Geodatabase Design
Utility Systems Data Modeling
Enterprise-scale geodatabases that take advantage of traditional GIS, network analysis, and distributed field editing
Related Case Studies
Enterprise GIS for Utility Systems Data Modeling
Utility services are complex because they cover many geographic points from power stations, to electricity poles, to substations, to telephone poles to house or building junction boxes
To operate efficiently, utility managers need to have ready access to critical summary information, from personnel locations in the field to political boundaries to highway and road information. More broadly, local utilities need to be able to integrate with larger utility databases - (water, sewer, storm, and combined sewer features that are also consistent across the county). The goal is to be able to integrate peripheral systems, share data with municipalities that may have different systems, and take advantage of federal standards, which may allow federal funding.
GIS data model that automatically populates an asset management system
An Enterprise GIS can be used in:
- Resource distribution (water, electricity, etc)
- Infrastructure maintenance
- Emergency response and Incident Management
- Automated mapping
- Network tracing
- Flow analysis
- Compliance with Federal and Local standards
- Customer service
Real-time updates to electrical grid connectivity and routing
Real-time Network adjustments
Utility Model GIS allows network connectivity to be generated on the fly
A Farallon Utility Model GIS allows network connectivity to be generated on the fly, as edits are made, based on the rules and relationships established in the geodatabase design. With traditional GIS data models, no relationship exists among pipes that are added into the system. A separate, time-consuming (especially with large utility datasets) external process for building network connectivity must be run. Every time a change is made to a pipe, network connectivity has to be rebuilt. Because network connectivity is live in our GIS network utility data models, updates are automatic and there is no need to run outside network connectivity routines every time a change is made in the database.