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Here you can read frequently asked questions and answers about HMK. The questions are grouped by subject area.
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General questions about HMK
No, HMK is not a regulation. The guidelines in HMK are only binding if the contracting parties or principals choose to apply them, e.g. in procurement or in own regulations.
The manuals are intended as a support for professional geodata collection, geodetic measurement and map production. The advice directed at customers is based on experiences and requirements that the National Land Survey, the municipalities and the Swedish Transport Administration have within their respective areas of activity.
Requirements in HMK are referenceable guidelines in the HMK manuals with the heading "Requirements". Use of requirements presupposes that there is an agreement between a customer / setter of requirements and a contractor where reference is made to the specific requirements in HMK.
As a customer, there is always the opportunity to deviate from or supplement the requirements contained in HMK. The requirements are reported in light red boxes at the beginning of numbered sections in manuals from version 2020.
HMK does not contain any guidelines for assessing authorizations in connection with regulations or the like. On the other hand, Lantmäteriet, in consultation with universities and other stakeholders, has formulated a recommendation on Basic Surveying Technical Skills.
This should primarily be used as a benchmark for merits that can be seen as reasonable for independent work/responsibility. Basic metrological skills thus do not replace a formal eligibility assessment, but can be included in it.
See also section 3.1 in HMK - Introduction 2017 (in Swedish, pdf, new window).
Several of the HMK manuals contain guidelines for the design and use of a technical specification, ie. an interface between customer and contractor where the production requirements are gathered. These manuals also contain templates and examples based on the guidelines.
The reference document HMK - Introduction 2017 (in Swedish, pdf, new window) addresses formal aspects of procurement, for example law.
HMK documents are updated as needed. The latest manual versions are reviewed at least once a year. In connection with the review, minor updates can be made, which is reported in the HMK log (in Swedish, pdf, new window). Comments from users can normally be handled in the same way.
Major updates that cause new versions are planned and anchored in the HMK Reference Group, which includes a consultation process. Please note that older versions of the manuals are also available for download. The reason for this is that the manuals can be included as a basis - and therefore be "valid" - in an ongoing procurement, even if new manual versions have been published since then.
The need for new handbooks is often mapped with the help of HMK's reference group, which is an important forum for industry dialogue and input to HMK. In addition to this, we try to capture views and wishes at conferences, seminars and information meetings.
Received proposals are prioritized based on needs/benefits and resources. When a new handbook project is initiated, it normally takes place in a working group, where stakeholders contribute with subject competence.
There are both pedagogical and linguistic reasons to prefer the concept of "measurement uncertainty". First, it is more in line with the measurement science principle that all measurements should be considered more or less uncertain, e.g. the coordinate determinations that take place in connection with geodata collection.
There is nothing flawless to compare with, as the term "accuracy" may suggest. Secondly, there is a linguistic logic in that the quality measure becomes greater when we say that measurement uncertainty increases. For "accuracy", the opposite is true.
Read more: GUM, to express measurement uncertainty.
All previous versions of the manuals are available via the HMK website: Older versions of HMK documents.
These should still be considered valid according to the current procurement documentation, even if they contain a different set of requirements and recommendations than later versions. It is therefore important that all references to HMK manuals contain the full document name, including version designation (ie year designation).
Note that some minor updates (links, spelling errors, etc.) are performed in existing manual versions if they are not of decisive importance for requirements. Such updates are reported in the HMK log (in Swedish, pdf, new window).
Originally, HMK was an abbreviation for " Handbook for the measurement announcement" which replaced TFA, "Technical explanations and instructions for the measurement announcement".
When work on HMK was resumed in 2011, the name was changed to "Handbook of measurement and map issues" as the survey announcement was abolished in 2010.
Nowadays, HMK is made with the support of, among other things, the following sections in Ordinance (2009: 946) with instructions forLantmäteriet:
- Lantmäterietshall work for uniformity, coordination and quality within the measurement area and within the map technical area (Section 5 p6)
- Lantmäterietshall within the framework of its area of activity also otherwise provide advice and support (Section 6 p6)
Questions about digital base map
Yes, delivery format is up to the municipality to choose for the time being. In the long run, any recommendations or regulations may come into question in the format issue.
The property list does not refer to "property list for the base map", but "property list for detailed plan work". Property list and base map according to PBL are two different bases for detailed plan work. They do not have to have a completely identical coverage area.
The property list always includes at least the base map area, but can also refer to a larger area to handle the contact area for the detailed plan.
No, the recommendation is that everything should be 100% correct, but the level of ambition of the work is determined jointly between the contractor and the client.
It is unnecessary to measure all buildings with 100% accuracy if the purpose of the plan is that e.g. only take over the roads in a residential area or allow for densification of housing in a part of an area.
It is the purpose of the plan that determines how much and how accurately objects should be measured and checked in an area. In an area with leasehold plots e.g. both plantings and hedges can be important objects for the planning officer to be able to investigate whether it is possible to form properties based on leases.
- Rights granted in the event of separation
- Contract rights granted in connection with the transaction
- Agreement on wiring
- Possession-protected leases
It is appropriate to save and reuse geometries for contractual rights for future work with property investigations.
Note, however, that the locally saved information should only be seen as a basis for future property investigations that need to be checked and updated. This is because the information may contain shortcomings in the form that contractual rights may have been written off or added.
How information is handled in detail is up to the municipality, as different municipalities have different routines and systems.
HMK-Digital base map does not constitute a constitution but only a handbook with recommendations. Neither Lantmäteriet nor the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning have issued any regulations on standards for the design of basic maps.
It is the municipality itself, as the person responsible for personal data for processing, must make the legal the assessments necessary under the GDPR, including assessment of legal (legal) basis under Article 6 (1) GDPR. Lantmäteriet can not make these assessments for the municipality.
Other areas
HMK - Building and construction, HMK-BA, is not included in today's HMK. HMK-BA was developed in the 1990s as an industry-specific complement to older HMK (Handbook for the measurement announcement).
Today, HMK-BA is owned by the research council Formas. However, the series has not been revised, but is still published in its original form.
A more detailed status description of HMK-BA can be found in the report HMK-TR 2018: 2 (in Swedish, pdf, new window).
Drones are not available as a separate manual theme/collection method. On the other hand, drones are mentioned in other manuals under the name UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems), e.g. in HMK - Aerial Photography 2017 (in Swedish, pdf, new window) and in HMK - Photogrammetric detail measurement 2017 (in Swedish, pdf, new window).
HMK - Aerial Photography 2017 (in Swedish, pdf, new window) processes oriented aerial images in plumb; how these are produced, controlled and documented. The starting point is airborne collection of images in plumb with a GNSS/INS-supported digital aerial image camera, but aerial images in plumb with UAS are also handled.
In geodetic measurement, we have judged that it is more difficult to set requirements for a streamlined production process, partly because many measurement and calculation methods can be selected and combined to solve different tasks.
On the other hand, the concept "basic design" is found in the geodesy manuals, which is assumed to correspond to professional design. This can be used for setting requirements.
As with all other measurements, the positions via GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems, eg GPS) can be more or less uncertain, e.g. due to the satellite signals being affected by various sources of error along the path to the receiver. The fact that the "starting points" are 2000 km away and in motion also makes it difficult to assess how reliable your actual position is.
With good measurement methodology and ground-based support systems / services, e.g. SWEPOS in Sweden, reduces the risk of major errors in position. GNSS can then enable position determination at the centimeter level directly in national or global reference systems.
Read more about measurement methodology:
HMK - GNSS-based detailed measurement 2020 (in Swedishpdf, new window).HMK - Frame survey 2020 (in Swedish, pdf, new window).
Read more about SWEPOS, the national network of fixed reference stations for GNSS (new window).