Webcast: Resolving the Municipal and Utility As-built Backlog

Last month, I had the privilege of delivering a webcast entitled “Resolving the Municipal and Utility As-Built Backlog”. The webcast was hosted by IMAGINiT Technologies and was aimed at local, state/provincial and federal governments; utilities; public works and infrastructure management professionals; as well as, engineering, CAD and GIS professionals.

Note that I have blogged about the as-built problem previously and this webcast served to expand on the topic. However, the webcast also confirmed that as-built backlogs remain an issue for many organizations. In fact, 69% of webcast participants indicated that they continue to have an as-built problem.

Furthermore, over 50% of participants indicated that the as-built backlog was a reason for concern and more than 10% indicated that their as-built backlog was unmanageable.

The webcast continued with a description of a typical as-built workflow and a discussion of the three main causes of the as-built backlog. A strategy for resolving the as-built backlog and improving data currency was presented and demonstrations were used to highlight resulting benefits.

If your as-built drawings are months or years out-of-date and you’re looking for ways of improving the currency of your infrastructure databases, please check out the archived webcast here.

Beyond PSAB 3150

Effective asset data management requires more detail than generally required for regulatory compliancy. However, standards such as Section 3150 of the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB 3150) can serve as a catalyst for changes in the way that municipalities approach their infrastructure asset data. For example, in a previous post on this subject, I discussed the impact of the as-built backlog on the accuracy of PSAB 3150 reporting. My article, Streamlining Infrastructure Asset Management which was published in the August issue of Government Purchasing, continues discussion on this subject by looking beyond PSAB 3150. The article explores how Autodesk Topobase can support these new accounting standards and highlights examples from the City of Lloydminster, SK; Strathcona County, AB and Las Vegas, NV. Please be sure to check out my article on page 28 in the digital edition of the publication.

Cowboys, Barbeque and Geospatial Analysis

Yee Haw! It’s Stampede Week in Calgary, Alberta and what better way to celebrate than to combine Stampede attire (ie cowboy hat, jeans, big belt buckle and boots) with a seminar on Geospatial Analysis. Well, it seemed like a crazy idea; however, the folks at Autodraft, Inc have a great sense of fun. So, when I was given the opportunity to talk about my favorite topic of Engineering GIS and CAD/GIS integration, I jumped at the chance.

In spite of the Stampede traffic, the rain and the tornado watches, folks came out in droves to learn how to analyze their CAD drawings and geospatial data using the powerful geospatial analysis tools found in Engineering GIS. With the help of my pardner "Cowboy Bob", we delivered a seminar entitled "Geospatial Analysis for the Egnineering and CAD Professional". We used AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Raster Design and Autodesk Topobase to demonstrate numerous geospatial techniques including…

• Queries and how to use them to get more information from CAD drawings and GIS data sources
• Drawing cleanup tools and why they are necessary to ensure the accuracy and correctness of CAD and GIS data
• Topology, it’s importance for CAD and GIS users alike and how to create topologically correct features
• Spatial analysis such as network traces and their use with CAD and GIS data
• Polygon overlay and its power to reveal new patterns in CAD and GIS data
• Buffer analysis and why it’s sometime the best way to determine spatial proximity
• 3D surfaces and how to analyze them for height, slope and aspect
• Raster to vector conversion and how to combine scanned CAD drawings, maps and aerial imagery with vector-based CAD and GIS data
• And more…

After the presentation, we all moseyed on down to the Autodraft corral for a great Stampede barbeque, refreshments and conversation.

A fun and informative Yee Haw time was had by all!