Landbase Development
William B. Reid
James W. Sewall Company
6110 Bayou Grande Blvd., NE
St. Petersburg, FL 33703-1804
Abstract
AM/FM projects involve the use of some form of landbase, which acts as the backdrop for
the facility data.
The landbase development portion of a AM/FM/GIS project typically represents 7 to 15
percent of the total conversion cost. Landbase development involves the use of rather
sophisticated technology often considered “mysterious” by many users.
The manager of an AM/FM project can benefit from understanding the landbase choices
that are available and the general characteristics of the various options.
Introduction
The selection and specification of the landbase for a AM/FM/GIS project will have a
significant impact on the success and usefulness of the project as a whole. If the users of
the system determine that the landbase is lacking in accuracy or in content, they may decide
that the entire database or project is of low quality and therefore useless to them in doing
their job. While the landbase portion of a project generally ranges from 7 to 15 percent of
the cost of loading the land and facility data, it can have far ranging impact on project
success and long-term usefulness. Furthermore, a landbase without sufficient accuracy will
be difficult to update and maintain.
Landbase Planning
The manager and project team on a modern AM/FM/GIS project need to conduct a careful
needs assessment in order to be sure that the landbase they select for their project will meet
the needs of their organization in the near term and the future. These needs will be partially
based on the facility data that is to be managed by the system. Generally speaking, projects
that involve data that is overhead (visible) will require less accuracy. Conversely, data
representing facilities which are located underground require more accuracy and more
feature content in the landbase.
The applications that are going to be run using the data will often necessitate certain
features be included in the landbase or that the landbase meets certain accuracy
requirements. The project team must always keep in mind the applications that were used
to justify the project and see that the data needs of these applications are being met.
Marketing applications and some engineering applications may require street addresses or
address ranges in order to allow major customers to be located by their address. Some
applications will require addresses in order to relate things such as leak reports to the
network. Other applications, “routing” for example, will require centerlines so that
attributes such as traffic travel speeds can be attached to the centerlines.
In developing of the specifications for the landbase, you should also consider
characteristics of the area to be mapped, such as the population density. Densely populated
areas will usually have more customers packed into the area and will thus support higher
prices. Territorial islands require special consideration and may require special types of
mapping. Corridor territories may present special opportunities. You should also consider
whether or not to map additional territory either in anticipation of future expansion of the
service territory or in preparation for competitive challenges into areas serviced by others.
You should always think about future maintenance activities as you develop the
specifications for your landbase and plan to automatically receive updates for any features
that you include in the landbase. A simple rule of thumb states, “If you cannot update it,
then do not include it.” Your specification should list the features to be shown, the
accuracy required, and the attributes that are to be captured for each feature.
