, construction, facilities management, environmental management, and security or emergency preparedness. The BISDM model has been evolving for nearly two decades and what started as an industry-led voluntary committee, is now led by Esri.

Utility Model

Esri has established a set of utility standards to define a networked utility model. To date, utility mode networks have been released for the gas, electrical, telecommunications and water utilities. These templates are preloaded with feature rules, attribute values and advanced functionality for utility tracing, all within an Esri geodatabase. With the FAA’s simplified approach to utilities only containing a few attribute fields, the Esri standards can assist airports that manage their utilities at a higher level of detail.

Other Standards

There are other international and national standards organizations that have defined data standards, not specifically for geospatial data, but whose standard terminology can be used

as attribution. Data developed for other standards and useful for geospatial data attribution includes data such as defining a list of approved material types, establishing valid domain ranges for structure size or capacity, and generally defining appropriate attribute terminology. Several of these standards and organizations that can help standardize data attributes are as follows:

Aerospace Standards

ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) for Aerospace Industry

The aerospace industry is undergoing huge growth and rapid digital transformation. The digitization and implementation of tools and technologies has increased the risk of data and information misuse, as well as threats to individuals and organizations such as flight safety and security (ISO/IEC 2018).

The ISO/IEC 27001 standard from ISO and the International Electromechanical Commission (IEC) is a framework that helps organizations manage and protect their data and information so that they remain safe and secure. ISO/IEC 27001 implementation ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and information, such as financial data, or sensitive customer information. The standard helps identify the risks and puts appropriate security measures in place to manage them. This standard allows organizations to conduct their work safely and securely. Additionally, it provides business partners with a high level of confidence that data and information is being handled securely.

Through the implementation of this standard, organizations—regardless of size—will be able to manage their data and information to prevent cybersecurity threats, including the following:

• Travel agents handle large volumes of passenger data and therefore face the threat of cyberattack;
• Airports face the risk of leaked passenger personal data and movement information, compromised security surveillance systems, customs and passport control, border services, homeland defense, and air traffic control;

• Airline operators face the threat of passenger data attack on big data live streaming services, communications, and Wi-Fi; and
• Manufacturers and MROs (those performing maintenance, repair, and overhaul) need to consider the security of their in-house systems, research and development facilities, externally purchased hardware, firmware and software, and test equipment.

Passenger and Airport Data Interchange Standards (PADIS)

IATA has a dedicated board that deals with Passenger and Airport Data Interchange Standards (PADIS). The board develops and maintains electronic data interchange and XML message standards for passenger travel and airport-related passenger service activities. The PADIS standards are released twice a year.

PADIS governs the following:

• Publication of schedules and slot management;
• Airline shopping;
• Reservations and electronic ticketing, including electronic miscellaneous documents;
• Airport resource management and airport handling, including baggage handling;
• Data exchange between airlines and governments concerning passenger data (passenger name record governance [PNRGOV]);
• Data exchange between airlines and airports for operational flight related data (Aviation Information Data Exchange [AIDX]); and
• XML schemas for exchange of data on the barcoded boarding pass (BCBP).

Adapting Standards for Aviation

When it comes to standards airports can reference for implementation, take advantage of existing standards, and consult other airports as they will often share what works well for them and any lessons learned from when things did not go as planned. Adaptation is easier than authoring and is accepted within the industry. AC 150/5300-18B relies upon NCS for formatting layers and is similar to SDSFIE standards for GIS attribution.

U.S. DOT FHWA

FHWA developed and published a comprehensive data governance plan. This plan was created by the FHWA Data Governance Advisory Council (DGAC), which was formed as an advisory council to the FHWA Investment Review Board (IRB) that is chaired by the FHWA chief information officer. FHWA developed this data governance (FHWA 2015) to achieve the following goals:

• Increase consistency and coordination between existing new and data programs,
• Eliminate data redundancy,
• Consolidate data sources and resources, and
• Achieve regulatory compliance.

Tables 5-2 through 5-4 provide details from FHWA’s Data Governance Plan, including goals and objectives.

FHWA developed and adopted several data governance policies to ensure that the data is treated and managed consistently and appropriately throughout the organization, have procedures in place to identify and rectify data management deficiencies, and establish organization-wide data standards. Table 5-3 lists the data governance policies in place at FHWA.