Educational Sessions

Understand what open source software is and why it is important.
Grasp why you should take a serious look at open source geospatial software.
Understand the implications of open source geospatial software for the utility industry.

The past two years have been a watershed for the geospatial sector because of the widespread recognition that geospatial has joined the IT mainstream. Symptomatic of this phenomenon, last year a number of people active in the open source geospatial community—recognizing that OSGEO software had matured—decided to form the Open Source Geospatial Foundation, www.osgeo.org. We will discuss the implications of the emergence of commercial open source geospatial software for the utility industry.

Geographic Information Systems for Small Municipalities
Marikka Williams, City of Highland Village
Track: Public Sector
PS

Learning Objectives:

Learn how GIS applications can be used in small municipal environments.
Discover lessons learned from real-life GIS implementations.
Understand the value of a centralized GIS as a solution for small municipalities.

This presentation outlines the structural design of a GIS tailored for a small municipality, illustrates how the GIS is utilized to facilitate municipal operations, addresses challenges involved in the process of implementation, and proposes solutions. A GIS is employed to maintain internal system integrity, perform analyses, document activity, disseminate information, and plan for the future. The system is designed to facilitate asset management, infrastructure maintenance, emergency management, recreational event coordination, economic development, and community outreach.

Invited Japanese Guest
Performance Testing for Broad Area Gas Distribution with MapGuide Open Source/Enterprise
Yoshikuni Hirayama, Guide-Map.com Inc.

It is essential to integrate CAD design drawings and as-built detailed drawings when implementing a GIS facility management system. In general, GIS systems were primarily created for handling mapping data and most of them are not as proficient when working with CAD data. MapGuide Open Source/Enterprise together with Autodesk Map 3-D 2007 have strong capabilities to handle both CAD details and GIS mapping and an example for gas utility line distribution is presented. GIS facility management systems for utilities such as gas and communications are widespread and data volume is very large. So it is very important to undertake performance testing of the proposed system during the planning stage since the system load can be expected to be very high. A methodology for creating effective test data that covers a broad area and an example of performance testing with MapGuide Open Source/Enterprise are introduced.

Utility Applications of Imagery and Remote Sensing
Arthur Warner, Sanborn
Track: Data Acquisition and Maintenance
A

Learning Objectives:

Learn the difference in terminology regarding multi-spectral imagery and LiDAR.
Discover cost effective products that can be produced from multi-spectral and LiDAR.
Multi-spectral and LiDAR applications that provide cost-effective enhancement to the management of utility assets.

Accurate geospatial data is valuable to engineers and facility managers, and multi-spectral imagery and LiDAR provide opportunities to create cost-effective solutions to large geospatial issues. These products can also be leveraged to improve spatial accuracy utilizing conflation technology. Product examples include land cover, land use, pervious/impervious surfaces, 3-D tree canopy, and more, to cost effectively support environmental, engineering, and asset management applications. These products are now available through the use of advanced remote sensing technology.

AWWArf/GITA ROI Case Study—WA-Trans: Washington State Transportation Framework for GIS Data Sharing Project
Tami Griffin,Washington State Department of Transportation Geographic Services Office
A

Learning Objectives:

Learn how coordination and collaboration can work in a large multi-agency project.
Learn how return on investment (ROI) analysis can be performed on a large GIS application implementation.
Learn how a multi-agency can use ROI results to make a business case for funding.

This presentation will address coordination and collaboration in a large multi-agency project. Washington State DOT was able to leverage relationships with federal, state, regional, and municipal agencies to provide a common transportation network for the state—emphasizing respect for individual business needs and usability of ROI results to make the business case for funding. Strategic and long-term benefits will be discussed as well as measurable and more immediate benefits.

Google Earth: Fad or Potentially Valuable Business Tool?
Peter van Muyden, EPCOR
Track: Internet and Web Services
E, G, PL, T

Learning Objectives:

Evaluate a free Web-based program that makes GIS display available to anyone.
Learn about cost-effective methods to publish enterprise location-based data using the Web.
Discover how to overlay location-based 2-D and 3-D CAD files onto any geographic area in the world.

EPCOR Utilities Inc. has been testing the potential enterprise use of Google Earth as a means to publish location-based information. This presentation will explain the functionality and extendibility of this product and discuss our findings regarding how companies can benefit from this tool with minimal investment. An online demonstration will show import of GPS data, import of 2-D and 3-D CAD drawings, interesting Google Earth sites, GIS data imported from a spatial database, linking location-based pictures to a GPS track, and why GIS is now a tool most people can afford and understand.

Publishing Storm Outage Location Maps and Information by Internet
Barry Owens, SECO Energy
Track: Internet and Web Services
E

Learning Objectives:

View functionality and outage information published to support a business case.
Learn about technical design considerations needed to represent real-time outages.
Understand the value and public response of publishing outage information.

Improving communications with its members is a top priority for SECO Energy. Prior to the 2006 storm season, SECO implemented a Web-based outage storm application. As SECO knows from previous storm experience, being able to communicate with members greatly enhances our relationship with them and their opinion of us. The Storm Center is a major innovation and will have a very positive impact on our members and other constituencies.
Copresenters: David Harris, GE Energy; Kenny Rodrigue, Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Peter Manskopf, GE Energy

Integrating GIS and AMR: An Enterprise Application Approach
James Ketchledge, Enspiria Solutions, Inc.
Track: Enterprise Architecture & System Integration
E, G, W

Learning Objectives:

Learn about major functionality/variations in available GIS and AMR systems.
Understand how an EAI framework can leverage existing GIS and AMR investments.
Gain insight on utility experiences’ in increasing benefits realization from GIS and AMR.

Geographic information systems (GIS) and automated meter reading (AMR) are two of the largest information technology (IT) investments made by power distribution utilities to enable their enterprise. Yet most utilities plan, design, implement, and integrate the two technologies into the utility enterprise independently. This paper examines leveraging these existing technologies in a utility’s IT suite to increase benefits realization and unlock further enterprise returns on investment, and looks at how some utilities have accomplished this.

Spatial Data Warehousing
William P. Geer, Geer Services, Inc.
Track: Business Intelligence/Work and Asset Management
A

Learning Objectives:

Learn how spatial data can be leveraged throughout a corporation.
Discover innovative uses for spatial data when combined with other corporate data.
Understand new business benefits that result through spatial data warehousing.

Companies have spent years populating databases with information that is valuable in many ways. Departments create data each day as part of normal business operations; however, data may be managed in many different information technology systems. This paper explores how spatial data warehousing used in conjunction with a Web portal can unify dysfunctional data, create revenue opportunities, improve productivity, and reduce expenses by fully utilizing a corporation’s valuable data assets.

Keys for Successful GIS Projects
Bruce Oswald, James W. Sewall Company
Track: Organizational Impacts & Project Management
A

Learning Objectives:

Identify common project problem areas and practical solutions.
Learn essentials on scope, cost, and schedule management.
Recognize the importance of good contract administration and leadership to project success.

Have you ever experienced problems completing your GIS projects on time, staying within budget, maintaining upper management support, or managing consultant contracts? Both GIS professionals and administrators of GIS contracts need to understand and implement good project management practices to be successful. This presentation will introduce you to a practical approach to using project management principles to improve the delivery of your important projects and start you on the road to making them successful.

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.

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