Frequently Asked Questions

Contact the DQM Center at dqm-support@usace.army.mil. DQM will provision an IoT device for your plant and issue a Plant Identifier, Device ID, and connection string.

If your dredge plant has not previously used DQM, contact the DQM Center for a Plant Identifier and to begin the onboarding process. You will need to submit a Dredge Plant Instrumentation Plan (DPIP) and pass a certification QA check before beginning work.

For all DQM-related inquiries — onboarding, credentials, test devices, plant type assignment, payload schemas, or general support — email dqm-support@usace.army.mil.

No. No separate payment will be made for the installation, operation, maintenance, or certification of the DQM system. All costs are considered a subsidiary obligation of the contractor and covered under the contract unit price for dredging.

All of it is included. The specification goes into a contract in full, with every section intact — nothing is removed to suit a particular job.

Which paragraphs actually apply is decided by the plant working the job: only the paragraphs for the plant types in use on the contract are applicable, and where the specification lists options or variables, only the options called out for that contract apply.

Data format depends on your plant type. Hopper and scow dredges use XML; pipeline and mechanical dredges use JSON. All data strings must include a plant identifier and a UTC timestamp. Contact DQM for example data strings and schemas (such as the DQM web service URL, headers, authorization credentials, and communication protocol information). For more information including sample strings please see the Requirements>Data Transmission page.

If connectivity is lost, data must be queued locally and transmitted upon restoration of connectivity. Start with the oldest data in the queue and continue until real-time transmission is restored.

All reported times must be referenced to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to ensure consistency across all DQM data. The reported time must be synchronized from an accurate source such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) in the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) datastring. 24-hour Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.

The contractor must preserve archival data for a minimum period of one year following contract completion. The DQM Center or USACE may require the contractor to provide copies of this data at no additional cost.

State data provides information about the current operational state of the dredge. It is submitted daily through the DQM Contractor Management site from the first day of dredging through the final day, reporting on all activities.

No. State data is required for hopper, pipeline and mechanical plant. A scow meets its reporting obligation through its automated data strings alone.

If a system outage leaves a gap that your onboard backup cannot fill, record a clear explanation of the cause and the duration of the gap in the DQM Contractor Management Site within 48 hours.

At the completion of dredging activities, all data gaps must be filled or otherwise addressed.

A raw sensor sample reported in a data string must have been acquired no more than 1 second before that string's timestamp. Any averaged or computed parameter must be derived from samples acquired within the reporting interval.

If averaging or calculation happens anywhere other than in the sensor itself, document how it is done in your DPIP.

Yes, provided the whole path is automated end to end with no manual step in it. If you use a relay, the scow must transmit to the relay no less frequently than every 4 hours, and the relay must forward to the DQM web service immediately and automatically on receipt.

Contact the DQM Center at least three weeks prior to certification expiration to schedule QA checks. At least one week before the target date, verbally coordinate a specific date and location, then follow up with written email confirmation.

DQM Center personnel will bring hard-hats, steel-toe boots, and life jackets. If additional safety equipment is needed (eye protection, safety harnesses, work gloves, personal location beacons), the dredging contractor is responsible for providing these items.

Yes, a dredge plant does not have to be transmitting data between jobs. However, to retain certification, the system sensors and hardware should not be disconnected or removed from the dredge. If powered down, calibration coefficients must be retained.

Certification may be revoked if performance requirements are not continuously met, as verified by onsite QA checks and periodic review of transmitted data. This includes failure to maintain data quality, untimely responses to QA notifications, or inaccurate state data entry.

Recertification is required for changes in sensor type or location, and any yard work that modifies reported dredging operations, volumes, or locations. For hoppers and scows, this includes modifications to displacement and/or bin volume such as changes in bin dimensions or repositioning of draft marks.

Yes. Changes to computation methods must be approved by the DQM Center before they are implemented.

Any addendum or modification to the DPIP made after its original submission must also be submitted to the DQM Center prior to the start of work.

No specific brand is required. DQM is performance based, any sensor that meets the published specification is acceptable. You may also select any system provider or vendor to support and maintain your system as needed. DQM/USACE does not provide or support the equipment.

If your dredge already has the meters, yes. The Small Business profile removes the obligation to install velocity and density instrumentation on a dredge that is not already equipped. It does not excuse a dredge that has them from reporting what they read, and those readings must meet the same standard as under the Standard profile.

The same rule applies to a scow with bin sensors working under the Monitoring profile: if the sensors are fitted, bin ullage and bin volume are reported.

The value that is written into the specification for your contract. Water density is project- and location-specific, so the specification leaves a blank for it, and it is used to interpolate between the plant’s fresh and salt water displacement tables.

The specification gives fresh water as 1000 kg/m³ (1 g/cm³) and salt water as 1027–1030 kg/m³ (1.027–1.03 g/cm³). If your contract does not state a value, ask the DQM Center before you begin.

Document and complete replacements, repairs, and calibrations immediately — within 48 hours of discovery. If not possible within 48 hours, notify the DQM Center with an explanation and expected completion time.

The sensor log (kept in the DPIP) must contain a three-year history including: time of sensor failures and repairs, time and results of calibrations, time of replacements, time backup systems were activated, and the name of the person responsible for the work.

Yes. Provide an easily accessible visual display onboard the dredge plant that shows in real time the raw parameters collected by the system, in the same units used for data submitted to the DQM database. If a parameter is calculated from multiple sensors, the individual sensor values must also be viewable.

Yes. The DQM Center may request recalibration of sensors or other hardware components at any time during the contract as deemed necessary.