Category Archives: Work Management Systems

GIS-Based Asset Management & Seamless Utility Billing Integration

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Integrating GIS, Asset Management, and Utility Billing is critical to many organizations.  The Elements UMS.net integration provides a seamless integration to CUSI’s innovative utility billing software giving utilities and municipalities the ability to:
  • Manage Service Orders and Work Orders in the same application
  • Manage backflow devices, transformers, and other assets pertaining to water, sewer, and electric companies
  • Access UMS.net billing and financial data in the field via the web
  • UMS.net integration provides improved accuracy of residential and property data in asset management software
  • View UMS.net data on GIS maps to visualize high usage areas, potential problem areas, top revenue generating areas, and other important data
  • Access important financial and utility billing data directly from UMS.net.

The seamless utility billing tools in Elements have been specifically designed to match the look and feel of the UMS.net application to minimize the learning curve and improve communication among departments.

For more information or to request a demonstration visit www.cusi.com or www.novotx.com.

GIS-Based Asset and Work Management Software with Full GIS Integration and Industry Standard Compatibility

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If you’re looking to integrate your GIS with an asset management package there are several options to consider.  Elements Management Software offers the following features in a single, standalone application.

Full GIS Integration

Elements provides a comprehensive set of GIS-based asset and work management tools in a single, standalone application giving utilities and municipalities the ability to:

  • Manage work orders, permits, licenses, inspections and other important data in a GIS-based environment using GIS data from any industry standard application including ESRI, MapInfo, Manifold, Autodesk, and others
  • Maintain assets and critical infrastructure in a GIS-based environment without requiring third-party GIS licenses
  • Tie work history and asset management data to any GIS asset
  • Associate asset and work management data to non-customer related assets and accounts
  • Take advantage of GIS-based asset and work management without incurring additional GIS expenses
  • Visualize work history and asset locations on GIS maps
  • Visualize geographic areas containing high concentrations of work orders and other data
  • Effectively distribute capital improvement funds by quickly finding problem areas and assets with high failure rates
  • Maximize existing GIS investments
  • Use GIS data from any source or application to manage assets and infrastructure in a visual, geographical environment
  • Powerful GIS Tools In a Standalone Application

Elements provides asset, work management, and GIS data in a single application – reducing costs and minimizing the learning curve.

  • All information, including GIS data, is accessible in a single application
  • Full GIS integration is provided without requiring third-party GIS licenses
  • Reduced learning curve; third-party GIS applications are eliminated
  • Reduced maintenance and overhead for support staff
  • Quicker overall implementation

Industry Standard Compatibility

Elements allows municipalities and utilities to maximize their GIS investment, regardless of which GIS technologies are currently being used by the organization.

  • Full GIS support for any industry standard GIS application including ESRI, MapInfo, Manifold, Autodesk, and others
  • Organizations with little or no GIS can use Elements to take advantage of GIS-based asset and work management by obtaining GIS data from resources such as counties, state, and local governments then using that data with Elements
  • GIS data from varying sources and multiple applications can be used together to manage assets and infrastructure

Elements Management Software integrates with ESRI and other GIS applications to provide GIS-based asset and work management tools for utilities and government.   To learn more about Elements and related products offered by novotX visit www.novotx.com.

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, 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

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. :)

Small City Hits Big Homerun with GIS & Asset Management Software

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West Point, UT – The city of West Point, UT has recently expanded their GIS and work management software, reducing costs and increasing return on investment.

As one of the fastest growing cities in Utah, West Point adopted Elements Management Software by novotX in late 2006 to integrate their developing GIS with a work management package.   Top priorities for the city included the ability to create work orders, log phone calls, keep track of job costing, and manage maintenance schedules in a GIS-centric environment.

Recently West Point has recently expanded the software to manage business licenses, building permits, inspections, and certificates of occupancy in a GIS-centric environment.

Boyd Davis, City Engineer and GIS Administrator, says the greatest advantage of using Elements is that the software “combines many functions into one user-friendly software package. “

“Our greatest success so far has been implementing the inventory tracking features.   When our public works employees complete a work order they input the amount of time spent on each work order and any parts or supplies that were used during the job.   This makes it easy for us to keep track of where our time and resources are being spent.   The need for asset management and work order tracking is something that every city needs” says Davis.

Since the original implementation of Elements Management Software, additional departments have taken advantage of the technology and the software now reaches far beyond public works.   West Point is currently using Elements Management Software in the following departments:

  • Water Department
  • Wastewater Department
  • Code Enforcement
  • Building Department
  • Permits & Licenses

Plans to expand Elements Management Software into additional departments are currently in the works.

About West Point

West Point is a community of 11,000 situated just 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City, along the shore of the picturesque Great Salt Lake. One of the fastest growing communities in Utah, West Point is fast becoming one of the finest and most vibrant communities in the Beehive State.   Visit www.westpointcity.org to learn more.

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

Lessons from MacGyver: Maps, GIS, and Work Management Systems

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Using GIS for asset and work management systems is great.  However, after watching the clip below I realized that there are far better things we could be doing with maps.

According to MacGyver, here are five things you can do with a map (no GIS required):

  1. Unlock a door.
  2. Shoot sharp objects at your enemies.
  3. Beat up bad guys.
  4. Go sledding at the sand dunes.
  5. Patch holes in hot air balloons.

So there you go. Pretty darn incredible.

By the way, if anyone who reads this has used their GIS to patch a hole in a hot air balloon or beat-up armed assailants please leave a comment and we’ll be sure to get you some sort of valuable prize.