Author Archives: Justin G.

GIS-Centric Asset Management and the ESRI 2010 International User Conference

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The annual ESRI International User Conference is always incredible, but this year novotX was nowhere to be found – no booth, and no people sitting through classes.  Are we crazy?

Maybe.

Online plenary presentations, Twitter, Foursquare, and LinkedIn groups helped us make the decision.  The biggest factor in our decision, however, was our customers.

So where were we?

At our office, working – just like most of you.

The fact is, this year we’ve been absolutely swamped with implementations and new customers coming onboard with our GIS-based asset and work management software.  So, instead of putting our resources into an exhibit hall and buying alcohol for anyone at the conference that could possibly buy our software, we decided to put our money into our existing customers.

Our goal is to keep our customers happy and provide GIS-based asset management software that works.

I’ll be the first to admit – there’s not a better place to see the latest technologies, learn from experts in the industry, and meet new geo-peeps.  These conferences have also proven to provide excellent resources for GIS admins to find information on asset and work management software applications that integrate with ESRI and other GIS products.

So for those of you who made it to the conference, hopefully we’ll see you next year.  For those of us who didn’t make it to the conference?  I guess we can count ourselves lucky that we didn’t have to walk through a crowded exhibit hall full of sales reps trying to Jedi Mind Trick us into buying whatever it is they’ve got to offer.  Exhibit halls are funny places, but I’ll save that for another post.

If you’d like to find conference information related GIS and Asset, Infrastructure, or Work Management (whether you attended the UC in person or not) you can join our newly formed LinkedIn group GIS in Asset, Infrastructure, and Work Management for Government and Utilities.

Elements Management Software integrates with ESRI and other GIS applications, providing GIS-centric asset and work management for government and utilities.  For more information visit www.novotx.com.

GIS, Asset Management Software, and Fred Savage

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The 80’s were great.  Two of my favorite things that came out of the 1980’s were:

  1. ‘Fletch’ in 1985 with Chevy Chase
  2. ‘The Wizard’ in 1989 with Fred Savage

Actually, there are some other pretty great things that came out of the 80’s (like Billy Ray Cyrus and B.U.M. Equipment clothing) but we’ll save those for another post.

Recently I was showing our GIS-based asset management software to a company when I was reminded of a scene from the 1985 hit ‘The Wizard’ starring Fred Savage.

I hope you all remember that movie – if you didn’t see it in 1985 you should definitely check it out as soon as you get a chance.  Here’s the scene I was reminded of:

My favorite is the last line of this clip: “I love the Power Glove, it’s so bad.”  And it was.  The Power Glove was indeed ‘so bad’ – it was terrible.

Does anyone remember that thing?  …that insanely awkward and uncomfortable NES controller that never really worked right no matter how many times you calibrated it and no matter how many times you typed in that stupid game-matching code on the keypad (yes, I owned one, so I’m speaking from experience).

Power Glove

The Power Glove was introduced in 1989 as a revolutionary new NES controller.

So how could it be so bad?  With all of those buttons and that awesome glove it was sure to be incredible, right?  Wrong.  Turns out this controller was way better:

NES Controller

The simple design of the original NES controller proved to be much more efficient and practical than the Power Glove.

The original NES controller was easier to understand, your hand didn’t get all sweaty, you didn’t have to calibrate it, left-handed people could use it too, you didn’t have to type in a bunch of codes for each game you played, and most of all – it worked.  Every single time.

And that’s how we feel about GIS and asset management software.  GIS and asset management should be simple.  Our ‘Elements’ GIS-based asset and work management software is intentionally designed to be under-complicated – it’s simple, quick to learn, quick to implement, and it works.

Just like the original NES controller, our combination of GIS and asset management software provides the same data (and most of the same functionality) as some of the more complicated systems out there, but with a little less stress and confusion.

I guess if I could have tried out that stupid glove before I bought it I would have kept my $100 and put it toward a Wii 20 years later.  So if you’d like to try out our ‘Elements’ GIS-based asset management software you can contact us here and we’ll be glad to set you up with a trial.

GIS in Asset & Infrastructure Management: New LinkedIn Group

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We’ve started a new LinkedIn Group for utilities and governments to share resources and information related to GIS and technologies for:

  • Asset & Infrastructure Management
  • Facilities Management
  • Work Orders
  • Permits
  • Licenses
  • Inspections
  • Other GIS technologies for utilities and government

So if you’re interested, join the group and help us promote industry news, software and hardware solutions, blogs, resources, and the like.  Have fun!

You can join the new LinkedIn group, GIS in Asset & Infrastructure Management for Government and Utilities by clicking here.

Water System Saves Big Money with GIS-Based Asset & Work Management Software

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Bountiful, UT – Bountiful Irrigation has recently expanded their GIS-based asset management software to include real-time mobile access and dynamic web-based data forms.

Serving over 12,000 households, Bountiful Irrigation has been using Elements Management Software as their GIS-based work and asset management solution since the product was initially released in 2006.   Until recently, Bountiful has used the software primarily to create and view information including phone call logs, jobsite photos, service requests, and work orders in a GIS-based environment.

“We originally selected Elements because it saved us quite a bit of money up front on GIS licenses.  It also seemed to have a smaller learning curve and quicker implementation than some of the other packages we evaluated” says Wes White, General Manager.

The company recently expanded their Elements software to push all of their data, including GIS, over the web – giving field operators the ability to access GIS data and complete work orders in real-time while on the go.

“We save a lot of time and money using the software over the web,” continues White “everyone is always on the same page and it’s easy to see how our projects are coming along.”

Bountiful has also implemented novotX’s ‘Envision’ module for Elements, which uses the web to give field workers access to archived plat drawings, photos, and property assessment information dating back over 50 years.

“We’re a small district in terms of employees, so we’ve got to be efficient” says White “…the Elements software has been critical to our success over the past 4 years.”

About Bountiful Irrigation

Located just north of Salt Lake City, Bountiful Irrigation provides secondary water to over 12,000 residents throughout the city of Bountiful.  The district was formed in 1959 and has grown to be one of the most efficient pressurized irrigation systems in the state of Utah.

About novotX

Located near Salt Lake City, UT, novotX publishes GIS-centric asset and work management software for governments and utilities.   Elements Management Software, the flagship product of novotX, allows integration with any industry-standard GIS platform to provide a simplified, cost-effective approach to GIS-based asset and work management.

For more information contact:

Justin Gough

novotX, L.L.C.

801.682.1400

justin@novotx.com

www.novotx.com

Follow novotX on Twitter @ novotX_GIS

Using HTML with Elements GIS-Based Asset & Work Management Software

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There’s something to be said about good old HTML.  Nothing new, nothing fancy, just plain old coolness.

Elements harnesses the power of HTML in several areas – configuring record layouts, designing data input forms, setting up web submission forms, and rendering GIS maps.

Yes, that’s right – you can use HTML with your GIS map renderings in Elements.  What I love about HTML is you can pretty much do whatever you want with it; it’s simple to learn, and adds an incredible amount of flexibility to any application.

So here’s a quick map I threw together using basic HTML to render labels on a GIS map showing Work Order locations.  This map is nothing incredibly fancy or over-the-top… but it’s clean, simple, it displays the information I’m looking for, and it took about 2 minutes to put it together.

Basic GIS map showing Work Order locations; using HTML to render labels. (click to enlarge)

The neat thing about Elements is you can do the same thing I did here with Service Requests, Business Licenses, Permits, Inspections, and just about anything else you can think of.

GIS, Asset & Work Management Software, and the Nintendo Wii

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Pop Quiz:  How many Wii consoles have been sold compared to PS3s and Xbox 360s? (And what does that have to do with GIS & asset management?)

Nintendo Wii

Simple, affordable, and easy to understand, the Nintendo Wii has outsold both the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Feature for feature both the Xbox 360 and PS3 blow the Wii out of the water.  Far better graphics, faster processors, more storage, you name it.  The Wii doesn’t compare.  However, the Wii has proven a couple of things:

  1. People like simple stuff.
  2. People like stuff they can afford.

To illustrate the point: Remember back in the fall of 2006 when the only way to get a Wii was to pay two times the retail price?  Remember how you had to buy it from some punk kid who was making a killing that year selling Wiis? …so you gladly let him rip you off while you gritted your teeth and paid like $500 for the stupid thing so your kid could have a one for Christmas?  Remember one year later at Christmas time when Wii’s were still hard to find?

Nintendo could not manufacture the things fast enough.

Well, they’ve done it again.  This time it’s a 3D video game console (handheld) that works without 3D glasses.

So what does this have to do with GIS and asset management software?  More than you might think.

You see, you’ve got Microsoft (Xbox 360), Sony (PS3), and Nintendo (Wii) all playing in the same space here.  Microsoft and Sony have been focusing their efforts on making super-powered-all-in-one entertainment hubs while Nintendo has been doing nothing of the sort.  Nintendo’s strategy?  Stick to what they do best – video games.

And their strategy seems to be working.

Nintendo has sold at least 70.9 million Wiis – compared to only 35.7 million PS3s and 40 million Xbox 360s (even though the 360 has been on the market for almost a full year longer than the Wii).

At novotX, we like Nintendo’s strategy.  For those of you who’ve seen our GIS-based asset and work management software you know it’s much like the Wii – simple, affordable, and easy to understand.

For those interested in reading more Nintendo’s 3D device, here’s the source article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hOgruq-9nbyzLje-SdR7w1KKI2hQD9GCELNG1

For anyone interested in checking out Elements, our GIS-based asset and work management software, you can contact us here:

http://www.novotx.com/Contact.aspx

GIS-Based Asset Management, Utility Billing, and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge

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I love the sound of an electric guitar.  I’m also a software guy.  So when CUSI invited us to team up in Nashville to show a fully integrated utility billing and GIS-based asset management solution I jumped at the chance.

The plan was simple: we would use our API to combine CUSI’s UMS .NET utility billing software with our GIS-based asset and work management software to provide a clean, GIS-based, fully integrated solution for medium to larger utilities.

Homerun.

The software was a rock star and booth #219 looked like Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on a Saturday night (minus the purple paint).  For those of you aren’t familiar with Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, it’s small – and it’s the most rockin’ place in town.  Stop by on a Saturday night and you can bet it will be standing room only, jam-packed with people spending money faster than they can pull it out of their wallets.

Small, rockin', and jam-packed with people, the CUSI booth at CS Week resembled Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.

Showing the software was a blast and the CUSI staff was incredible.  Product demonstrations ran back-to-back nearly the entire conference and utility systems across the US and Canada were able to see firsthand the advantages of combining utility billing with asset management in a GIS-centric environment.

I would say that showcasing the integrated utility billing and GIS-based asset management software was my favorite thing about CS Week, but like I said earlier – nothing beats the sound of an electric guitar.

GIS and Maintenance Management for Small Utilities

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Utilities and public works organizations often face a daunting task when it comes to efficiently managing maintenance schedules and routine activities that are required to properly maintain public infrastructure.

The video below demonstrates a simple way to integrate maintenance management with GIS to easily keep track of calendar events and scheduled maintenance.  We put this short video together to show how smaller utilities can benefit from the built-in calendars and scheduling tools in Elements while leveraging their GIS investment.

Super Mario Bros. and GIS-Based Work Management Systems

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In 1985 Super Mario Bros. was released in United States and was the best-selling video game of all time for over two decades (until Wii Sports outsold it in 2009).

Part of the reason Super Mario Bros. was so successful is because Mario was able to eat those gigantic Mushrooms and double his size – giving him the ability to take an extra hit from most enemies and break those red bricks with ease (he could also shoot fire balls if he ate the Fire Flower, which was pretty cool).

In Super Mario Bros. 2 he gained a different power – you’ll remember that Mario was able to pull up weeds out of the ground (which would turn into bottles of magic potion), and throw those bottles of potion on the ground to create magic doors – leading to an alternate world where he could make himself rich by collecting lots of coins.

Then, in 1990, came Super Mario Bros. 3 – a billion-dollar-plus gross revenue producer that gave Mario his best powers yet:

  1. He learned to fly (always wished I could do that), and
  2. He got a GIS-based work management system.

Apparently sometime between 1985 and 1990 Mario realized he could do his job better if he could see his work on a map.

Marios GIS and Work Management System

Mario's GIS-based work management system

Ironically, it was about that same period that companies began using GIS together with their asset and work management software.  Originally these systems were crude and extremely difficult to implement and maintain – however they’ve come a long way and today’s GIS-based work management systems are much more manageable.

GIS-based work management software

A modern version of Mario's GIS-based work management system

My favorite thing about Mario’s GIS-based work management system is the dancing cacti and cheerful background music.  My favorite thing about modern GIS-based work management systems is the ability for organizations to see where their Work Orders are taking place, use the maps to manage maintenance activities, and visualize work history patterns.

Here’s a quick video demonstrating GIS integration with asset management software:

And just for fun, here’s a video that shows you how to beat Super Mario Bros. 3 in record time (note the dancing cacti and great music that accompany the maps):

…who knows, maybe someday we’ll see dancing cacti and cheerful background music as added features in GIS-based asset and work management software. :)