Untangling the net - Utility GIS / Internet technology
A fourth GIS/intemet architecture, developed and employed by SmallworldWeb, is the
compressed-vector approach. Smallworld's web-enabled GIS technology allows access to vector,
raster and intelligent data in the form of maps and reports over an enterprise's intranet. Clients on
an organization's intranet use customized applications, developed using any scripting language
that can package Active X controls, to perform various view and query fi.mctions. Data required
for the applications is transferred from the Smallworld datastore server to the client where data is
cached and manipulated via the client applications. Data served to the client is controlled through
a configuration setting on the SmallworldWeb server. An optional load balancer, called the
Dispatcher, handles communications between multiple clients and multiple data servers.
Figure 1 Common Configurations of GIS/Internet Architectures
A summary of some of the available GIS vendor internet/intranet offerings is shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Available GIS/Internet Packages
| Package |
Architecture |
| Autodesk MapGuide |
Vector-metafile |
| ESRI MapObjects/IMS |
Raster |
| ESRI ArcView/IMS |
Raster |
| Intergraph GeoMedia Web Map |
Vector |
| MapInfo ProServer |
Raster (Vector in future) |
| SmallworldWeb |
Compressed vector |
Common utility GIS applications for the internet
The use of internet technology for collecting and providing general information is not new to the
utility industry. Many utilities are now beginning to use web-enabled GIS as a way of providing
access to geographic information across the utility. Although most utilities are using webenabled
GIS primarily for internal use over an intranet, a few have begun to provide GIS access
to customers and the general public over the internet. The most common applications in use
today or being considered for fiture implementation are summarized below:
Map/Drawing Access-The most common web-enabled GIS application is the simple
provision of portions of a utility's GIS database to customers over the internet. Customers
or employees can choose map and drawing sets to download for personal use.
Map Viewing-Although this application is more common for intranets than on the
internet, this type of application has gained widespread use. Users can access a variety of
map data sets and are provided with search criteria to perform queries. Most commonly,
these applications provide a means for locating a specific service connection or property
and then viewing key attribute data or map features in reference to the found location.
Market/Business Development-Utility marketing departments are pioneers in using
web-enabled GIS. Market/business development applications are designed to attract new
customers and businesses to a utility's service area. These applications allow
organizations to locate infrastructure, amenities, and market statistics for an area of
interest. The applications allow users to evaluate the suitability of a specific site or area
for locating a business or relocating a family.
Work Management-These applications are used to manage service requests and work
orders. External customers and internal employees can initiate a service request and view
the status of the request or other work orders in an area.
Outage Management-These applications allow users t view planned and unplanned
outages in the utility network.
Construction Design and Management-These applications facilitate the construction
design and review process. Users can download portions of the GIS database as a base for
construction design and can submit design drawings for review. Once construction
begins, users can view the status of a particular project.
Dig Alert-This application allows users to search a site for utility infrastructure before
digging.
