Educational Sessions

Many utilities and organizations are interested in using GPS to enhance their operations. Implementing a GPS solution requires an understanding of how the system operates, limitations inherent in GPS, system integration, and upcoming enhancements and alternatives, such as the Russian GLONASS and European Galileo. This paper will cover these topics and how GPS is integrated into solutions for various applications, such as location-based services, automatic vehicle locating, navigation, asset positioning and tracking, and precision timing.

9:00–9:45 a.m.
Rethinking Driving Leak Survey
Langley Willauer, Integrated Mapping Services, Inc.
Track: Mobile Applications
E, T

Learning Objectives:

Understand the state of the art of mobile leak survey.
Understand how mobile technologies are being used.
Understand the benefits of using GIS to demonstrate compliance and manage the process.

All gas distribution companies are required to survey their systems for leaks at various intervals. One mechanism for accomplishing this is truck-mounted gas detectors that drive over buried gas facilities. Companies in the United States have employed a variety of manual, partially automated, and fully automated means of keeping records for this activity. This paper discusses these methods and the benefits and drawbacks of each.

10:00–10:45 a.m.
New Technologies for Mobile Workforce Applications for Utilities
David Weinstein, Geonetics
Track: Mobile Applications
E, G, PL, T, W

Learning Objectives:

Understand the trade-offs among emerging mobile solutions.
Learn from real-world case studies of actual implementations.
Identify key mobile platform selection factors for your organization.

Technologies for managing mobile solutions involving geospatial data are undergoing rapid and substantial changes. Many factors must be considered when initiating a mobile solution, including communications infrastructure, disconnected versus connected functionality, data synchronization, hardware platforms, training implications, and more. This paper will review the state of the art in mobile workforce applications. Tools from major vendors will be compared and contrasted. Case studies and lessons learned will be presented based on the experiences of utilities operating in the Northeast.

11:00–11:45 a.m.
Convergence of Seemingly Diverging Technologies
Thomas Counts, 3-GIS, LLC
Track: Mobile Applications
A

Learning Objectives:

Learn how new mobile technologies can enable GIS in the field.
Discover how location-based services deliver value to the field.
Understand how to increase data accuracy through field involvement in engineering.

With the ubiquitous nature of data availability, the miniaturization and amalgamation of telecom, GPS, and computing platforms along with high volume data-storage capability, we are once again at a tipping point to really give location-based services the credibility deserved. Using server-based platforms, clients are once again becoming truly thin but without a corresponding loss of functionalty. It is through optimization of client behavior that less can be more.

1:00–1:45 p.m.
Integrated Field Solution Using GIS
Murali Krishna, Infosys Technologies Ltd.
Track: Mobile Applications

Learning Objectives:

Gain knowledge on how Field GIS solution helps in real-time asset investigation and updation.
Understand the integration of field inspection, asset management, and work management systems.
Learn about exploiting the latest development in mobile technology

Operational efficiency is key to the utility industry. This paper addresses the concept and benefits of using GIS integrated field solution to support asset management and work management related activities. The plethora of Internet and mobile application uses assists in leveraging the online updation of the spatial and non-spatial asset and work management information to a database, instead of offline.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

8:00–8:45 p.m.
Mobile Data Technology: Getting It Right When Disaster Strikes
Jeremy Sadler, Osmose Utilities Services, Inc.
Track: Mobile Applications
A

Learning Objectives:

Learn about field data requirements in a post-storm setting.
Get a strategy for updating data used in GIS and utility systems.
Understand hardware, software, and data format considerations.

In disaster-recovery situations, utilities need a mobile data-collection strategy that helps them quickly and effectively update the information used by the GIS, outage management, engineering analysis, and other key utility systems. A comprehensive strategy for validating field data—one that integrates hardware, software, and data format to best effect—is crucial to restoring a utility’s safety, reliability, and ability to manage its assets and respond to outages and other service problems.

9:00–9:45 p.m.
Migration from Mobile GIS to Mobility
John A. Wakefield, Washington Gas
Track: Mobile Applications
A

Learning Objectives:

Learn new applications in mobility.
Understand communications in mobility.
Be familiar with hardware, software, and integration in mobility.

Washington Gas started with mobile GIS in 1999 when it was prudent to get GIS data into the field. Today, however, technology makes it possible to have your field engineers digitally enabled. Find out how Washington Gas is evolving its mobility by integrating work order management systems, mobile GIS, and dispatching systems. This paper discusses the advances made in software solutions, communications, and hardware that will result in the next generation of mobility at Washington Gas.

10:00–10:45 p.m.
Routing for Gold—Using Mobile Spatial Technologies to Manage Visitors to the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games
Ross Caldow, Geomatic Technologies
Track: Mobile Applications
PS

Learning Objectives:

Discover practical uses of spatial Web services.
Learn multi-modal routing techniques.
Understand mobile spatial data delivery mechanisms.

The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, Australia in March 2006 brought more than 90,000 spectators from all over the world to witness 11 days of sporting competition across 16 venues. Directing spectators to the venues, hotels, restaurants, cultural events, and local attractions was the role of a team of over 60 volunteers equipped with the world's mobile technology that provided multi-modal public transport routing, mapping, printing, and messaging utilizing a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

10:00–10:45 p.m.
Field of Dreams Becomes a Reality—A Workforce Revolution!
Track: Mobile Applications
Charles Lang, MapFrame Corporation
A

Learning Objectives:

Learn how organizations achieve ROI from GIS.
Learn the business benefits of automating field inspections.
Learn how organizations use GIS to improve field processes.

The ability to compress GIS data, and interface with other back office solutions, unleashes the pent up GIS ROI that has been sitting in the hands of select office-based users. This session will focus on comparing and contrasting old paper-based inspection processes with new automated systems in use in the field today. GIS ROI, process improvements, and business benefits from the field perspective will be discussed in detail.

11:00–11:45 p.m.
“A-GPS”-based Child Tracking System
Karthikeyan Lakshminarayanan, Wipro Technologies
Track: Mobile Applications
PS

Learning Objectives:

Learn how the A-GPS position works.
Learn about the importance of a real-time tracking and GIS integration.
Become familiar with the future of the child tracking application.

The location tracking technologies service helps parents locate their child and is also useful for personal tracking. This paper approaches the new design of implementing Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) tracking system in the form of advancements in both network-based and GPS-based positioning in greater accuracy. The system also describes the integration of mobile location server (MLS) and the quality of spatial geographic information system (GIS) data for the visualization to parent with different features.

Questions about Annual Conference 30? Contact us!
Phone: 303-337-0513 Fax: 303-337-1001 E-mail: info@gita.org