Infrastructure and Asset Management using Mobile Technology
Case Studies
The best way to illustrate the processes and implementation issues in using mobile computing
technology for infrastructure and asset management is to showcase a few case studies and
prototype applications. Although most of these applications are geared towards public works
assets, the parallels to utilities and related industries should be obvious.
Sign Inventory and Mana~ement System - County De~artment of Public Works
The sign inventory and management system was implemented to consolidate sign panel
information on County Roads to enhance the inventory, management, and maintenance
responsibilities of the County. The field systems were based on Fujitsu Stylistic 1200 pen
computers with interfaces to global positioning system receivers and color digital cameras. The
system, based on the SIGNview product by CarteGraph Systems, Inc., includes the
implementation of an on-line Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)
standardized sign library, which could be attached to any sign record. The sign locations were
being collected with sub-2 meter real time differential corrected Racal GPS equipment so that the
sign locations could be displayed in conjunction with the County's existing county GIS base
mapping. The sign management system provided for an interactive interface that allows the end
user to "click" on a sign location and the database record for that sign will appear.
The system provided an interactive history log form which details the work order number, crew,
activity, reasons for activity, and supplemental information. This work history information is
associated with each sign panel so that it is possible to rollback the history logs to a specific date.
Field personnel walking alongside the roadway, with vehicles used to travel between locations,
collected much of the data. The use of a mountain bike was experimented with, with good
results. The GPS receiver was mounted in saddlebag on the back of the bike, with some
modifications made to the antenna so that the rider could easily get on and off the bike.
The field mapping environment was based on CarteGraph's CARTEmaster product, which
allowed the use of AutoCAD base mapping CADD files in conjunction with the GPS based sign
locations. This visualization tool allows for on the fly navigation and quality control of the
collected GPS points.
Outdoor Advertising Inventory and Mana~ement System - State Department of Trans~ortation
This project included the development of a comprehensive client-server relational database
management system to be used by the Department for the tracking of outdoor advertising sign
structures, the facings associated with the structures, and the permits associated with the facings,
as well as the management of junkyard facilities. For field operations, a system was developed
that will run on Panasonic ToughBook ruggedized notebooks that will allow for the updating of
sign information and the acquisition of new sign information directly at the sign location in the
field in an Microsofi Access database. The field systems include a variety of data collection
technologies, such as wide area differentially corrected global positioning systems (GPS), laser
range finders and digital cameras that connect directly to the field computer for downloading of
information directly in the field. The revised and new database records are taken from the field
and synchronized with the master database at the Central office location. The office system is
based on an Oracle database engine, servicing Central office and District offices over a wide area
network.
Several technical issues had to be overcome with the development of the system. Outdoor
advertising signs are typically on private property, making access to the signs impractical to get a
good GPS coordinate. This required the use of a combination of GPS and handheld laser devices
to remotely locate the signs, as well as the development of software code that guided the user
through the process.
Bridge Inspection System - City Department of Transportation
The agency required a system that would enable in-house staff to annually inspect the bridges in
their jurisdiction. An application was developed for the field acquisition of data, including the
capture of extensive note fields and digital images. The application was developed using
Microsoft's Visual Basic development tool and runs on Fujitsu Stylistic 1200 pen computers
running Windows NT. Using this system, field inspectors are able to download inspection
information from either current or past inspections, and continue working on an existing
inspection or create a new inspection record. One of the safeguards that had to be built into the
system was a series of checks to ensure that the while the bridge record was deployed to the
field, no one in the office could update the record. In addition, h was necessary that
synchronization be done between the remote datasets and the office datasets. These fwctions
were accomplished using Access's data synchronization tools.
A unique problem that was overcome was the way that images were linked to inspection fields.
A single digital photograph could be utilized to illustrate and document several observed defect
in the bridge, without the need to store multiple copies of the image in the database.
Street Tree Inventory - City Parks Department
The decision to place urban trees throughout a large metropolitan area ofien comes with a large
price tag. Street trees represent a cost comparable to placing a traffic sign, and typically require
a greater degree of annual care. The problem being tackled here is to inventory 300,000 street
trees and develop a comprehensive condition assessment on an annual basis. This task, given the
traditional pen and paper method, was largely unmanageable given the existing forces available.
The solution developed was a pen based computer application using the VoCarta speech to data
engine.
Pen based computing was not a new concept for this city, already using a few for their code
enforcement people and their water department. The pen computers being used were Fujitsu
Stylistic 1200s, which had the necessary built-in sound system with microphone and speaker
inputs. The city found that using pen-based computers was a great way to leverage their existing
ESRI GIS databases. City personnel helped to decide what features were included in the object
vocabulary. One of the issues to be evaluated was the utility of using GPS in the downtown area.
It was decided that in many areas the parcel level base mapping was sufficient in accuracy to
locate the trees where GPS wasn't appropriate.
