Case Studies on GIS/IT Integration
California ISO GIS and Transmission Information Display System
Challenge
The California ISO manages the transmission of electricity through the State's extensive network of high voltage lines. To manage the electrical grid in response to factors such as wild land fires and extreme weather, the ISO needed a complete and positionally accurate accurate representation of the grid from all of the State's primary electricity generators and transmitters.
Solution
Farallon developed a Unified GIS data model that merged the State's major power generators' GIS data into a single, consistent, validated, and audited database. It offers a broad array of online and offline visualization and mapping capabilities and can easily integrate future external databases. Read more details...
Categories: Web Applications, GIS/IT Integration, Geodatabase Design, Network GIS
Automated integration between San Mateo County’s GIS and asset management system
Challenge
San Mateo County catalogs infrastructure assets and creates preventative maintenance schedules using Hansen's asset management software. Spatial data from their GIS could automatically update corresponding location information in the asset management system. However many data fields were derived using GIS tools and then had to be entered manually.
Solution
Farallon implemented a complete automated solution that would keep the two databases in sync for all types of data. This resulted in more complete and accurate data as well as an expected labor cost savings of almost 15 times the investment. Read more details...
Categories: GIS/IT Integration, Asset Management Systems
MTC StreetSaver PMS-GIS scalable web application
Challenge
Sonoma County had worked with Farallon to integrate their GIS with MTC StreetSaver pavement management system (PMS). MTC wanted to make this integrated GIS-PMS solution more widely accessible and asked Farallon to create a web-based implementation that would be used by Sonoma County and then extended to other Bay Area jurisdictions.
Solution
Farallon designed and deployed a custom web-based application which displays Streetsaver tabular reports along with a map highlighting corresponding street sections. The web-services XML based application will readily scale to accommodate other Bay Area counties and completely new applications. Read more details...
Categories: Web Applications, GIS/IT Integration, Pavement Management
Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Oracle Spatial Transportation Asset Management
Challenge
UDOT maintenance division had developed an Oracle database with tabular reports to track and analyze Utah's 5,900 miles of roads and 250,000+ transportation-related assets. UDOT wanted to integrate this with a web-based map interface to make spatial and business data more accessible and allow for field verification techniques.
Solution
Farallon worked with UDOT to create an enterprise-wide spatial database building on their existing Oracle infrastructure. This allowed UDOT to pilot a spatially enabled transportation asset management system, without having to deploy a new or separate GIS. Read more details...
Categories: Web Applications, GIS/IT Integration, Asset Management Systems, Geodatabase Design, GPS Field Data Collection, Planning & Training, Training & Technology Transfer
San Francisco street sweeping maps let residents avoid parking citations
Challenge
The complexity of street sweeping schedules in San Francisco makes it all too common for a resident to park in the wrong spot, at the wrong time, and receive a parking citation. A local entrepreneur sought a cartographic solution to this urban inconvenience.
Solution
Farallon developed neighborhood maps for public use that display street sweeping schedules by day and time. Because of the sheer volume of maps and frequently changing schedules, Farallon used ArcObjects and a geodatabase to automate the creation and easy update of these maps. Read more details...
Categories: GIS/IT Integration, Asset Management Systems
Oakland uses orthophotography & enterprise GIS for parcel management and economic analysis
Challenge
The City of Oakland wanted to improve the usefulness and accuracy of its existing parcel data and integrate it with an enterprise geodatabase to expand city services across multiple departments.
Solution
Farallon and its team built an enterprise-scale parcel database using spatially accurate orthophotographs and integrated it with a new master address database, which was created in just six months. That high level of integration meant that any City information with a spatial or property component could be spatially enhanced, including property review, permit tracking, land-use planning and notification, and E-911 dispatch. Read more details...
Categories: Web Applications, Notification, Property Review, GIS/IT Integration, Master Address Database, Geodatabase Design
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District Brings Enterprise GIS to the Fire Truck
Challenge
The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District provides fire and ambulance service to a rapidly growing population from two cities. New land development meant that the District's GIS maps, CAD system, and records management system had to be integrated to allow fire fighters to quickly find homes in new subdivisions and confirm that nearby fire hydrants were connected to functional pressure zones.
Solution
Farallon helped the district implement a web-based system that links GIS with CAD and records management databases, providing dispatchers and fire fighters with a consolidated and near real-time view of dispatch, hydrant, and logistics (best access to remote rescue areas). The geodata can be forwarded directly to the responding units via the onboard mobile data computers in the vehicles. Read more details...
Categories: Web Applications, GIS/IT Integration, Asset Management Systems, Geodatabase Design, GPS Field Data Collection
Sonoma County’s GIS Pavement Management System with Real-Time Scenario and Maintenance Analysis
Challenge
Sonoma County Public Works is responsible for maintaining 1,400 miles of roads. To display road maintenance conditions, County managers printed out hard copy maps from their GIS and then manually highlighted problem areas that were identified using MTC's Streetsaver pavement management software.
Solution
Farallon worked with the County to implement an integrated GIS pavement management system (PMS) that dynamically segments street data into pavement sections. Visual displays are now always in sync with the PMS data and can be used for real-time scenario and maintenance analysis.
Read more details...
Categories: GIS/IT Integration, Pavement Management
Davis County, Utah Enterprise Parcel Database and Web Application Development
Challenge
Davis County wanted to transform their existing GIS system by developing an enterprise geodatabase and website capable of delivering dynamic spatial information for property review.
Solution
Farallon designed a Land Information System (LIS) database and web portal that supports the county's property management workflows and converts the county's legacy file-based data to a SQL Server geodatabase. The web-based property review application consolidates property ownership, taxation, and jurisdiction information from several county databases. Read more details...
Categories: Web Applications, Property Review, GIS/IT Integration, Geodatabase Design
Caltrans - Linear Referencing System (LRS) Data Model
Challenge
The California Department of Transportation, (Caltrans) is a large agency that supports numerous departments, business processes, projects and personnel. A subset of Caltrans tasked with the maintenance and analysis of road data, was working to develop map-based asset management and analysis. It needed a way to leverage existing transportation asset data and create a system with the flexibility to withstand future changes in technology and data collection.
Solution
Farallon developed a new data model based on Caltrans' existing linear referencing system (LRS). The new model allows for a multitude of highway system data (road conditions, terrain specifics, surrounding properties) that were measured in disparate methods to be used geospatially for location referencing needs. Read more details...
Categories: GIS/IT Integration, Asset Management Systems, Geodatabase Design, Transportation & Linear Networks