Every now and then someone will ask me if Elements is a “GIS-Based” or “GIS-Centric” application.  My answer?  I’m not sure (and does it matter?) -  I haven’t found either term defined in a real dictionary anywhere and to be completely honest, when building the application we weren’t too concerned with terminology – we were more concerned with solving the problems at hand.

With that in mind, here are a few questions we’ve received about the GIS integration methods in Elements:

Question:  Is the ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase the asset and feature data repository in Elements?

Yes.  Or No.  Elements clients can select whether they want to use the ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase as the asset / feature repository or if they want to use a different GIS integration method.  For those who choose to do so, whatever they’ve got in their ArcGIS setup is what comes across in Elements.  Elements users read directly from (and write directly to) the ArcGIS geodatabase.  Using this method GIS is not duplicated or synchronized and all GIS asset data is created and maintained using ArcGIS software.  For clients who don’t use ESRI products or who have limited access to GIS resources there are other GIS integration methods available that do not use the ArcGIS geodatabase as the asset and feature data repository.

Question:  Does Elements synchronize my GIS data?

That depends; clients using the ESRI ArcGIS integration method described above will not be synchronizing data.  Period.  Clients using other GIS integration methods usually won’t synchronize data either – but depending on how Elements has been configured, it is possible to synchronize GIS.

Question: Is there any data duplication with Elements?

There is no data duplication using the ESRI ArcGIS integration method in Elements; all users are reading directly from (and writing directly to) the ESRI geodatabase.  Other GIS integration methods in Elements allow users to “Link” GIS files, which also does not duplicate data.

Question: Is the asset management data stored in the same database as the GIS data?

Nope.  The asset management data including work orders and other documents are stored in a separate database.  In the early years of Elements all of the data was contained in the same database, but that has since changed.  Why?  Because Elements has evolved as a complete asset and work management application designed to manage both GIS and non-GIS assets as well as Heavy Equipment, Fleet, Facilities, Customers, Meters, Locations, Permits, Licenses, Inspections, and several other things that are better maintained outside of the geodatabase.

The other day I saw a guy wearing one of these and I thought “Really?  I thought they stopped making those things in the 80’s.”

Did you ever have a calculator watch?  I did.  Ask me how many times I used the calculator function – probably about 3 or 4 times – each of which was to show off the watch to my buddies.  Not once did I actually find myself wishing that I had a calculator on my wrist – much less a calculator that was hard to read and required microscopic finger tips to push the correct buttons.  However, there were plenty of times when I wished that the numbers displaying the time of day were larger.

Then it hit me – a lot of cities and utilities looking for GIS based asset and work management software are shopping for calculator watches.   No, they’re not shopping for real calculator watches – but when I look at the extensive lists of features and requirements some of these organizations are looking for I wonder if they realize that they’re trying to cram a calculator into a watch – and although it might seem like a great idea at first, when it comes right down to it the solution is just not practical.

What happens when you cram a calculator into a watch? Both devices are crippled.  So when you’re out looking for new GIS-based asset and work order management software try to find the right software for the right job – and remember that mixing too many things together may result in a calculator watch.

After declaring that Android would be the winner in the smartphone race, he spoke with Engadget and – referring to Android – stated that a product “…can get greater market share and still be crappy.”

There is a lot of wisdom in that statement.   A great example would be Windows Vista; anyone who ever used the thing would put it at the very top of the “Crappy Products with High Market Share” list.

Luckily, Microsoft redeemed itself with Windows 7 and luckily not all products with high market share are crappy.

When evaluating GIS-based asset and work management software be sure to look beyond the number of customers a vendor has; it’s surprising how many people actually will jump off a cliff just because their friends are doing it.

1. Easier to use, and
2. More affordable.

Usually they explain that they purchased a nice GIS-based asset and work order management system 5-10 years ago and it just never really got adopted.

Unfortunately, of all the cruise ships on the ocean, it’s not very fun to find yourself in this particular boat.  Someone probably spent a lot of time and money up front on the software, and let’s face it: breaking up can be hard.

However, if you find yourself in this boat, you ultimately have two decisions – you can either:

1. Get back up to speed on the application and force everyone to start using it, or
2. Dump your current GIS based asset management system and get something that your people will actually use.

Before jumping ship to a newer, flashier ocean liner, here are a few quick questions to help you evaluate the situation:

1. Why is your software not being used?
2. How much money and time will it take to get back up to speed and use the application to its full potential?
3. Even if you had all the time and money in the world, could your field operators use the thing? Or is it just too complicated?

Many times we’ve found it to be quicker and less expensive to get a new application than to resurrect the old one.   At any rate, make sure to examine your current situation carefully before jumping ship – spending a bunch of money on one lousy cruise is bad enough, no one wants to go on two.

1. The most common types of work that take place within your organization, and
2. The important information that you need to track for each type of work

Here are a few quick examples:

These examples are maybe a bit oversimplified – but it should be enough information to get you headed in the right direction.  Be sure to write down the information – and remember, the more detailed you get the better off you’ll be when it comes time to implement your software!

1. You’re reading this post and you work for a municipality or utility serving a population of less than 40,000.
2. You use more than one application to manage your work orders, permits, licenses, and inspections.
3. You’d like to be able to manage all of the above information in a GIS-based environment.

(way to go if you actually raised your hand)

Most people know about the GIS-based work management capabilities found in Elements (service requests, work orders, etc.).  However, a lot of small to medium-sized municipalities and utilities are using Elements to manage much more than just service requests and work orders so I thought I’d post a few examples here.

Building Department

The dynamic data management tools in Elements give users the ability to efficiently manage Building Permits, Inspections, Certificates of Occupancy and other construction-related items. Basic features include:

• Customers and contractors can submit permit applications online
• Notify customers and contractors of status changes and application progress via email or text message in real-time
• Monitor interdepartmental approval statuses of each permit application
• Manage fees, building valuations, and footage assessments associated with permits and applications
• Create configurable inspections based on Permit Application types
• Generate permanent and temporary Certificates of Occupancy
• Monitor expiration and activity dates for certificates and inspections
• Manage contractors, certification levels, identification numbers, and other contractor related data

Code Enforcement

Elements offers the necessary tools to manage and enforce municipal code. Users can manage nuisance calls, code violations, case files, and other code-related items including the ability to:

• Monitor status updates for individual case files
• Set follow up dates for code violations
• Visualize code violation locations on GIS maps
• Schedule field inspections and reviews
• Manage fees associated with violations and permits
• Allow customers to submit complaints and violation reports via the web

Licenses, Permits & Other Applications

Manage Business Licenses, Conditional Use Permits, and other applications specific to the unique needs of you organization with Elements. Typical examples of licenses and permits managed within Elements include:

• Business Licenses
• Inspections
• Certificates of Occupancy
• Solicitor Licenses
• Home Occupation Permit
• Alcohol Beverage Control
• Animal Licenses
• Firearms
• Restaurant Licenses
• Fireworks
• Tobacco
• Watercraft
• Sign Permits

If you’d like to see how Elements can help manage permits, licenses, inspections, and code enforcement in a GIS-based environment you can request a live demo here.

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.

• 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

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.

• 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.