Category Archives: Work Orders

3 Quick Tips for Selecting GIS-Based Asset and Work Management Software

Posted on by
Reply

When selecting GIS-based asset and work management software, companies can save a lot of headache (and money) by doing a little bit of homework upfront.

So for those of you who are currently evaluating your options for GIS-based work order and/or asset management software, here are a few quick tips:

“Ready, Fire, Aim!”

There’s only one person in the real world who can consistently find success using this approach:

Seriously, check out those balloon shots at 1:08!

So, unless you’re buying your GIS-based asset management and/or work order software from Bob Munden (featured in the above video), you may want to avoid vendors that don’t aim before they fire.    Look for a vendor that will take some time prior to contract signing to carefully analyze your business processes and clarify how their software will address the specific needs of your organization.  This takes more than a demo or two – often times this takes several weeks or even months to complete.  You may end up paying for this service from the vendor, but the time and money savings down the road will be well worth the extra effort up front!

Surprises are awesome on your birthday; not-so-awesome when you’re buying new software.

Here’s a good example of how awkward things can be (for both parties) when expectations are not clearly laid out ahead of time:

When you buy a new iPod, headphones are in the box – and it’s a good thing, because you need them.  Make sure you know what’s “in the box” (and what’s not) before you sign any contracts.  Remember, there’s nothing worse than finding out after the fact that the single most important feature you saw in the demo is part of an additional module or third-party application that you need to buy separately… especially when you have to go through the entire budget process (again) to purchase the required module.

Sometimes “no” is the best answer.

Remember the movie Yes Man?  Sometimes I think that certain vendors put their sales reps through the magical “Yes” course in the movie:

Believe it or not I’ve had people tell me that they prefer vendors who say no once in a while – as in “no, we don’t have that feature” or “no, we don’t support that type of data” or maybe even “no, our software is not the best choice for your company.” They say it indicates honesty and a trustworthy vendor.  Now – obviously if a vendor tells you that their software is not the best choice for your company, I would recommend not purchasing their software.  However, if a vendor says “no” to certain features that you may be looking for, I wouldn’t give up hope – I would suggest digging a little deeper and looking to see if the vendor has a possible workaround or maybe a different  (possibly better) solution for your problem.

In summary, selecting GIS-based asset and/or work order management software can be a daunting task.  Remember to take your time, make sure everything is clearly explained (for both parties) before signing any contracts, and don’t be afraid to hear an honest answer from a vendor.

Have an experience selecting software that you’d like to share?  Let us know!

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

Posted on by
Reply

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, Asset Management Software, and Fred Savage

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
1

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

Rubik’s Cube vs. GIS-Based Asset & Work Order Management Software

Posted on by
Reply

Raise your hand if you can solve a Rubik’s Cube.  Don’t worry, you’re reading this by yourself and nobody realized that you didn’t put your hand up.  The truth is not many people can solve them (if you solved yours by peeling off and rearranging the last 2 stickers it doesn’t count).

Rubik's Cube

The original 3 x 3 x 3 Rubik's Cube. Working with GIS-based asset and work management software can be a lot like solving a Rubik's Cube.

The original 3 x 3 x 3 Rubik’s Cube was first introduced in 1974 and has since caused hours of confusion and frustration for people all around the globe.

GIS-based asset management software was introduced about 15 years later and has caused equal amounts of confusion and frustration – especially for governments and utilities.  In fact, given the opportunity to choose between figuring out a Rubik’s Cube and figuring out some fancy new GIS-based asset and work management software, I best most people would take the cube.

When properly executed, combining GIS with asset management and work order software provides huge returns on investment for governments and utilities around the world every day.  However if not done properly, attempting to implement a GIS-centric asset and work order management system can quickly turn into the deepest money pit you’ve ever seen.

Here are a few quick tips to avoid potential disaster:

  1. Start with a 3 x 3 x 3 cube. Have you ever seen those crazy cubes that are odd shapes and have many sizes?  Yes, they look fun and exciting – but the more sides and the more twists and turns on a Rubik’s Cube, the greater the challenge.  Same goes for your software – the more bells and whistles you cram into your GIS-based work order software, the more complications you are likely to encounter.  You can always expand as needed – remember to keep it simple (especially up front) and make sure you select something that fits the needs of your organization!
  2. Don’t peel off the stickers. I know, it’s tempting…  Just peel off those last two stickers and be done with the stupid thing.  The truth is the cube will never look the same once you start peeling off the stickers – and the more stickers you peel off, the more likely you’ll never get them back to their rightful places.  With your GIS-based asset management software the same principle applies – don’t cut corners – the more you try to hack things together and make do with the wrong tools, the more likely you are to face complications.  And just like the stickers, once you’ve peeled off enough of those things the only way to fix it is to buy a new cube.  Luckily cubes are cheap, software is not.
  3. Don’t give up! Even the 3 x 3 x 3 cube can be a challenge at first.  But remember, just like the Rubik’s Cube, if you read the instructions (and maybe get a little bit of training) you’ll be just fine (if your software didn’t come with instructions or training you’re in trouble).

As a side note, I’d be interested to see how many people who read this post can solve a 3 x 3 x 3 cube.  If you can solve a cube, leave a comment and I’ll compare that to the number of hits this post receives over the coming weeks and I’ll post the results for anyone who’s interested!

Miss South Carolina on GIS & Work Management Software

Posted on by
Reply

Many times I’ve wondered why so many utilities and municipalities around the country aren’t taking full advantage of their GIS – then it hit me:  maybe Miss South Carolina was right after all.

Funny thing about this video is she’s right (well sort of) – about having the maps at least. Oddly enough, in our experience implementing GIS-centric work management software around the country we’ve found that many ‘U.S. Americans’ actually do have maps (GIS) – they just don’t have access to the maps (because the GIS is only used in the engineering department) – and they certainly don’t have their work management software associated with their maps.

In order for any utility system or municipality to get the most out of their work order and asset management software, maps and GIS play a key role. The ability to visualize work and asset management data on GIS maps is changing the way governments and utilities operate – utilities and public works crews are getting more work done in less time, spending less money researching problems, and management is better allocating capital improvement funds.

Service Request Locations on a GIS Map

GIS map showing locations of Service Requests.

In past years, GIS-based work management systems have been extremely complicated and difficult to figure out (almost as difficult to figure out as Miss South Carolina’s answer, in fact). However, GIS-centric work order and asset management software has come a long way in recent years – software development teams have made great strides with GIS integration and work management software has become much more user-friendly.

In summary, GIS-based work management software is much simpler than Miss South Carolina would lead you to believe. By giving maps to ‘U.S. Americans’ (via integrating GIS with their work management software), utilities and government are beginning to see improvements in their daily operations and improvements in their annual budgets.

…like such as South Africa and the Iraq – everywhere like such as… :)

GIS & Work Management Software: 6 Quick Tips for Government & Utilities

Posted on by
Reply

Utilities and government face a unique set of challenges when selecting work management software.  Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you go through the selection process:

1. Keep it map-based.

Governments and utilities can maximize their GIS investments and save big dollars by selecting work management software that integrates with the organizations mapping infrastructure.  Several work management software applications allow integration from any industry-standard GIS technology including ESRI, MapInfo, Manifold, Autodesk, and others.

2. Keep it simple.

Avoid work management software that is complicated to understand or that involves an extensive learning curve.  Remember – even though you may understand the technology, many people who will ultimately be using the system may not be so tech savvy.  It may not be a bad idea to have a few of the end-users sit in on a demo or two and see if they think the software is easy enough to understand.

3. Keep it accessible.

Whichever application you select, make sure you can access your data while on the go.  Real-time access (via the web) to GIS and work management data is critical to field workers and remote operators.  By taking advantage of the web and real-time field access, dispatchers and receptionists are also likely to smile a bit more because communication between field and office staff will improve – making their jobs much easier.

4. Keep it open.

Few things are worse than having lots of great data locked down in a proprietary database.  It’s your data – make sure you can get it when you need it!  It’s also a great idea to find something that’s built on an industry-standard open platform (such as the Microsoft .NET framework) so you can integrate with third-party applications if necessary.  Governments and utility systems can greatly benefit by integrating their work management software with utility billing, financials, and other applications.

5. Keep it affordable.

Remember, you get what you pay for.  We’re not looking for free here – we’re looking for a solid application that fits our needs and fits our budget.  Enterprise work management software generally entails a bit of configuration to match the specific needs of your organization.  Also, if you select a firm that knows what they’re doing you’ll likely receive some pretty good consulting and best-practice information along the way.

6. Keep it manageable.

If you don’t have a large IT department and a large staff, avoid work management software that requires those things.  Remember, once the software has been implemented and your staff has been trained, you’ll have to support this thing.  Work management software comes in all sorts of packages, so be sure to consider all of your technological options before you purchase (hosted solutions, software as a service (SaaS), on-site deployments, etc.).

Comments?  Experiences selecting work management software that you’d like to share?  Let us know!