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Online road utility authorization system utilizing GIS database

Saiji Miyamoto
Road Administration Information Center
Hirakawacho Daiichiseimei BLDG.3F
1-2-10 Hirakawacho Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 102-0093, Japan
Telephone: +81-3-3221-0411, Fax: +81-3-3221-1505
E-mail: miyamoto@roadic.or.jp

Yoichi Doi
Tokyo Gas Engineering Co.,Ltd. Shinjuku Park Tower 18F
3-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 163-1018, Japan
Telephone: +81-3-5322-7530, Fax: +81-3-5322-7509
E-mail: y-doi@tge.co.jp


Abstract
Rapid progress in information technology has been accompanied by a growing need to construct systems that provide electronic processing of procedures such as application preparation and processing. Road utility authorization is a procedure that is expected to benefit greatly from electronic processing. Prior to excavating a road or laying facilities underground, a utility company is obliged to submit an application to the road administrator based on a prescribed form in order to secure permission. The annual number of cases of road utility authorization including small cases exceeds 10,000, and conventional processing of paper documentation is a huge burden in terms of both labor and time for both utility companies and road administrators. Road Administration Information System (ROADIS) has tackled this issue, and developed a new-type of electronic application system that utilizes the huge infrastructure of a large-scale GIS that links road administrators with multiple public utility companies. Starting in April 1998, implementation of the online road utility authorization system has been launched successively in several urban areas including Tokyo, and is now complete and operational in six cities. This report on the on-line road utility authorization system that serves as a subsystem of ROADIS documents the successful utilization of an electronic application system that exploits a GIS database, and describes the subsystem's characteristics, impact and return on investment.

Outline of the road administration information system
Roads not only contribute to the development of transportation, but also play a vital role as space to accommodate public utilities (telecommunications, electric power, gas, city water, sewage, etc.) that are indispensable to our daily lives. Since these diverse lifelines occupy space on, above and below roads, a huge amount of information must be managed in order to provide road administrators and public utility companies with a precise grasp of the state of roads and occupying facilities. Created with the aim of promoting more effective and rational utilization of road space, the Road Administration Information System (ROADIS) is a highly sophisticated geographical information system, jointly developed by the Ministry of Construction (currently: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), local government bodies, and the public utility companies. Since its establishment in 1986, the Road Administration Information Center (ROADIC) has been entrusted with the ongoing development and operation of this system. Currently ROADIS is being used in the Tokyo metro area (23 wards) and 11 ordinance-designated cities around Japan.

ROADIS is a system that uses GIS technology to provide comprehensive management of the diverse information related to roads and the facilities that occupy road space. Online connections between host computers installed at each ROADIC branch office and the terminals and mapping systems of road administrators and utility companies enable the mutual utilization of data. The heart of the GIS database in ROADIS is the Road Database that consists of road and topographical mapping information. It has been constructed by the extraction and digital conversion of essential information from 1/500-scale road registration drawings. On this base map layer, the public utility companies (telephone, electric power, gas, city water, sewage and transportation) in each area enter information about their facilities, creating the Utility Database. Road administrators and each public utility company can use these layered databases that have been jointly constructed by the participants in the ROADIS development.

ROADIS consists of the following three subsystems related to road administration:
  1. Road and Utility Management
  2. Road Construction and Coordination
  3. Road Utility Authorization
This paper focuses on the development of the system for Road Utility Authorization.

Outline of road utility authorization procedures
Prior to any excavation of roads or the installation of utility facilities in the space under roads, Japanese regulations demand the submission of a formal application based on a prescribed form and receipt of authorization from the relevant road administrator.

Outline of the online road utilty authorization system

System Characteristics
The need to convert the various procedural systems from conventional physical handling of paper-based applications and notifications to an online system of digital forms and electronic documentation grows increasingly urgent every year. ROADIS also has given top priority to tackling the issue of electronic conversion of administration information related to road utility authorization in its development. In operation since April 1998, the Online Road Utility Authorization System realizes electronic processing of applications and notifications for road and utility authorization procedures as a subsystem of ROADIS.

The online road utility authorization system has the following features:
  1. Immediate Online Response

    2. Providing an online connection between the terminals of road administrators and utility companies via the host computers located in ROADIC branches, this system realizes immediate transfer of electronic documentation. (See Figure 1.)

  2. Capability of Responding to the Entire Series of Tasks from Application for Road

    3. Occupation and Submission of Revised Drawings Reflecting Completed Work to Various Related Calculations


    Figure 1. Workflow of road utility authorization

    The system provides total support for the entire series of tasks related to the road utility application workflow (preparation of application forms, submission, receipt, authorization, work commencement, work completion, calculation of rental fees for road occupation, project management, statistical compilation and various calculation tasks.) (See Figure 1.)

  3. More Efficient Preparation of Application Drawings


    • Utilization of the Road Database to obtain background data for guide maps and location drawings Prior to the introduction of the subsystem, the preparation of the location drawing (drawing that describes the location of the construction in detail) and guide map (wide area map that shows the vicinity around the construction site), both of which are required documentation at the time of application submission, was performed by hand on paper using cut-and-paste sections of residential maps. With the new ROADIS subsystem, it is now possible to easily retrieve road and topographical data from the Road Database and use it as the background data to prepare the necessary drawings.

    • " Automatic retrieval of corresponding area data based on entry of utility site information during application preparation Based on information about the planned construction site entered in the system during the preparation of the application documentation, a special function automatically retrieves data about the corresponding area. The drawing frame shown in the default display complies with the standard format for application drawings. With a few simple and minor adjustments, the automatically retrieved map data can be easily used as background data for preparation of the site vicinity map required for applications.

    • " More efficient preparation of guide maps It is necessary to produce a reduced scale guide map that includes a location drawing for attachment to the application; however, the process of executing a search by address for the wide area map data and then performing extraction and editing of data was troublesome. With the new subsystem, the user first produces the location drawing, and then a system function automatically produces the guide map inclusive of location drawing.

    • " Adoption of standardized part diagrams and work models for more efficient production of drawings Part diagrams are various standardized diagrams used in location drawings and guide maps to symbolize various parts (for example, excavation shapes, house shapes, pillars/poles, road width, construction site, etc.) Models are standardized work content such as "T-type excavation," etc., that are frequently used in ground plan drawings and cross-sectional drawings. Each work model usually consists of a set of planar and cross-sectional drawings. Methods employing these tools have resulted in significant improvement in the efficiency of drawing production. There are more than 100 standardized part diagrams and more than 1,000 work models per road administrator, and they are arranged in an easy-to-use hierarchy.

    • " Automatic generation of itemized reports Items to be output to itemized reports are defined in the part and model diagrams, enabling the automatic generation of itemized utility and excavation reports while producing drawings. The live link between itemized report contents and drawings contributes to improved information consistency and reliability.

    • " More efficient performance of screening of applications due to standardization of drawing style/format Part and pattern diagrams that are entered in the system have been mutually approved by road administrators and public utility companies in advance. This has eliminated problems in document examination process that were caused by the style or format of preparation of drawings. Also regarding the drawing sequence (guide map -> location drawing -> ground plan -> cross-sectional drawing), the system enables production of application drawings in accordance with rules and in an arrangement that facilitates examination.

  4. More Efficient and Sophisticated Project Management


    • " Realization of Project Management Functions (Progress Status) Enabling Real-time Reference by Both Road Administrators and Utility Companies In this system, the transitional phases from application submission to their receipt, authorization, work commencement, and finally work completion is managed in a database. System users can obtain real-time information from this task-processing database that is dynamically updated according to the actual work process.
    • " Display of application construction sites on a map by linking with the GIS database Coordinates of the construction sites registered at the time of application drawing production can be displayed at 1/500 scale with road and topographic layers. The system not only displays the application construction site on a map, but also indicates the state of work progress at the construction site and enables highlighting of the names of construction sites that match certain user-specified conditions.
    • " Automatic production of road utility administration registers The system is also capable of automatically generating administration registers for conventional paper-based administration purposes.
    • " Search by Alarm Conditions In order to easily extract the names of projects that are behind schedule, it is possible to set various conditions as alarm keys in the system. Just by selecting the alarm conditions and entering the number of days in the space provided, it is possible to obtain a list of projects that correspond to the conditions.

    [Example of Alarm Condition Search]

    • Names of projects that have not been authorized within XX days of the application submission date.
    • Names of projects that have not actually started work within XX days of the declared commencement date. Names of projects that have not actually completed work within XX days of the declared completion date.

    • Information Retrieval from Bar Codes Bar codes are printed on documents that are output by the system. These bar codes simplify operations to identify project names on the system. For example, while the examination of application documentation output by the system is conducted internally by road administrators, this feature can be used to correctly specify the project name when entering the examination results in the system.
This new subsystem transcends the domain of simple text-base task processing systems and realizes new advantages made possible by linking with GIS technology, especially in the production of application drawings and project management functions. The following section describes the links between the GIS database and the task-processing database.

Linking the GIS and Task-Processing Databases
As described above, ROADIS possesses an integrated GIS database consisting of a highly sophisticated Road Database (roads and topographical data) and Utility Databases that are jointly maintained and managed by road administrators and utility companies. By linking task processing data with this GIS database, this system realizes advanced functionality not available in other systems.
  1. Utilizing the GIS Database for More Efficient Production of Application Drawings In the case of conventional preparation of application drawings, it was necessary to search for the area corresponding to the construction site in the application using the address, and then perform various manual tasks such as physically clipping and pasting paper-media maps. However, by facilitating easy extraction of base maps in ROADIS, the new subsystem makes it possible to automatically retrieve maps based on address and route information that is entered in the application form. In the case of the many applications for small-scale construction work received every year, significant improvement in the production of drawings has been achieved by the standardization and models of frequently used planimetric and cross-sectional diagrams. (See Figure 2.)
  2. Utilizing the GIS Database for Project Management (State of Progress) It is unnecessary to add the entry of special data because construction site coordinates that were registered at the time of production of application drawings are registered in the construction site database after conversion to the Road Database coordinate system. By using these coordinate data, real-time retrieval and display of the dynamically changing state of work progress (receipt of application, issuance of authorization, work commencement, work completion, etc.) for designated projects can be performed. It is also possible to overlay and display utility data. (See Figure 3.)


    Figure 2. Screen for production of drawings required for applications.


    Figure 3. GIS-based Project Management (Screen shows detailed information about the construction site.)

    By linking to the GIS database, it is possible to obtain an accurate grasp of the state of progress of the construction sites of multiple parties and immediately get detailed information about each site, such as contact data for the construction company, etc. For example, by using the information search function when handling resident complaints about excavation work or when cracked pavement is discovered, response is smoother and faster, contributing to greater citizen satisfaction with the service. Also, by using the Alarm conditional search function, areas where work progress is unsatisfactory can be quickly identified and shown on a map. In these and other ways, the system realizes high-precision project management that could not be achieved with conventional paper-based maps and registers.
System Structure - State of System Operations
  1. Past System Introduction

    2. From 1998 through 2002, introduction of the system has steadily expanded and now covers the special wards of the Tokyo metropolis, ordinance-designated cities, and national road construction offices corresponding to the target areas.

    Table 1 Current State of System Introduction (Completed & Operational)
    FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
    Adachi, Shibuya and Meguro Wards of Tokyo Fukuoka City, Tokyo National Roads Edogawa and Sumida Wards of Tokyo Fukuoka National Roads Setagaya, Arakawa,Suginami, Toshima,Itabashi and Taito Wards of Tokyo Sapporo City, Kita- Kyushu National Roads, Kita-Kyushu City Nerima, Kita,Nakano, Shinjuku,Bunkyo and Shinagawa Wards of Tokyo Kawasaki City Koto, Katsushika and Minato Wards of Tokyo Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau

  2. Planned Future System Introduction

    3. From the latter half of fiscal year 2002 through 2003 and onwards, introduction of the Online Road Utility Authorization System is planned for the following areas:

    Table 2 Planned Future System - Introduction by Area/Route
    FY 2002 FY 2003 ~
    Ota Ward (Tokyo) Chiyoda and Chuo Wards (Tokyo), Chiba City, Chiba National Roads,Yokohama City, Nagoya City, Nagoya National Roads, Kyoto City, Kyoto National Roads, Osaka City, Osaka National Roads, Kobe City, Hyogo National Roads, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima National Roads

    Within the 23 wards of Tokyo, which has the largest demand for application processing of any area in Japan, the total number of authorized cases reached 73,874 in 2001. The breakdown of the total is National Roads: 2,039 cases, Tokyo Metropolitan Roads: 10,329 cases, Ward Roads: 61,526 cases. Among the authorizations issued for ward roads, 47,200 were handled by this system.
Impact of system introduction
  1. More Efficient Production of Documentation for Applications
    Prior to system introduction, the preparation of documentation was very labor intensive, entailing tasks such as cutting and pasting maps on paper media and drawing of planimetric and cross-sectional drawings by hand. The cost of producing the documentation for the thousands of applications submitted every year was huge. The introduction of the system enabled not only the simple use of high-precision1/500 scale road/topographical drawings of the Road Database incorporated in ROADIS as background maps, but also raised the efficiency of drawing production by the adoption of basic planimetric/cross-sectional drawing models for the small-scale construction projects that account for the majority of applications (approx. 80% to 90% of the annual total). In addition, itemized reports are automatically generated upon completion of the application drawings. In the case of relatively simple construction projects, one set of application documents consisting of the application form, requisite drawings and itemized report can be prepared in as little as 10 minutes.

  2. High-efficiency Online Transfer of Documentation
    Conventionally, the transfer of documents between the utility companies and road administrators consisted of the hand-to-hand transfer of physical documentation. The systematization of the process has enabled online real-time transfer and processing of complete sets of documentation including requisite drawings, significantly enhancing the efficiency and productivity of liaison staff.

  3. Standardization of Drawing Format
    Previously there was no uniform way to prepare the drawings required for applications. The inconsistent layouts and diverse methods of expressing drawing elements were factors that contributed to the low-efficiency of application evaluation by road administrators. After introduction of the system, the adoption of standardized basic models for planimetric and cross-sectional drawings and automatic layout functions for multiple drawings made the drawings submitted by applicants much easier to view and, consequently, enhanced the efficiency of evaluation by road administrators.

  4. Reduction in the Number of Days Required from Application Submission to Authorization
    Prior to introduction of the system, it took approximately two weeks from the submission of the application documents until the issuance of authorization. The system cuts the time in less than half.

  5. Reduction of Application and Project Management Costs
    In conventional paper document-based register management, real-time project management (monitoring and administration of the state of progress) and the sharing of information is extremely difficult. After introduction of the system, management that relies on paper-based documentation has become unnecessary, and both road administrators and public utility companies always have the ability to share the very latest information. In addition, it is possible to obtain a good grasp of the state of project progress and perform highly useful searches that are linked to GIS data by conducting searches that use sophisticated conditions such as the Alarm conditions.
Conclusion
Connecting multiple organizations (road administrators and utility companies) in an online network, this system exploits the full potential of the information infrastructure known as a GIS database and produces significant results. As we look to the Information Society of the future, information infrastructures that extend across multiple organizations are expected to play an increasingly important role. The significance of this connection of multiple enterprises is resulting in the formation of a single large Virtual Corporation. Taking full advantage of the information infrastructure of the GIS database that has been fostered by ROADIS, the Online Road Utility Authorization System serves as a successful and clear example of an efficiently functioning Virtual Corporation comprised of road administrators and public utility companies.

Sources
  • Asada, Y., 2000, "Utililization of Online Electronic Authorization and GIS in the ROADIS": ROADIC Information, No. 26, Pg. 32-35
  • Sakata, H., 2002, " Current Status Report on Tokyo Branches": ROADIC Information, No. 29, Pg. 16-20
  • 2002, "Business Outline": ROADIC Tokyo Branch
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