DIGITAL METROLOGY FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING QUALITY CONTROL IN HIGH-VOLTAGE SUBSTATION AND TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

The critical measurements for high voltage substation and transmission-line projects are dimensional,electrical,geospatial, thermal, mechanical and documentary.Their reliability directly impacts safety,commissioning, asset performance and contractual acceptance. However, the current quality control practices often treat measurements as isolated inspection records, but not as traceable electronic evidence with design tolerances, calibration status, uncertainty, location, responsible personnel, and corrective actions. The review synthesises recent research on digital metrology, machine-readable calibration, sensor networks, digital substations, point-cloud inspection, unmanned aerial systems, building-information-model-based quality control, and digital twins, to propose an integrated framework for high-voltage projects in Saudi Arabia. The proposed framework links calibrated field instruments and sensors to a regulated measurement-data layer, automated conformity rules, spatial models, and project-level quality decisions. Critical analysis shows that digitalization improves repeatability and traceability only when measurement uncertainty, synchronisation, metadata integrity, interoperability and calibration provenance are explicitly preserved. The biggest opportunities in substations are in digitally traceable testing of protection, current and voltage measurements, equipment alignment, grounding, and commissioning evidence. UAV photogrammetry, LiDAR, thermal imaging and point-cloud comparison can be used to extend quality verification for transmission lines over corridors, towers, conductors, insulators, clearances and foundations.