Category Archives: Geospatial Business Spotlight

GeoSpatial Business Spotlight: CAI Technologies

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Location:              Littleton, New Hampshire 

Website:               www.cai-tech.com

Employees:          25

Established:        1985

Background

CAI Technologies has been providing GIS services to local and regional governments since 1989, making it one of the oldest and most experienced companies in the marketplace.  Since it was founded in 1985 as Cartographic Associates, Inc, CAI Technologies has been a recognized leader in local government parcel data development. Instrumental in developing the original parcel fabric, including record research and compilation for more than 270 municipalities, CAI continues to support parcel mapping development and annual maintenance needs for over 650 local governments.

Other strategic CAI corporate business functions focus on geospatial technologies including enterprise geodatabase design, GPS field data collection/mapping, and implementation services for critical utility infrastructure.  Focusing on water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure, CAI Technologies develops user tools which make system mapping, implementation, and ongoing maintenance cost-effective.  Additionally, the company provides a full scope of development services including requirements analysis, functional design, development, installation, training, and support.

CAI has a significant New York State customer base as the company currently supports the business needs of clients through implementing industry leading geospatial solutions.

Illustrative Projects

East Hampton, NY ArcGIS Enterprise Support

Since 2015 CAI has supported the Town of East Hampton by providing staff and expertise for managing and upgrading their ArcGIS Enterprise. With each upgrade, CAI provides the Town with a detailed plan including scope and pricing to support each task. Plans are designed to include processes to minimize downtime, identify fall back procedures, and provide time for end user acceptance testing.

Upgrades initially focused on ArcGIS Server and migration of existing SQL back office and SDE database onto one hardware appliance.  Next, CAI implemented Portal for ArcGIS to support Active Directory based logins with a federated ArcGIS Server. Once Portal was configured including the web adaptor, roles and permissions, CAI configured Web App Builder in the new Portal environment and migrated existing web applications.  “CAI has worked on a number of projects for us over the years and we continue to go back to them because of their excellent service,” notes Bob Masin, GIS Manager, Town of East Hampton, “they work collaboratively with us to fit our needs, are responsive, and always go the extra mile to make sure the job is done right and to our satisfaction” 

As new versions of existing software and add-on features become available, CAI coordinates implementation with the Town to ensure they are maximizing their return on investment. Most recently, CAI federated ArcGIS Server and Portal as part of an upgrade to Enterprise 10.9.1

Bedford, New York 

The Town of Bedford for many years maintained tax parcel data in various formats. A Town wide parcel layer existed in shapefile format with a majority of the tax maps generated from AutoCAD.   Some of the most current maps however only existed in PDF format. As a result, not all data sets were updated consistently each year which resulted in an inaccurate parcel dataset.

To meet the needs of the Assessor’s Office it was clear that the tax maps required updating and the resulting parcel data needed to be linked to the RPS assessment database. Using the existing source files, CAI digitized all of the existing lines and annotations into an ESRI geodatabase. Going as far back as 2011, deeds and plans were reviewed and parcels were recompiled in order to update the maps. Using additional information provided by the Assessor’s Office, CAI created GIS layers for condos and easements. Once updates were completed, CAI configured a Data Driven Pages map document file in order to print new tax maps from the GIS data.

CAI assisted the Town of Bedford in converting both existing digital datasets and hardcopy maps, including condos and easements, into a ESRI Geodatabase. This will support future tax map maintenance functions and serve as the foundation of the town’s AxisGIS public facing application. https://www.axisgis.com/BedfordNY

Capitol Region Council of Governments, CT

CAI Technologies Receive Special Achievement in GIS Award

The Capitol Region Council of Governments, CT (CRCOG) and CAI Technologies were selected to receive a Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award from ESRI. This award is given to users around the world to recognize outstanding work with GIS technology. The CRCOG/CAI Regional Parcel Viewer and Regional GIS Portal web application stood out from more than 100,000 other applicants.

CROG is the voluntary Council of Governments organization supporting 38 municipalities in the Metropolitan Hartford CT area including the City of Hartford. It is the largest of the nine regional planning organizations in Connecticut. CRCOG provides services to member towns to promote efficient transportation, public safety, responsible land use, preservation of natural resources and economic development as well as supporting shared service initiatives between member communities.

The project is a self-hosted and self-maintained Regional GIS Portal and Parcel Viewer to serve CRCOG member municipalities as well as to provide a flexible infrastructure for internal and external users. Features include automating the collection and linking of parcel and computer-aided mass appraisal (CAMA) data for each community hosted as a 38 community fabric of parcels, providing productivity tools including generation of abutter lists and labels, and providing contextual data from local, State and Federal partners such as infrastructure, environmental conditions, natural resources, census information, and political geographies. Project tasks also included streamlining and automating the update of CAMA data to the site. CRCOG GIS staff are now able to add town-specific data layers without incurring additional costs.

The CRCOG parcel viewer exemplifies the cost-efficiencies of shared services providing parcel data viewing and related mapping functions to 38 municipalities in the metro-Hartford area

The portal provides  the region with an invaluable repository of property information to support local and regional planning and development while also allowing CRCOG to implement an ArcGIS Platform which will be expanded to serve other needs of the COG organization and member communities.  The portal  continues to be a collaborative effort between CRCOG and ESRI Business Partner CAI Technologies and can  serve as a model for other regional planning agencies to follow.

The portal site can be visited at https://crcog.org/regional-gis/

Utility Mapping and Inspection Tracking Using GIS

CAI provides mapping services for their clients Water, Sewer and Stormwater systems.  Working with client staff, CAI performs Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data collection of the system point features and at the same time provides connectivity of the utility pipe network.

Working recently for the Windham Water Works and Windham Water Pollution Control Authority in Windham, CT, CAI performed sub foot data collection and mapping for over 130 miles of Water system and 47 miles of Sewer system. Taking advantage of the already in place AxisGIS service CAI hosts for the Town of Windham, the utility systems are made available to each utility in a secure staff only accessible AxisGIS Editor service. Each utility now maintains their data using AxisGIS Editor and Field Maps for ArcGIS.

CAI also integrated the water utility’s customer database with the GIS, thereby allowing easy field access to the water service connection tie cards. Recently CAI configured ESRI’s Lead Service Line Inventory solution to support inspections required to meet the Environmental Protections Agency’s (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Revisions.

With many aging sewer systems present in the Northeast, CAI works with clients to record and display their Manhole and Pipe inspections using GIS. Typical pipe inspections include capturing CCTV video. The camera operator records information relative to pipe condition, material, diameter and lateral locations. CAI is able to glean this information from the inspection software database in an automated fashion to update feature attributes, create GIS features representing sewer lateral connections and symbolize lines based on their condition. The CCTV video is linked to the corresponding pipe segment for easy retrieval in the field or office using AxisGIS or ArcGIS Online (AGOL).

The AxisGIS  platform provides an excellent framework to integrate and mash together several different types of infrastructure data types including geometry, reports, and video inspections.

For those communities that are a permitted Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), CAI provides system mapping and application development to support annual reporting requirements. To support outfall and ditch inspection workflows, CAI has configured a suite of AGOL Applications and Dashboards. Using Field Maps for ArcGIS, clients can record inspections while in the field and progress is shown using Dashboards configured in AGOL. As a result of significant EPA updates to the current MS4 General Permit, CAI has updated Outfall Inspection applications to support capturing test results required of any dry weather inspection where flow is present.

Dashboards are useful for managers responsible for monitoring and maintaining infrastructure systems. Displayed information aids in both communicating and managing field crews. Long term benefits assist in preparing annual and capital budgets.

Contact:

Aaron Weston
Business Development Manager
CAI Technologies
www.cai-tech.com
800.322.4540 x28
direct 603.761.6241
aweston@cai-tech.com

GeoSpatial Business Spotlight: H2M

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Location:        Corporate Office in Melville, New York /  10 Other locations 

Website:          www.h2m.com

Employees:    372 in Melville / 110+ in satellite offices

Established:   1933

H2M is a multi-disciplined professional consulting and design firm focusing in the fields of architecture, engineering, and environmental sciences. From treatment facilities to public safety buildings, land surveying and road reconstruction, and from site assessment to remediation, H2M has helped design and build throughout many communities across New York State since 1933.

Geospatial Support in Water Supply Systems

H2M has built its engineering practice around its service to water clients working directly with municipal water suppliers and private water utilities. The company’s work in this space has grown significantly over the past five years and is built on decades of combined municipal and private A/E experience. Recent work has focused on supporting public and private water systems to comply with new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Revisions to the Lead and Copper Rules which require an initial inventory by October 16, 2024. One of the rule’s requirements mandates the inventory must be made publicly available online for systems serving a population of more than 50,000 people.

H2M’s primary water-related consulting includes, but is not limited to, comprehensive and cost effective water engineering, water quality analysis, distribution system mapping, water storage tank inspections, water quality testing services, lead service line (LSL) inventory, leak distribution analysis, main break mapping, hydraulic (pipe) modeling, and a full suite of online and mobile mapping applications utilizing industry leading GIS software solutions. Fully integrated GIS applications include access to maintenance logs, field notes, spur maps, tap cards, valve sketches, as-build drawings, and photos.

The scanning and indexing of historical hardcopy records of water system features adds great context and valuable information to new GIS-based applications

Complaint tracking, customer notification, and work order management functions are also supported by H2M as many infrastructure GIS systems are integrated with Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) programs such as Cartegraph, IBM Maximo, Cityworks, Tyler, AssetWorks, Infor, and Lucity. These systems often consume published GIS map services, ensuring dynamic connectivity for real-time data analysis and review.

In the realm of field data collection, mapping and viewing software is augmented by powerful mobile apps. ESRI’s suite of mobile software products includes Field Maps, Survey 123, Workforce, and QuickCapture. These mobile apps can be augmented by connecting to external GNSS devices for real-time coordinate correction and higher accuracy data collection.

H2M’s work in the water system space includes the delivery of dashboards to which have become increasingly popular among administrators and decision makers providing a direct and “live” link to water system databases. Such dashboards access to pie charts, spreadsheets, photos, and mapping/viewing windows

Illustrative Projects:

Greenlawn Water District

H2M assisted the Greenlawn Water District in meeting new EPA lead service line inventory requirements by accurately geocoding each of their 12,017 service accounts and creating a data schema that complies with New York State Department of Health requirements. H2M reviewed multiple sources of information to determine service material including approximately 12,000 tap cards, dozens of hardcopy record replacement maps, and municipal records that include date of construction. Based on this information, H2M created an inspection map in ArcGIS Online which allows the District to determine areas with unknown service material and suspected lead which requires further investigation. H2M deployed Esri Field Maps as well as a Survey123 inspection form for the District to record their field inspections. This allows the District to easily document field inspections with notes and pictures, which are tied directly to the core GIS inventory data. Furthermore, H2M created multiple dashboards in ArcGIS Online that provide a dynamic snapshot of known and unknown service line material. This enables the District to quickly see the quantity of accounts that require further investigation and action, should replacement be required.

Online map viewers are easily configured to visually classify the types of water system materials owned by both the water district and by property owners

Village of Garden City Water Department

H2M was tasked to perform the Village-wide Lead Service Line (LSL) inventory and to develop a searchable, map-based data repository within its existing ArcGIS Online environment. As part of this work, H2M’s geospatial team reviewed several thousand individual records provided by the Village, including Excel spreadsheets, Building permits, plumbing permits, and nearly 1500 engineering plans. Information pertaining to water service material was transposed from the source materials to the GIS data. Source documents were also attached to the GIS data to facilitate simplified, map-based retrieval in the future. In addition to scanned documents, H2M incorporated information from engineer field observations, customer reports, and date of construction, as documented by the Nassau County assessor’s office.

Every street-side and customer-side water service within the Village is mapped and catalogued by its documented material and status.

Veolia North America (formerly SUEZ Water New Jersey

Veolia owns, operates, and maintains a network of hundreds of miles of transmission and distribution infrastructure serving more than a million residents in numerous municipalities/institutions throughout the State. In advance of the proposed State of New Jersey lead service line regulations, Veolia launched a comprehensive lead service line replacement (LSLR) program in 2019. Veolia sought assistance from H2M architects + engineers (H2M) as Construction Administrator and Construction Observer to support the regulatory compliance goals and ensure detailed records of field activity, including digital mapping in a GIS framework.

The initial scope of the 2021 LSLR program was characterized by the performance of dig-and-determine for1,900 services and the replacement of approximately 1,200 (lead and non-lead) lines within the Veolia Hackensack Public Water System Identification (PWSID), which has since been expanded to 4,600 dig and determines and 2,500 replacements.

The most challenging portion of compliance for Veolia and H2M was in the identification, cataloging, mapping,and replacement of lead service lines in systems. Service line inventories must result in the categorization of services as either: LSL, brass with suspected leaded gooseneck requiring replacement, galvanized requiring replacement, or non-lead.  Particularly vital to the success of this effort was the creation and maintenance of a set of standards intended to document compliance with the updated federal Lead and Copper Rule and ensure continuity of critical infrastructure data for future operations. To accomplish this, H2M utilized a novel, tablet-based data collection tool to document each crew’s daily activities and ensure immediate QA/QC access to the Veolia leadership team.

H2M’s work has ensured Veolia remains EPA compliant and ahead of the new requirements schedule.

 Hicksville Water District

Since 1996, H2M has supported the Hicksville Water District and as part of this work, a service line material inventory was created for the District utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. Leveraging existing District data which exists in both hardcopy and digital format (tap cards, record replacement maps and date of construction records) and combining with field collected datasets, H2M continues to assist the District in meeting EPA Lead and Copper regulations. This also includes complying with public/private water system data standards established by New York State Department of Health.

ESRI’s ArcGIS Online provides an excellent framework to establish and serve easy-to-use map viewers that will allow residents to look up service material by either address or account number. H2M’s efforts support compliance with the regulation and increased transparency for the municipality.

Water distribution systems built before the 1950s often had distribution networks that were built with lead piping

Summary:

The team of GIS professionals maintain technical fluency in the constantly-changing
GIS industry software and practices including the ESRI and AutoCAD platforms.
Software flexibility and expertise in deploying need-based solutions ensures H2M’s clients have the information they need to continue to provide the highest level of service to our communities.  A more detailed description of H2M’s capabilities and geospatial work in the water systems industry can be found in this presentation.

In addition to applying and creating solutions for the water systems sector, H2M’s geospatial team also provides client services in the following areas:

  • BIM Integration
  • Community Planning
  • Data Conversion
  • Digitization of Records
  • Environmental Data Analysis
  • Geodatabase Design
  • Geospatial Analysis
  • GPS Data Collection
  • Hydraulic Modeling
  • Mobile Application Development
  • Municipal Asset Management
  • Online Mapping
  • Raster Analysis
  • Special District Mapping
  • Wetland Delineation

H2M is an ESRI Business Partner and was recognized with their ArcGIS Online Specialty designation for the continued deployment of successful online and mobile mapping solutions.

Contact:

Christopher M. Kobos, PMP
Director of GIS Services
H2M architects + engineers
538 Broad Hollow Road, 4th Floor East, Melville, NY 11747
tel 631.756.8000 x1731 | direct 631.392.5359 | mobile 516.946.9832 | fax 631.694.4122

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Maine Technical Source

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NY Locations:     787 Old Sergeant Palmateer Way, Wappingers Falls NY
                              2634 James Street, Syracuse NY

Website:               www.mainetechnical.com 

Employees:          18

Established:         1973

 

 

 

 

The Company:

Maine Technical Source (MTS) sells, services, and supports high-end instrumentation for the geospatial industry as well as the surveying, engineering, and construction sectors throughout New England.  New York State offices are located at 787 Old Sergeant Palmateer Way in Wappingers Falls, & 2634 James Street in Syracuse. 

Gus MacDonald started the company over 45 years ago and more than half of the MTS employees have been with the company for more than fifteen years.  In June 2017, Stuart MacDonald purchased the company with a commitment to continuing the legacy of meeting customer needs.   Maine Technical Source employees are singularly focused on providing exemplary customer service.

MTS is a member of the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors (NYSAPLS).  

Products and Technology:

MTS provides a wide range of traditional industry products as well as state-of-the-art components now available in emerging and laser scanning technologies.  A complete listing of products can be found as part of the MTS online catalog.  

Illustrative products common to the geospatial, BIM and AEC applications include:

Field Mapping

Leica Zeno Mobile is a complete tool for high accuracy field data capture with the simplicity of an Android app.  Managing assets has never been easier via it’s intuitive user interface and functionality.  Users can export collected data to the PC as shape files, ASCII or KMZ, either in classic way via cable, USB or using the cloud with Dropbox. The app also comes pre-loaded with aerial imagery.  Learn more about Leica Zeno GIS technology via online training videos here.

UAV Solutions

MTS offers complete UAV solutions for the surveying, mapping and construction industries enabling fast and flexible data collection.  Systems capture, process and analyze millions of data points depicting highly accurate spatial information of the natural and built environment.   One of MTS’s more popular drone solutions is the DJI Phantom 4 RTK which is one the most compact and accurate low altitude mapping UAV devices. 

The Leica Aibot SX focuses on UAV data capture in the surveying geomapping, and asset  disciplines enabling users to create orthophotos, point clouds, and 3D models for cadastral survey and data collection. Leica Aibot CX focuses on UAV data capture in the construction industry providing up-to-date views over construction projects and earthmovings.  It also opens opportunities for daily progress documentation, stockpile monitoring and resource tracking to increase efficiency.

WingtraOne Gen II is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) sUAS for mapping of small and large areas.  It utilizes a high resolution Sony DSLR camera platform and post-processing kinematic(PPK) to provide precise geotagging of the images.  As a VTOL drone it can take off and land like a quad-copter and then transition into level flight as a fixed wing.  With the high-resolution camera it can fly missions higher and faster than a quadcopter with outstanding ground sampling distance (GSD) results.

MTS is a Pix4Dmapper reseller which is the the leading photogrammetry software for professional drone mapping.  Users can capture RGB, thermal, or multispectral images with any camera.  Pix4Dmapper’s photogrammetry algorithms transform  ground or aerial images in digital maps and 3D models. 

 

Field Tablets

Leica CS30 Data Collector is the best of both worlds – light weight (1.67 lbs) and compact yet with a screen size (7”) big enough for use all day long.  Equipped with an LCD IPS screen to provide an optimal color clarity, as well as a much improved and increased viewing angle. The unit also has an ambient light sensor for improved visibility in all lighting conditions.  Portable to fit into a field bag or typical pickup truck glove box.  Other similar devices MTS offers include the Carlson RT4 and the Sokkia SHC6000. 

Laser Scanners

MTS focuses on providing and supporting Leica Systems laser scanning technology including the new highly portable RTC360.  Intuitive and designed for maximum productivity, this unit efficiently combines the RTC360 high-performance 3D laser scanner, a Leica Cyclone FIELD 360 mobile-device app or automatically registering scans in real time, and the Leica Cyclone REGISTER 360 office software.  Depending on the specific application area of use, MTS also offers HDS software for integration into the AutoCAD, Revit, and MicroStation platforms among others.  Here is a RTC360 video. 

For a complete listing of all MTS products, visit their website.  

Contact:

Stuart MacDonald, President smacdonald@mainetechnical.com
Bill Treadwell, GIS Sales btreadwell@mainetechnical.com
Brad Beeler, Wappingers Falls brad.beeler@mainetechnical.com
David Filipski, Syracuse dfilipski@mainetechnical.com

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Woodard & Curran

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Location:                      Rye Brook, New York (Other Locations Nationwide)

Website:                       Rye Brook & Corporate

Employees:                 30 Rye Brook Office / 1,200 Nationwide

Established:                1979

The Company

Woodard & Curran is a privately held, national integrated engineering, science, and operations company. It was founded in 1979 by  Frank Woodard and Al Curran with a mission to provide a safe and enjoyable place to work with opportunity, integrity, and commitment, and to attract talented people. Woodard & Curran experts are devoted to their work which is reflected in exemplary project and program results for both public and private clients. Through a multidisciplinary approach, Woodard & Curran strives to solve clients’ technical and business problems, routinely finding unique and cost effective solutions for their clients.

Geospatial Software and Technologies:

A registered ESRI Business Partner, Woodard and Curran’s geospatial team offers the following services:

  • Needs Assessment & Implementation Planning
  • ArcGIS Online (AGOL) Configuration & Management
  • ArcGIS Enterprise Planning & Implementation
  • Paper to Digital Conversion
  • Data Standards Development
  • Field Data Collection
  • Data Integration
  • Database Design & Administration
  • Map Production
  • Web GIS Development
  • Mobile Application Development
  • Asset Management Planning and Implementation
  • Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) Integration
  • GIS and GPS Training

Geospatial Products and Services:

Woodard & Curran’s geographic information system (GIS) experts leverage the latest technologies to transform outdated data management processes into practical, efficient, and effective solutions for public and private clients. As a registered ESRI Business Partner, Woodard & Curran uses ArcGIS Online’s powerful platform to optimize spatial data through web maps and workflow specific applications for internal or public use. Woodard & Curran customized ESRI’s ArcGIS Online and Portal environments  provide clients with secure permission-based access for individual users to view, edit, or analyze data. Specific geospatial programs supported include:

ArcGIS Online Jumpstart Program

Focusing on the ArcGIS Online framework, Woodard & Curran provides customized, certified GIS professional assistance to organizations getting started with AGOL by offering:

    • Initial setup and configuration of an ArcGIS Online environment;
    • Prioritizing web maps and applications;
    • Instructions on setup, configuration, and use of web maps and applications;
    • Ongoing training for those responsible for managing AGOL environment

 GIS Enterprise Solutions

Woodard & Curran offers professional services for the full suite of ESRI ArcGIS products including ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Enterprise, and ArcGIS Online along with extensions and add-ons. Such client services are offered on premise or remotely depending on the nature of the GIS professional services being provided. This work includes support for GIS needs assessments, data conversion & migration, and design & implementation of new GIS environments for clients just starting out with GIS. For clients with more mature GIS environments, Woodard & Curran professional staff also provide advanced GIS Strategy and Planning, System Integrations, or Advanced System Architecture and Design Services.

Field Data Collection Solutions

Woodard & Curran’s geospatial experts help clients identify, configure, and implement a variety of field and mobile data collection solutions.  Field data collection can include the inventory or field verification of assets using mobile technologies including smart phones, tablets, and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. Depending on the needs of the project, information can be collected with varying degrees of location accuracy ranging from sub-meter to centimeter. Mobile data collection applications, such as ESRI Field Maps and Survey 123, and GPS solutions allow for accurate updates to be made in the field for real-time data management.

Mobile data collection is a “must-have” app for the engineering disciplines. Woodard & Curran designs and deploys a wide variety across many platforms.

Woodard & Curran’s GIS experts also offer drone services to access terrain or infrastructure that may be too vast or pose safety concerns with numerous FAA certified small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) and drone pilots.  Drones produce high resolution orthoimages, elevation contours, three-dimensional and land use analysis, volume measurements, planimetric maps, and vertical or horizontal visual measurements.

Woodard & Curran has FAA licensed UAS operators which help support many types of field data collection projects. Drones are increasingly being used to access sites which are either inaccessible or unsafe for field workers to get to.

Asset Management Technology

While asset management (AM) plans operate on a long-term vision, these plans rely on hundreds of daily dynamic inputs. And keeping track of these data points and life-cycle strategies requires a comprehensive AM technology program.

AM technology applications must be chosen carefully because they will store critical asset information, administer aspects of maintenance process and provide critical information to users when needed. These applications should fit both current and future needs, while providing the functionality necessary to maintain critical assets effectively. In supporting geospatial applications in this space, Woodard & Curran leverages business intelligence (BI) software, such as Microsoft PowerBI and ArcGIS Dashboards, to connect, integrate, analyze, and present business key performance indicator (KPI) data.

Woodard and Curran’s geospatial asset management strategy is integrated with organizational business programs such as Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Analytics and Enterprise Asset Management Systems (EAMS).

Testing Public Water Fountains for NYC Parks

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) retained Woodard & Curran to test for sources of lead in approximately 3,500 interior and exterior public drinking water fountains. While the initial proposal estimated eight weeks, the city wanted to fast-track the project with sampling beginning the first week of May 2019 and wrapping within five weeks. With the help of robust existing GIS data for the exterior fountains, Woodard & Curran’s field teams were able to meet this expedited timeline.

GIS data was analyzed to create groupings of fountain sites, organize workflow, and improve efficiency as six teams were deployed six days a week to reach nearly 900 public parks across the city’s five boroughs. Field staff were equipped with mobile devices to use GIS-compatible applications ArcGIS Collector and Survey 123 for real-time recording of sampling progress, asset information, and results reporting. The technology helped managed the need to cordon off each fountain for 8 to 18 hours, return to collect a sample after stagnation, and then a 30-second to one-minute flush sample. This also enabled field staff to build out GIS data for the approximately 500 interior fountains that were not previously listed in the client’s GIS. As the sampling progressed, the real-time collection of information on mobile devices fed into a public interactive map on the NYC Parks website.

Woodard & Curran mapped and took water samples at over 3,500 water fountains across the five boroughs in New York City in 2019.  The effort added many new features which where previously not included in the drinking fountain inventory.

Workflow & Data Accessibility for Town of Cortlandt, New York

To improve efficiency across municipal departments that relied on information about physical assets, the town of Cortlandt sought to enhance its GIS program. Woodard & Curran worked with the town to identify specific ways to strengthen their GIS program, targeting data quality and work order management as areas of significant opportunity. By focusing on the quality and integrity of data, GIS experts helped develop a public web GIS platform. To further leverage the technology, a work order management system with mapping interface was developed for staff, which allows them to generate and close out work orders while still in the field. All data from the work order system is available to managers, enabling them to see emerging trends and improve planning efficiency.

The Town of Cortlandt (NY) Work Order Management System (WOMS) provides town staff easy access to important municipal work orders (previous, current and pending) covering several operational programs and departments.

Contact:

Anthony Catalano, Senior Principal acatalano@woodardcurran.com
Jake Needle, GIS Program Manager jneedle@woodardcurran.com

Geospatial Business Spotlight: VHB

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Location:                      Albany, New York (30+ locations along the East Coast)

Website:                       www.vhb.com  &  www.vhb.com/albany

Employees:                 180 New York State / 1,600 Nationwide

Established:                1979

The Company

VHB’s 1,600 professionals include engineers, scientists, planners, and designers partner with public and private clients in the transportation, real estate, institutional, and energy markets, as well as federal, state, and local governments. With locations along the East Coast, including five regionally in  Albany, Hauppauge, New York City, White Plains, and Newark, VHB is dedicated to improving mobility, enhancing communities, and balancing development and infrastructure needs with environmental stewardship.

VHB’s integrated services approach leverages a robust line of applied technologies the firm has developed through experience and cooperation with clients and partners. Whether it’s utilizing geospatial technology to pinpoint demographics to enhance decision making or keeping critical projects moving forward by utilizing Big Data, VHB’s team is dedicated to uncovering innovative solutions that benefit the communities they serve.

The following sections cover a few of these technologies, but for more information, please visit VHB’s Applied Technology website.

Geospatial Products and Services:

VHB celebrates a long history with the GIS community, integrating lessons learned and best practices to each new opportunity. As an Esri Business Partner for more than 20 years, and part of Esri’s Business Partner Advantage Program (BPAP) which provides access to Esri’s developers and technical staff, VHB is positioned to understand Esri technology at the highest levels and receive treatment for technical issues and targeted assistance. Additionally, VHB is certified as one of Esri’s ArcGIS Online Specialty partners, which symbolizes the company’s extensive experience in creatively implementing ArcGIS Online/Portal technology within any organization.

Services that are offered by VHB’s GIS consultants include:

Planning Services

  • GIS Strategic Planning
  • GIS Needs
  • Assessments GIS
  • Business Planning
  • ROI Studies
  • GIS Audits

Application Development

  • GIS Web Development
  • Mobile Application Development
  • Spatial Enablement
  • System Integration: BI, CRM, document management, permitting, asset management, etc

Support

  • On-Call Support
  • Technical Training
  • Maintenance of Data of Systems Created
  • Hosting of Web and Mobile Applications

System Design

  • Requirements Analysis
  • GIS System Architecture

Correlating GIS Mapping With Data for Healthy Communities

VHB’s innovative Healthy Mobility Model utilizes GIS mapping powered by ESRI to establish a baseline health risk assessment within a designated area by correlating census and published health data with land use, urban design, and mobility data. This assessment, or community health profile, eliminates intensive and time-consuming surveying while identifying and prioritizing improvements.

With the Healthy Mobility Model, municipalities can easily distinguish alternative scenarios and identify factors with the strongest relationships to building better health outcomes while tracking improvements over time. These quantitative results within a given profile help decision-makers think more holistically and support sustainable solutions that consider social, environmental, and economic impacts.

This VHB application combines six census track level disease risk variables to calculate an overall “Healthy Mobility” score. Based on the 2018 data in the application, this Long Island census tract had an overall “Average” risk.

Decoding Parcel Data to Understand Sites

VHB has been creating web-based parcel viewers for county and local government agencies within New York State for more than 15 years.  As internet technology and Esri’s solutions changed over the years, their experienced applied technologists have constantly evolved applications to remain state-of-the-art. The core components of all systems include a suite of GIS functionality and a robust user interface that gives users extensive tools for accessing and manipulating parcel data, including searching for parcel buffers, generating assessor’s lists, and accessing assessment information. Many sites also include custom functionality such as the creation of a parcel flyer, the calculation of wetland acreage, and the displaying of documents from other systems.

VHB has implemented numerous web-based parcel viewer applications for local and county governments within New York State, including:

VHB property/parcel viewers integrate a variety of spatial datasets from local, county and state data sources. The applications provide a range of functionality at the parcel level.

Leveraging Big Data and Traffic Analysis to Keep Projects Moving

Collecting traffic data is a critical piece of advancing transportation projects. Intersect, VHB’s latest technology-driven innovation, revolutionizes the way traffic volumes at urban, suburban, or rural intersections are quantified during typical and atypical circumstances. As a transportation planning tool, Intersect combines big data analytics and traditional traffic analysis to identify traffic data at intersections more efficiently than ever before, without the need for traditional manual or electronic counts.

By leveraging big data and traffic analysis through an innovative four-step process, Intersect keeps critical projects, and Departments of Transportation initiatives, moving forward.

Turning Data into Action

Since no municipality is exactly alike, collecting data on buildings can be an incredible challenge, especially when these results are needed quickly and efficiently.

VHB’s Cultural Information Resource System (CRIS) was developed for the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) as a web-based resource information system to catalogue and manage the agency’s huge range of programs and assets. CRIS records and manages data concerning the cultural resources within the State and gives both SHPO and their partner agencies a platform to submit, review and process wide varieties of historic preservation projects—effectively eliminating bottlenecks during a review process. CRIS also eliminates nearly all physical paperwork to help streamline record-keeping.

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy in 2015, VHB launched CRIS Trekker as a mobile-friendly enhancement to CRIS to help SHPO assess the condition of historic buildings and resources within the areas affected by the storm. CRIS Trekker captures real-time data in the field utilizing an easy-to-use interface that allows users to simply fill out a form, take a photo with their device, and submit digitally. The enhanced flexibility makes submitting, storing, analyzing, and managing incoming building surveys faster and more efficient.

In early 2020, VHB launched CRIS Trekker 2.0, a complete re-engineering of CRIS Trekker based on the latest Esri GIS platform. In the field, CRIS Trekker 2.0 has been critical in keeping technicians safe and allowing building surveys to continue.

The combination of CRIS and CRIS Trekker 2.0 has provided SHPO with an integrated digital platform to enable the continued review and processing of incoming projects without interruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Improving Mobility & Safety in Communities

VHB designed the enterprise-level Highway Crash Geocoding & Safety Management Systems to help state transportation agency clients improve mobility and communication within the communities they serve. This future-focused technology manages the safety of community streets and roadways, streamlines workflows and processes, and helps agencies (like those listed below) deploy responses with enhanced speed and accuracy.

For NYSDOT, VHB is developing a new, customized suite of applications collectively called the Crash Location and Engineering Analysis Repository (CLEAR) system. CLEAR provides a series of modules for geocoding, editing, and managing crash data while providing tools for conducting the six-step safety management process to improve roadway safety and reduce the number of crashes, injuries, and fatalities within the state.

The CLEAR internal facing password-protected application provides NYSDOT staff a suite of tools to analyze statewide passenger and truck vehicle accident location data. Similar to all of VHB browser-based geospatial tools, the application is built on top of ESRI ArcGIS Online technology.

Managing Assets for Streamlined Capital Planning

 VHB’s Smart Asset Management and Inventory System (SAM IS) helps clients keep track of their inventory of physical assets, inspections, and maintenance so that capital planning can proceed without a hitch. The system is built on Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform and designed it to be intuitive and scalable so that whatever the need, clients can track and manage assets without over-spending valuable capital. Since it is cloud-based, SAM IS offers broad accessibility to anyone within an organization with basic Internet access. SAM IS dashboards also readily provide the information needed to help make more informed decisions and deliver projects faster, safer, and more efficiently. Available nationwide, both the City of Albany, NY, and the County of Westchester, NY, currently subscribe to SAM IS.

The VHB SAMIS application provides a wide range of functionality to clients including access to mapped infrastructure features, statistics, dashboards, and an interface connection to mobile data collection efforts.

Contact:

Steve Anderson, GISP
Director, VHB Applied Technologies
sanderson@vhb.com

Editor acknowledges the contribution of Elizabeth Arabadjis in preparation of this article

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Adirondack Research

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Location:                      Saranac Lake, New York

Website:                       https://www.adkres.org

Employees:                  3 Full-Time / 6 Seasonal

Established:                 2012

The Company

Adirondack Research is a small business located in Saranac Lake which focuses on building expert-backed and science based geospatial solutions.  Currently the firm’s primary focus is on applications and work involving invasive species, climate change, and socio-economics.  Adirondack Research staff includes GIS specialists, web developers, and field technicians and the company produces a retail line of recreation and way-finding maps under the brand Green Goat Maps.

Geospatial software used inside the company  includes ArcGIS Pro on the desktop and ArcGIS Online for a variety of web maps and viewers.  Field data collection is also supported by ESRI tools including Collector and Survey123.  For hardcopy map production both, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign are used.

Adirondack Research’s Director is Ezra Schwartzberg who received his undergraduate degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF),  graduate degree from University of Kentucky, a doctorate in Entomology  from Penn State and additional post-doctorate work at the University of Wisconsin.

To date,  Adirondack Research clients include the U.S. Forest Service, Adirondack Council, Lake Placid Land Conservancy, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, U.S. Department of Agriculture, ADK Action, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation which it has contracted for several invasive species projects, and others.   While most of Adirondack Research’s work is focused in New York State and across New England, their work has taken the firm to Lebanon as well as assisting to the development of a science curriculum for elementary schools in China.

Geospatial Products and Services

  • Environmental mapping using geographic information systems (GIS)
  • Biological inventories
  • Field experiment logistics
  • Ecosystem services assessment
  • Long-term ecosystem monitoring
  • Invasive pest management planning and analysis
  • Comprehensive management plans
  • Public outreach and stakeholder engagement
  • Citizen science
  • Grant writing
  • Expert witness testimony

Schwartzberg uses research expertise to guide processes, including program design, data analysis and project evaluation.  By combining ecological research with print and digital media, Adirondack Research is able to communicate science to help our clients reach their policy goals.

Illustrative projects include:

Surveying Adirondack Lakes for Invasive Species

Over the past several summer field seasons of 2018 – 2020, Adirondack Research was contracted by the Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) to survey lakes throughout the Adirondacks.  Data collected during these surveys was used to produce individualized lake maps of aquatic invasive species (AIS) distribution. Objectives for these efforts were twofold:

  1. Detect and delineate any new or existing invasive plant or animal infestations within prioritized lakes.
  2. Utilize a Lowrance ELITE-7Ti fishfinder to map the vegetation beds, contour lines and bottom substrate hardness of a select set of those lakes as a way to gather important data on plant distribution and other physical parameters that influence aquatic plant invasion.

In 2018, Courtney Pond in Essex County was the first year this pond was surveyed and no AIS  detected.

Mapping invasive plant beds is accomplished using a suite of software and hardware tools including GPS, sonar detecting units, C-Map by BioBase, and ArcGIS Pro.  Data from sonar units such as Lawrance Fishfinders can be translated using third party software platforms, including C-Map BioBase and ReefMaster into a format which can be interpolated with ArcGIS Pro to create visualizations of the lake bottom.  This enables staff to assess exactly where an AIS infestation is located within a larger bed of native plants and useful overtime to monitor AIS beds and their spread.  Raster layers generated as part of the work flow are then used to generate maps in ArcGIS Pro and Adobe Illustrator for final reports.  The 2019 report is complete with maps of all lakes or ponds surveyed and can be downloaded here.

Additional information on this and similar Adirondack Research invasive species projects, visit this page.

Lake Placid & Saranac Lake Winter Trails Map

While Adirondack Research makes maps for a variety of purposes to support  geospatial analysis,  ecological species distributions and for land acquisition and conservation easements, the firm also produces a line of recreation and way-finding maps under the brand Green Goat Maps.

As part of this effort, Green Goat Maps emphasizes responsible recreation and environmental stewardship by partnering with organizations to promote principles like Leave No Trace.  Maps also make reference to the proper etiquette for publicly accessible trails, how to prevent the spread of invasive species, and information and regulations specific to the areas covered in each map. Green Goat Maps has  partnered with organizations such as Barkeater Trails Alliance, the Adirondack Land Trust, and The Nature Conservancy Adirondacks in these efforts.

One example of a Green Goat map is the region’s “go-to” map for winter recreation – The Lake Placid and Saranac Lake Winter Trails Map  – which offers all of the area cross country ski, snowshoe and fat bike trails in one document.  The map highlights the Jackrabbit Ski Trail and covers ski trails from Paul Smiths to Wilmington including the popular Hayes Brook Truck Trail, Deer Pond Trails, Moose Pond Trail, Brewster Peninsula Trails, Henry’s Woods, Heaven Hill and more.  The map also includes commercial ski centers, including the Paul Smith’s College VIC, Dewey Mountain Recreation Center, Cascade X-C Ski Center and Mt. Van Hoevenberg.  For the Winter Trails Map, Adirondack Research also added trails on private and municipal land with permissions well as adding gates and parking areas which were mapped from ground research. The top banner on each map inset also shows info about what activities people can do on each individual trail network

Additionally, Green Goat gives 1% back on the sale of its maps to nonprofits through 1% for the Planet.

For more  information on this and similar Green Goat Maps products, visit this page.

Mapping Broadband Infrastructure for Essex County

A current project Adirondack Research is working on is with Essex County (as well as four other counties) and local community leaders towards designing and implementing web mapping  visualization tools which will help support and guide expanded broadband installation across the County.   These easy-to-use geospatial tools are intended to be used by local officials in multiple governments to pinpoint gaps in infrastructure coverage. Other aspects of the project include mapping the boundaries of current broadband contracts with providers across the County, checking and verifying property addresses, and performing quality assurance on plan of record build-outs.

Broadband is only available is specific areas of Essex County. Mapping at the street level by Adirondack Research will enable government officials to work with broadband providers to expand coverage.

Contact:

Ezra Schwartzberg, PhD
Adirondack Research
73 Church St
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
www.akdres.org

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Bergmann (GIS Services and Solutions)

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Company Name:               Bergmann (GIS Services and Solutions)

Location:                               Rochester, NY

Website:                                bergmannpc.com

Employees:                        400+

Established:                      1980

Bergmann is a full service, multi-disciplinary design firm employing a wide range of professionals and practitioners in the geospatial  industry.  The company represents four decades of a culture built on the work of client-focused experts. Its core business segments include Transportation Systems, Civil Works, Building Design, Land Development, Community Planning & Design, and Program Services.  Within these areas, Bergmann’s rich portfolio of work features everything from restoration of historical landmarks, to the comprehensive bridge and highway design, to waterfront master planning.  Specific client geospatial support services include:

  • Client Consulting: enterprise strategy, system planning & GIS coordination.
  • Implementation & Support: architecture design, system configuration & optimization & technical support.
  • Software Development: software extensions (ArcGIS & Geocortex), custom solutions (web/mobile/desktop) & system integration.
  • Data Services: database design, data development, and management & data migration.

The Bergmann GIS Services team is a nationally recognized leader in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Project Managers, GIS developers, GIS analysts, and 3D Design Specialists offer clients advanced and unique technical skillsets to solve complex information challenges. The company focuses on building strong, collaborative partnerships with clients to create applications, data, and workflows which bring efficiencies and value.

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Geospatial Business Spotlight: CARTO

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Company Name:                   CARTO

Location:                               New York, New York​​​​​

Website:                               www.carto.com

Employees:                          143

Established:                         2009

Founded by Javier de la Torre, CARTO is a diverse and expanding company which includes data scientists, geospatial analysts, cartographers, software developers and engineers, visualization experts, and web designers focusing on Location Intelligence.  Most recently in May 2019, CARTO expanded its worldwide professional service portfolio offerings by acquiring Geographica.

Providing ready to use software tools for data scientists and application developers, CARTO’s client focus is on turning location data into business outcomes, and is built around the following workflow:

  • Data Ingestion & Management
  • Data Enrichment
  • Analysis
  • Solutions & Visualization
  • Integration

Software & Capabilities

Complex analysis, filtering, and visualization are integrated in real time reducing time-to-insight.  Users can integrate CARTO’s API’s and geocoding services to complement other apps and business applications and can be integrated with custom proprietary analytical models.  CARTO can be used as an engine to visualize a wide range of data services.

CARTO is scalable and offers a Software as a Service  (SaaS) deployment model to push new features instantly allowing users to “grow as you go.” Being enterprise-ready also means making on-premise and private clouds architecture solutions available to clients.  CARTO also offers a mobile platform.

Sample Products and Applications

On October 16, 2019, CARTO hosted the 2019 Spatial Data Science Conference (SDSC) at Columbia University which I covered and reported on in a previous blog post.  Typically GeoSpatial Business Spotlight focuses on three or four applications from the firm being highlighted.  However, since SDSC was a day-long series of entirely CARTO-based applications, the conference website provides a better and more thorough overview on how CARTO is applied in business, academia, government, and nonprofit organizations.  Choose from presentations by Uber, Facebook, University of Chicago, American Securities, Salesforce Maps, and MIT among others.  In Empire State, CARTO supports numerous programs in the metropolitan New York City area in both business and government.

Contributions to the Profession 

As part of CARTO’s long-standing commitment to FOSS, Open Source, Open Data, and Open Science, the company has collaborated with many organizations providing access to next generation geospatial technology, data, and models. Most recently (October 2019), CARTO’s Javier de la Torre  joined the Urban Computing Foundation (UCF) Technical Advisory Committee which is a neutral forum for accelerating geospatial open source and community development.  The UCF operates under the umbrella of The Linux Foundation.  In July 2019, Geospatial Media and Communications included Javier de la Torre as part of the Location Analytics & Business Intelligence (LA & BI) Advisory Board.  Additional

CARTO is an open source software built on PostGIS and PostgreSQL which was first released in Beta at FOSS4G in September 2011 and officially released at Where2.0 in April 2012.  The CARTO software solution uses JavaScript extensively in front end web applications, back end Node.js based APIs, and for client libraries.

Overall, CARTO’s platform consists of the following primary components:

The CARTO platform enables users to access and manage vast amounts of data while at the same time providing numerous processes to discover, filter, and integrate local and Big Data libraries.  Geo-enabling large datasets provides a means to visualize and better understand large and complex datasets. CARTO enriches user location data with versatile, relevant datasets, such as demographics and census, and advanced algorithms, drawn from CARTO’s own Data Observatory and offered as Data as a Service (DaaS).

CARTO uses widget-driven dashboards, an array of maps, and unified workflows so that non-GIS and non-mapping users/staff can bring the power of location into the organization’s decision making.

The CARTO software user interface provides both user-friendly mapping and dashboard visuals which can be customized to user needs and experience.

Complex analysis, filtering, and visualization are integrated in real time reducing time-to-insight.  Users can integrate CARTO’s API’s and geocoding services to complement other apps and business applications and can be integrated with custom proprietary analytical models.  CARTO can be used as an engine to visualize a wide range of data services.

CARTO is scalable and offers a Software as a Service  (SaaS) deployment model to push new features instantly allowing users to “grow as you go.” Being enterprise-ready also means making on-premise and private clouds architecture solutions available to clients.  CARTO also offers a mobile platform.

Contact:

Florence Broderick
VP Marketing
flo@carto.com
4475-686-89402

 

Geospatial Business Spotlight: EagleHawk One, Inc.

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Company Name:                EagleHawk One, Inc

Website:                             www.eaglehawkone.com

Established:                       2016

Employees:                       6 + Nationwide network of certified drone pilots

EagleHawk was founded in 2016 by Willard Schulmeister and Patrick Walsh in Buffalo, NY, and has grown to be one of the most successful drone data and services operations in New York State today. Together they bring years of technological and business expertise to the fast moving startup company. Willard has a Master’s degree in Geographic Data Science and Geography from the University at Buffalo and Patrick holds a Master’s degrees in Aerospace Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology as well as an MBA from Rollins College. Both are licensed sUAS (drone) pilots with the Federal Aviation Administration. EagleHawk has recently added Jonathan Byrd to its executive team. Jon holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and has over 15 years of experience in strategy, finance, engineering, and operations, and has held leadership roles in a variety of companies and industries. EagleHawk’s professional staff includes engineers, pilots, data scientists and industry experts located at their offices in Buffalo, Syracuse, Charlotte and Orlando, as well as other remote locations in the U.S.

EagleHawk has built a solid reputation within the drone community and has completed work for over 100 customers to date, many of which are repeat clients. EagleHawk is a Launch NY portfolio company and an Esri Emerging Business Partner. They are active in the NYS GIS Association and in both the central and western NYS GIS  communities. EagleHawk recently won $500,000 prize in GENIUSNY, the world’s largest business accelerator program for drone systems and technology based in Syracuse, NY.

Geospatial Products and Services

EagleHawk provides a portfolio of specialized services, but they are most often sought out by corporations, universities, and developers for their expertise in campus-wide aerial infrared roof inspections. To date, EagleHawk has inspected over 800 buildings and has found that nearly 80% of those roofs show signs of leaking.

The company has established a routine inspection program that empowers clients with a means to proactively manage and extend the average lifespan of their roofs, enabling a logical and fiscally responsible approach to capital planning and budgeting for roof maintenance. EagleHawk is currently developing a GIS-based asset management software solution that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to derive meaningful insights from the data they collect.

EagleHawk specializes in the following areas:

  • Geographic Data Collection and Map/Data Processing
  • University and Corporate Campus Physical Inspections
  • Aerial Infrared Roof and Building Analysis
  • Utility and Infrastructure Inspections
  • Sensor Integration with UAV’s

A more detailed listing of EagleHawk’s services can be found at: www.eaglehawkllc.com/droneservices

University and Corporate Campus Mapping & Inspections

EagleHawk has conducted several large inspections for universities and corporate campuses throughout the Eastern United States.  For these projects, the campuses are carefully mapped in order to generate useful information for the inspection, such as building dimensional information, or roof elevation profiles.  EagleHawk conducts both façade and roof inspections  using advanced thermal imagers to detect issues not visible to the naked eye. EagleHawk certified data analysts conduct a building-by-building evaluation and generate meaningful insights from the data collection.

This image, from a SUNY campus, identifies wet and areas of concern within the building roof insulation invisible to the naked eye.  These areas are within the georeferenced “red rectangles” in the upper right image.

Pre-Construction Site Analysis

For this project EagleHawk collected approximately 550 acres of map data and imagery over a rural area in upstate New York for a client. Elevation data was needed for a pre-construction site analysis in order to determine if the area was viable for development.  EagleHawk generated an orthomosaic map, elevation contours and a massive 3D point cloud which allowed for critical decision making regarding plans at the site. This project was a great example of the benefits of drones in capturing geographic data for a large site effectively and efficiently.

For this upstate project, EagleHawk used two drones with 20MP cameras to collect imagery in one field day.  Imagery captured was processed to generate orthomosaic and topographic data delivered in common GIS & CAD formats. Clients receive the data as well as access to an interactive GIS with the data.

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper

EagleHawk has worked with Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper on more than a dozen different project sites throughout western New York including the Buffalo River, the Niagara River, Ellicott Creek and at Tifft Nature Preserve. EagleHawk collects aerial imagery and maps project sites to document change and also generates useful geographic data to aid in shoreline enhancements and restoration efforts.

The Buffalo River is one of eight habitat restoration projects in the Buffalo area that EagleHawk  is collecting imagery on.

Contact:

Patrick Walsh CEO – pwalsh@eaglehawkllc.com
Willard Schulmeister COO – wschulmeister@eaglehawkllc.com
Jonathan Byrd CFO – jbyrd@eaglehawkllc.com

EagleHawk One, Inc –  844-4-UAS-DATA  |   716-810-1042  | info@eaglehawkllc.com
FAA Certified Commercial Drone Operations

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Ecology and Environment, Inc.

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Company Name:                  Ecology and Environment, Inc.

Location:                               Lancaster, New York

Website:                                www.ene.com

Established:                         1970

Ecology and Environment, Inc., (E & E) is a global network of innovators and problem solvers, dedicated professionals, and industry leaders in scientific, engineering, and planning disciplines working together with our clients to develop technically sound, science-based solutions to the leading environmental challenges of our time. Founded in 1970 in Lancaster, NY, E & E also has offices in New York City and Albany, as well as locations across the national and internationally. E & E is a fully integrated environmental and engineering company delivering expertise across energy, site assessment and remediation, and restoration and resilience practice areas.

Geospatial Products and Services:

In October 2018, E & E’s IT/GIS group was rebranded as the Data Intelligence Group (DIG) to better reflect the capabilities and services of the department, and how that translates into identifying and integrating opportunities for innovation and streamlined data management into client projects. DIG includes experienced professional application developers and geospatial analysts who collaborate to add value for clients by providing tailored tools to collect and manage data efficiently, collate information quickly to meet aggressive schedules, accurately visualize project data, and support community engagement and project collaboration. E & E has worked on thousands of IT and GIS projects, and has built an extensive library of code that can be efficiently leveraged to complete successful new applications for clients quickly.

Specific E & E geospatial services include:

  • Custom Application development (public and private websites)
  • Needs Assessment, System Design, Development, Implementation and Maintenance
  • Database Development and Data Management
  • Data Visualizations (e.g., Tableau, ArcGIS Insights)
  • Field Data Collection and Management (GPS, Mobile Mapping)
  • GPS/GNSS Support
  • Mobile map viewers and custom mobile application development
  • 3D Visualization and Modeling
  • Photo Simulations
  • Software and system integration
  • Website design, hosting, and maintenance
  • Document Management
  • Satellite Image Processing
  • Database design, interpretation, and migration
  • Training and Technology transfer
  • Web-integrated Monitoring of Telemetered Data Feeds
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Site Survey
  • Augmented and Virtual Reality
  • GIS Process and Workflow Analysis
  • GIS Training
  • Desktop Geospatial Services (e.g., Cartography/Report quality mapping, Geospatial Analysis, Spatial interpolation and Modeling)
  • Process Automation

Mapping Offshore Wind for NYSERDA

To support New York State’s commitment under the Clean Energy Standard, which requires that 50 percent of the State’s electricity come from renewable energy sources, E & E worked closely with the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) to contribute to the first-of-its-kind New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan. The plan lays out a path for development of 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind – enough to power 1.2 million homes. Geospatial tasks associated with this project included:

  • Development of an interactive web mapping portal for team and public engagement
  • Offshore and near-shore data acquisition
  • Geostatistics of potential offshore wind development areas
  • Development of detailed map figures for published reports

Areas for consideration and indicative wind energy areas were one result of the GIS analysis performed with NYSERDA.   NYSERDA’s findings were presented to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to assist in designating official wind energy lease areas.

E & E also developed GIS modeling that ranked sensitivity of various offshore species receptor groups to the stressors of building and operating a wind farm over different times of the year. Geospatial data and analysis results were used to facilitate identification of areas for consideration for offshore wind development and will inform future developers, potentially reducing the uncertainty and costs of their proposals.  Download a copy of the actual Offshore Wind Master Plan.

Geospatial Services for Erie County Water Authority

E & E is proud to have worked with the Erie County Water Authority (ECWA) since 2003, helping them integrate and leverage increasingly robust geospatial technologies to benefit their customers and their bottom line. E & E’s GIS support has been critical to their day-to-day operations. E & E GIS support has provided:

  • Field crew mobile access to utility information though maps and data,
  • Analysis of water main leaks to target most-effective replacements, facilitating smart capital improvement project planning, and
  • Transportation logistical support by optimizing service calls to save on transportation and labor costs.

GIS has played a significant role in the location and management of assets at ECWA for the past 25 years. Pictured here is a web mapping application for use in the office, with field laptops, and mobile devices, that assists with locating and identifying assets and related information.

Geospatial Flows for Energy Infrastructure Developers

For the Williams Transco 197-mile Atlantic Sunrise project, E & E set up field data workflows for a large environmental survey. In communication with E & E biologists, developers, and the client, E & E developed a customized workflow to meet diverse needs. Solutions included development of a customized ArcPad (Trimble) and ESRI Collector Application, web integration, and desktop automation tools.

ESRI Collector and the ArcGIS Online platform played an important role in the Atlantic Sunrise field data collection process. Data was integrated in near real-time and was made immediately available to project managers, engineers, and decision makers.

 

Working Smarter with E-Datasheets

E & E has ditched paper datasheets and is going green! We developed custom “smart forms” that utilize drop-down menus, radio buttons, and behind-the-scenes calculations to speed up the data collection process. These electronic datasheets save time and improve data quality.  Data is stored in an enterprise database and can be queried and exported to PDF format for report submittal.  E-Datasheets have been used with a wide variety of clients.

E & E has developed electronic datasheets to save time, improve data quality, and reduce waste.

Contact:

Greg Coniglio, PMP, GISP
Ecology and Environment
368 Pleasant View Drive
Lancaster, New York 14086
gconiglio@ene.com