Tag Archives: infrastructure

New York State Thruway Authority Drone Program Continues to Soar

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Trained and certified operators work closely with state and local agencies in a myriad of data collection and inspection programs

Over the past three years, the New York State Thruway Authority‘s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) program has been expanding the application of drone technology across multiple areas of state governments. With support and encouragement from executive leadership coupled with dedicated staff in operations, the program has grown quickly and the benefits continue to be realized. The program is based on a commitment to safety, innovations, and increased government efficiencies.

The use of drones reduces the cost and time of bridge inspections significantly. This image shows the Skydio S2+. Here is a great/short Skydio video on bridge inspections.

From Bridge Inspection to Bird Boxes: A Diverse Program

While the program began by exploring applications for UAS in bridge inspections, opportunities to apply the technology have grown agency-wide. Efforts by the UAS team in 2023 lead to a $1.5 million Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing
Transportation (SMART) Grant U.S. Department of Transportation as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to update workflows and inspection procedures, and develop exciting capabilities like structural monitoring and digital 3D modeling.

Done missions in the last year has included the UAS team traversing the State of New York to inspect bridge mounted falcon boxes, searching for the presence of beaver in flooded areas, verifying the condition of rock in drill holes more than 40 feet deep for bridge piles, gathering data for corridor mapping along the right-of-ways, and covering commemorative events for media relations.

The drones offer a fast and safe way to survey locations of bird boxes located on Thruway bridges across the state. The process can be done without disrupting the birds versus having an inspector do the work. Using drones for the inspections is much more efficient and cost effective. This bird box is on the Castleton on Hudson Bridge outside of Albany.

Building a Skilled Team: Rigorous Training and Certification

The Thruway’s UAS team of FAA licensed, Part 107 pilots, which now exceeds a dozen, originate from a wide array of professional backgrounds including Land Survey, Environmental Planning, Traffic Management, and Highway Design. The program is currently refining the agency training program, while adhering to Federal, State, and local regulations, offering in-house practice opportunities, and live flight training across the system.  Additionally, the program benefits from the exceptional training programs supplied to state agencies by the NYS Department of Homeland Security. This includes equipping the team with advanced skills and knowledge from Part 107 Test Prep, Basic Flight Operations, Night-Flight Operations, Drone Thermography, and certification classes for Remote Pilot Proficiency Evaluation. With some of the T-pilots certified as Level 1 Thermographers, staff can utilize infrared cameras to analyze concrete and pavement as well as provide support for emergency services for search and rescue and Haz-Mat detection. The Thruway trains along with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Troopers, County Sheriffs, and other first responders at the NYS Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services mostly at the State Preparedness Training Center (SPTC) in Oriskany.

Drone cages have evolved to help protect device propellers in confined spaces, particularly inside structures and infrastructure systems. Here, the Thruway is using drones as part of the inspection process during the construction of bridge footings.

The team also works closely with representatives from Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR). The not-for-profit drone research coalition provides subject matter experts as consultants to ensure that the program keeps up with evolving regulation, as well as testing and showcasing for new drone technologies.

Drone thermal imaging can also be used in a myriad of public safety applications including search and rescue operations.

Tech Exploration: Choosing the Right Tools for the Job

With more and more manufacturers entering the market, hardware options are becoming more specialized for individual tasks. And with the greater availability of hardware and technology options comes the increased scrutiny required to select the right tool for drone-related work. Much of the Thruway drone fleet consists of domestically produced, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compliant aircraft, in conformance with the Buy American Act. The program also have a specialized drone designed for confined spaces with fully caged rotors and supplemental lighting added. Training drones are inexpensive, durable, in-door only drones that have no flight stability assistance or GPS which new pilots use to develop “stick skills” before progressing to live outdoor flights. The Thruway UAS pilots are always on the look out for the next aircraft which will improve efficiencies in data collection and continue to promote user safety.

Data Acquisition and Processing: After the Landing

While flight time in the field remains the most exciting draw to the program – it’s the data processing portion of the job where the real work is done. Just as hardware options expand, so does the software. As such, Thruway drone staff continue to explore various software platforms for mapping and modeling. Packages like Bentley’s iTwin, and Pix4D are currently in use while the team looks to expand knowledge of other options provided by companies like ESRI’s Site Scan for ArcGIS. The UAS team also continues to collaborate with the Thruway’s internal IT department and the GIS team to create effective data handling solutions for the large datasets created and associated with drone technology.

Summary

Upon creation of the program, the NYS Thruway Authority discovered a coalition of state agencies in New York and beyond which routinely gather and communicate to share experiences and knowledge about the UAS industry. All state agencies operating drone programs meet to train together and explore different aircraft and software platforms. Along the way building a team of drone experts which will promote safe and efficient inter-agency operations. NY State Fire, NY State Police, NYSDEC, NYSDOT, several county sheriffs, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and many other agencies all work together to provide drone support state-wide. In doing so, benefiting from the collective experience and shortening the learning curve. “In addition to reducing costs in data collection and mapping efforts, drones offer new efficiencies and safety benefits to our organization”, notes UAS Department Director and Senior Surveyor, Andrew Kosiba, “Thruway staff continues to identify new uses and applications of the technology as our program branches out wider than we originally thought possible.”

Contact:

Joel Kayser, PLS
Land Surveyor & UAS Remote Pilot
NYS Thruway Authority HQ
200 Southern Boulevard
Albany, NY, 12209
Joel.Kayser@thruway.ny.gov

 

5 Barriers to Building GIS Programs in Small Governments in New York State

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Some barriers instead might be considered missed opportunities but there continues to be specific issues which stifle geospatial growth

Over my 30+ years of managing the Westchester County GIS program, I worked extensively with local governments across the County.  Forty-three in all, ranging from Yonkers, now the third largest city in New York State to several villages which are little more than one-square mile in size such as Buchanan along the Hudson River with a population of 2,302 (2020 Census). All uniquely different in their attempts – and interests – to build geospatial capacity.  Some have been successful while many others have struggled for a myriad of reasons.  This is particularly true among the 23 villages.

Now “on the other side of the firewall” (thanks, Sue Knauss) and working for myself, I’ve been able to see and work further into the organizational framework of these smaller governments.  Confirming many of the observations I made while working with Westchester County that I believe inhibit the development of building geospatial programs at this level of government. Admittedly, the small Westchester County village just north of the Bronx is different in many ways from a small village in Chemung County and one could argue the sample size is too small to be reflective of the entire state of New York, but I would suggest these obstacles to geospatial development are conceptually very similar across the state.   Furthermore, the term “Village” is not necessarily synonymous with small government as the Village of Port Chester 2020 population here in Westchester County was 31,581 – larger than many towns across the state.  So as a point of reference for this article small governments generally mean those with a population of less than 5,000.  Plus or minus.

GIS implementation “how-to” articles, management and primer books, and cautionary experiences shared by software vendors and consultants often include recognized issues such as budget constraints, limited technical expertise, or the lack of a realistic, phased implementation plan, as major culprits in initiating geospatial efforts.   I experienced and witnessed many of these same reasons, though the following are five specific barriers which I believe have a major impact in building GIS programs in small governments across New York State. 

In no particular order:

  1.  Staff Continuity: On the urban fringes, professional staff, particularly in the front offices, turn over at an amazing rate.  Assistants to Village Administrators, Managers, and department heads/commissioners – those who are often tasked to coordinate or serve as a liaison to special projects covering several departments such as GIS implementation – are often on the move.    And it’s not just in the administrative offices where staff turnover is impactful, but also throughout key program offices and departments which touch on GIS implementation such as planning, assessment, public works, and water departments, among others.     Any successful GIS Manager will tell you one of the most important factors in building the program, or any new government initiative, is staff continuity.  Including those who are in charge of managing consultants involved in helping build the GIS program.  Losses in these areas are often a major setback and derail any progress that may have been made in the GIS effort.  In some cases, losing years of work.  It doesn’t matter how good the implementation plan was or the technology being deployed.  

2.  IT Support:  Many small governments often do not have full-time IT staff and normally contract out for this support.  And with it, much of the focus is on infrastructure items such as the network, desktop and peripheral hardware components, client software installations/upgrades and as is the case in all governments and businesses now – maintaining the firewall and supporting cyber security efforts. These contracts, which are often with smaller IT firms, rarely include the support or guidance on multi-department applications such as geospatial programs which increasingly include mobile applications and its peripheral components.  This is not to say smaller IT firms cannot support GIS, it’s just not normally in their wheelhouse.   In small governments, needed GIS support from IT resources for a “government-wide perspective” is often extremely limited.

3.  Software Application Silos:    In small governments where there is often an absence of an overarching “IT committee” and/or the like, as well as combined with the lack of full-time IT staff as noted above, it is not uncommon for individual departments to be left to themselves to make their own business software decisions.  And as software vendors continue to push for and offer cloud-based/browser only solutions for their software products, it is even easier for individual departments and programs to go rogue and operate further in obscurity from the primary or seemingly “adopted” computing environments in the organization.  In fact, it’s not uncommon for IT support in small governments (I’ve even seen this at the City level) to not even know what browser-based business solutions some departments are using on a day-to-day basis.

What makes this difficult in the GIS space is that practically all business software solutions now include some kind of “mapping” component –  if only to render the application data on some form of generic base map.  Most often Google Maps.   Often the user interface even includes the term “GIS” when simply viewing program data on a map – this being the extent of the “GIS” functionality.  And if and when the broader discussion of a GIS for the government is ever started, these same departments are slow, if ever, to join the effort.  Not knowing the larger intricacies and benefits of a shared, multi-department GIS program – the response is normally  “We already have a GIS“.  Little interest in the shared data model, to say the least of a common address file which most business software products normally ship  to support geocoding.  This cloud-only software application delivery model (mobile apps, too) is very common now in local government permitting, code enforcement, inspections, and even public safety disciplines to name just a few.

If it’s not broken, they are not going to try and fix it.  Let alone spend more money.  Making it very difficult to garner interest for a government-wide discussion on a unified GIS solution.  

4.  VIPs with an Attitude:    That may sound a little harsh, but the fact of the matter is that  just one dominant personality in small governments can impact the  decision making process over a wide range of internal technology issues – not just GIS.  Such individuals exist in all levels of government, but in smaller ones, where staff are few in numbers and  VIPs normally being senior staffers – frequently with decades of service – his or her opinion is often unquestioned.  Your first onsite meeting with folks who are genuinely interested in the GIS goes well – that’s why you’re there in the first place.  But during the second or third on-site meeting which is held to take a deeper dive into the concept – the VIP with an Attitude shows up out of nowhere acting like Lord Vadar.  Often packing a lightsaber.

Because of their decades of institutional knowledge, they have been ordained to know what is best for the good of the order.   Even if he or she isn’t even directly involved in geospatial.  Like a good defense lawyer, raising just an iota of doubt on what is deemed such a good idea by so many others.

Magically the VIPs have the ear of the Budget Director, Comptroller, Finance Director, fellow high ranking directors, or highest elected official.  Or the Town Board.  And so forth.  Across the municipal landscape they can be found in one of many program areas:  Public Works, Finance, Building Department, maybe a small Planning office, or even a long standing consultant who isn’t even on the payroll.  For whatever reason, he or she feels threatened by the technology which is being considered and increasingly adopted elsewhere.    Particularly if the VIP has not taken the time to understand the benefits that geospatial programs can bring.

But it’s not going to happen while they are still around and/or have something to say about it.  In my hometown, early GIS efforts were thwarted by the Receiver of Taxes.  Yes, Receiver of Taxes.  Largely because this office was responsible for “computer related” expenditures.  And nothing was going to compromise his/her annual computer software and hardware needs.  To this day, the program has never gotten on track.

There is really no good solution for the VIP with an Attitude problem in small governments. Sometimes retirement and attrition takes care of the problem though this may take years.  A change in administration sometimes helps, but in small governments new administrators rarely question long standing, senior staff members.  If anything they embrace the input and advice of VIPers.

And the beat goes on.  

5,  Consulting Engineers: Small governments often do not have a professional engineer on staff and normally contract out needed engineering services.  Engineering firms, whether small or large, which secure these services can have a profound impact on the use and development of GIS in small governments.  Though many small governments today do not see or consider their consulting engineers in this capacity.  Most aren’t even aware of the possible connection.

Back in the day of desktop/client GIS solutions, such support by consulting engineers was unrealistic.  But now, with easy-to-use cloud-based offerings such as ArcGIS Online, consulting engineers, along with their arsenal of AutoCAD related products and technologies, can simply envelope this “GIS service” into annual support services contracts.  At many levels of government, and particularly true in smaller ones, consulting engineers come in contact with all types of municipal geospatial data.   While infrastructure data (storm, sanitary, water distribution systems) are often the most obvious, consulting engineers duties also often include staffing local Planning Boards, serving as a liaison to utilities and a myriad of regional, state, and federal programs which include geospatial connections, as well as being involved in a host of local surveying and land/property record issues.    Depending on the in-house GIS resource capacity the consulting engineer maintains and the licensing agreement with the software vendor,  consulting engineers can offer a range of GIS capabilities to get small governments started for minimal investments. 

The reasons are many why this connection is not more common, but this “barrier” is more of a business relationship that more small governments should try and leverage with their consulting engineers.  There are positive and long term benefits for each party.   

Summary

At the end of the day, yes, the scale of small government operations and the scope of the geographical area covered may not seem to justify the investment in a comprehensive geospatial program.  Leading to a perception among the local elected officials, perhaps even department heads, that the benefits may not outweigh the costs.  Though the path I took in and out local government buildings, a basic lack of education and awareness of the geospatial benefits was still always an issue.  Particularly among the highest elected official and governing boards.  But it doesn’t stop there as I believe there still continues to be a significant lack of awareness or understanding of the broad spectrum of geospatial technologies among elected state representatives as well.    

For years, I’ve passively monitored the websites of New York State Association of Towns and New York Conference of Mayors as a source of ideas for articles for this blog.  Both organizations represent elected officials (including council members, boards, clerks and other municipal staff members as well) and are an excellent source of advocacy for small government programs and funding where geospatial technologies can be applied (i.e., transportation, infrastructure, public safety, environmental protection, etc).   Even New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) for the most rural of our state counties serves in this capacity as well.  If one takes the time to drive around and research each of the association websites, including using key word search tools, there is little reference to GIS or geospatial technologies.  Or for that matter, little of the technologies that geospatial is wrapped into. 

These organizations would be an excellent source of geospatial awareness at their newly elected training programs or annual conferences – which are extensive.  Helping connect geospatial to the programs they fund and how the tools are applied locally.   (For this article I looked for similar training sessions for newly elected New York Assembly members but could not find any specific programs).  Perhaps an opportunity for organizations like the NYS GIS Association or our emerging academic programs to provide training session/seminars to these associations.

There will continue to be exceptions, but until the opportunities and awareness of geospatial technologies are better understood, small government GIS programs in New York State will continue to struggle.

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

The American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021: Where’s the GeoBeef?

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There's lots of money out there. But few in the GIS community seem to be talking about it

During the waning months of my service with Westchester County last fall, I began to see references and documentation connecting geospatial technology to Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program which was enabled as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed earlier in 2021.  Earmarked monies for each government in New York State.  This was followed by passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in November 2021.   In general, SLFRF funding is more directed to local governments and IIJA funding being more focused on state government appropriations.  The progams certainly haven’t gone unnoticed by GIS software companies such as ESRI and Cartegraph which have published documentation outlining how specific categories of ARPA funding  can be used to support local government geospatial activities.  Even Autodesk, the AutoCAD giant, has recognized the relevance and importance of these landmark funding programs.

Empire State organizations such as the New York State Association of Towns (NYTOWNS), New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) and the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials (NYCOM) which represent the many levels of local governments across the state are also busy tracking funding allocations and keeping their own scorecards.  For example there is NYCOM’s Municipal ARPA Plans and Programs inventory, NYTOWNS procurement guide, and NYSAC’s county-level breakdown of funding   And there’s more.  The U.S Treasury Department’s Allocation for Metropolitan Cities  or the Brookings Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker.  Your county or municipality may have yet to make the connection to these geospatial opportunities.  

The Brookings ARPA Investment Tracker is one of several sites monitoring the use of grant funds. Erie County’s use of the funding is highlighted here with 92% of the funding being used for infrastructure purposes. Other New York State government interim reports can be found here.

But even with all of this publicly available information, and aggressive marketing by the vendor community, there seems to be a limited amount discussion about how these major federal grant funding programs can be woven into local geospatial initiatives.  And this is unfortunate because its very clear there ARE local activities which are “ARPA eligible” in the areas such infrastructure management, economic development, health and human services delivery, housing, transportation and community revitalization to name only a few.  So who is leading the statewide local government ARPA geospatial discussion?

Diving a little deeper, I took out attempting to survey the statewide local government geospatial community on the ARPA and IIJA programs by issuing a simple survey via the NYS GIS listserv, as well as having a link put on the NYS GIS Assocation’s website (thank you, Association webmasters).  Perhaps I would have gotten a better response to the survey offering links to both of the funding programs, but instead, wanted to capture the respondent’s immediate understanding/awareness of the programs when opening the survey.  Providing links to the programs would have defeated the purpose of the survey.   And I made it clear the survey was only for New York State local government users and/or their contractors.    That takes a lot of potential respondents off the table via the listserv and with local government representation in the Association hovering around less than 25% of the total membership, I wasn’t sure what the response would be.  Though not included in the images below, I emailed a handful of former county colleagues separately ahead of the online survey which resulted in very similar results.

The results can hardly be considered a statistically representative sample of the statewide local government GIS user community.  I received only 20 responses of which 18 provided usable data.   As such, I would submit the following pie charts can be considered illustrative or reflectiveof the current overall awareness, if not understanding, of the current ARPA funding programs.  While only a third of the respondents indicated they were even aware of the ARPA program (first pie chart),  there was barely any understanding of the funding as it relates to geospatial (second pie chart) and only one of the respondents indicated he/she had been involved in any discussions regarding the use of ARPA funding (third pie chart) in their organization.   Though to some degree many GIS practitioners across the state often hold down technical positions in department-line staff positions which are normally far removed from the grant funds discussions being held in much higher administrative offices.

Unfortunately, as historically been the case, the top level NYS government associations noted above have rarely made GIS/geospatial a visible and outward facing part of their agenda.  Even today, Its hard to find anything really meaningful for the local government GIS community when using keyword searchs such as  “GIS, geospatial, or mapping” on any of their websites.  And its highly doubtful there will be, or can be, any real meaningful advocacy through any state program offices as this political or elected official outreach framework doesn’t even exist on behalf of local government GIS programs.    As the next generation of local government GIS/geospatial programs evolve, particularly in the urban environments where the focus will be more on the public infrastructure, utilities, sustainability and climate change impacts, large scale and high resolution mapping and surveying – the collective internet of things (IoT) – discussions and geospatial strategies with most state government offices in this space will  become more distant.    Geospatial programs for different levels of government in New York State evolving in completely different directions.   Albeit for sure New York City is on a different level when is comes to infrastructure and underground mapping, but it’s Underground Infrastructure Project concept does represent an important direction of the next generation of local government GIS programs in urban areas across the state.  It’s just a matter of degree.

The list below, from an ESRI publication and is available on numerous websites, highlights the local government programs in play.  No, not necessarily direct funding to your GIS office, but does serve as a roadmap of who GIS practioners should be talking with at the local level.  EcoDev, public health, infrastructure and public works, and cooperative efforts with utilities.  And then find out who is administering your government’s ARPA funding.    You can be assured someone or some agency has dibs on the funding.  And apparently the GIS programs are only visible in the rearview mirrow. 

The four major ARPA funding program areas include:

1.  Support public health expenditures, by, for example, funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff
2.  Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector
3.  Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic

4.  Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet

Within these overall categories, recipients have broad flexibility to decide how best to use this funding to meet the needs of their communities

While actually securing funding is much easier said than done, often requiring great grant and proposal writing skills as well as involving many individual offices and agendas in the organization.  But the almost complete lack of even a discussion by the statewide local government GIS/geospatial community to date seems amiss.

There are so few funding opportunities such as these 2021 federal grant programs to take advantage of.  These are generational programs.  Right now the onus of finding representation and advocacy for local government GIS funding in the federal grants arena falls squarely on local government GIS leaders and their representatives.  As well as local GIS practitioners.

Right now, though, the silence is deafening.

Campus Planning and Geospatial Technologies at UAlbany

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GIS used in many areas alongside engineering and architectural applications

College and university campuses are the home for a vast amount of geospatial data covering both the natural and built environments.  Whereas at the beginning of geospatial era there was a clear and defined digital divide – GIS vs. CAD –  today these technologies have evolved to be used and managed together almost seamlessly.  In this space since the early 2000’s we’ve seen the evolution of the Building Information Model (BIM) in along with drone, GPS, and laser scanning technologies serving as a means to capture and generate additional types of geospatial data both indoor and outdoor.  GIS concepts are also important elements integrated into Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) and Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) solutions.

Built around the geospatial framework which also includes standards for both data collection and data management, GIS applications in campus settings are leveraged by both GIS specialists and engineers alike.  Common program areas include covering areas such as master plan support, space programming, work order management, asset management, emergency management, real estate and portfolio management, environmental and regulatory compliance, and site selection studies among others.

While traditional GIS and engineering software applications such as ArcGIS and AutoCAD support much of the outdoor mapping, facility managers increasingly use a more indoor specific software programs such as Revit, Autodesk BIM 360 Ops, Cartegraph, and ESRI’s relatively new entry into this space ArcGIS Indoors, among others.   In reality, automated systems at large facilities involve a combination of the programs noted above and often also integrate other monitoring and SCADA systems.   If you are new to GIS and geospatial applications to the campus setting, here is a good overview presentation.

Campus Planning at UAlbany

Many of these geospatial-related disciplines intersect directly – and indirectly-  in the Office of Campus Planning at UAlbany which is charged with the overall planning of physical space on campus (indoor and outdoor), capital and operating funding, and supporting the strategic plan of the University.   The office currently has a team of eight which includes Jessie Pellerin who serves as GIS and Signage and Wayfinding Manager.

Jessie is involved with several elements of GIS data collection and cartographic products associated with the UAlbany facilities for the uptown, downtown, and Alumni Quad campuses – including the production of hardcopy maps which are still an important communications and outreach component for visitors and students new to campus.   Nearly all of her day-to-day work is done with ArcGIS Pro.  Field data collection is normally supported with Collector for ArcGIS on an iPad and for offline viewing.

Jessie produces all of the UAlbany maps using just ArcGIS Pro without the use or addition of any desktop publishing software

With regard to above and underground features on, the 500-acre uptown camps, she helps manage a GIS database which includes 122 emergency blue light phone locations, 16.5 miles of storm sewer pipes and 760 catch basin, 6.4 miles of sanitary sewer pipes, 1500 light poles and 12 miles of roads among dozens of other features. Jessie also oversees individual data collection projects conducted by vendors such as the campus wide light poles and irrigation system.   She serves as the ArcGIS Online Administrator for the Office supporting and maintaining several customized viewers for 50 staff across campus in specific work program areas.

One of internal AGOL viewers Ms. Pellerin supports focuses on the locations of accessibility features on the Uptown and Downtown Campus. Pop-ups include more information for each feature. Data was developed from a campus-wide accessibility study.

Another viewer shows the location of the exterior wayfinding and regulatory signage and banners on campus. With over 500 exterior wayfinding signs, 750 regulatory signs, and 550 banners, GIS has been essential in keeping track of sign content and condition for aiding in preventative maintenance, site planning, and branding initiatives. Both of the above viewers were built with Web App Builder.

An example of how space planning is supported using GIS at UAlbany. This graphic shows a 3D visualization of assignable space on the Downtown Campus

As part of supporting the university’s COVID-19 response, Jessie assisted with others by using combining mapped sewer line and manhole data with the occupancy count of each of the residential dorms, to determine the optimal locations for the waste water testing sites in 2020. There ended up being six manholes selected (out of the 282 on campus). Maps were shared with other stakeholders in the project.    

“As it relates to campus settings, GIS use is growing and being used more often in buildings and facilities planning by campus staff” notes Stu Rich, Director, Buildings and Infrastructure at Cartegraph.  Initially, as outdoor GIS concepts and technology were beginning to be applied to the indoor environments, cost was often a barrier to get started in building BIM and interior models for many organizations.  “Those barriers are beginning to change” Rich further adds, “While precision indoor mapping will always require higher-end instrumentation, recent products such as MagicPlan and IndoorVu, as well as falling software prices, are making interior mapping and data capture more affordable for large facilities management programs.   All of these products and technologies are now broadly used in facilities management and integrated with GIS applications.”

Recognizing the importance and growth of using digital data both in-house and with the numerous engineering companies performing work on campus, both the Office of Campus Planning and the Office of Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Management (AECM) have developed digital data standards for BIM, GIS, and AutoCAD.

Summary

Large campus facilities such as SUNY Albany bring together the intersection of several geospatial technologies.  Individually each seemingly used or applied for one specific purpose (and often at varying levels of spatial accuracy) but when mashed together in a just web viewer, provide easy access to a wide range of authoritative digital content for decision-makers. Sure signs of the growing maturity and acceptance of geospatial technologies.

Contact:

Ms. Jessie L. Pellerin
GIS and Signage and Wayfinding Manager
Office of Campus Planning
University at Albany, State University of New York
jpellerin@albany.edu

NYC H2O: Advocating Cleaner Water through StoryMaps

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NYC-based nonprofit has developed extensive portfolio of educational products for all ages and settings

StoryMaps are such a great communication tool.  Turning geographic and location-based features and concepts into an easy-to-understand medium for the much broader audience which help identify key community resources, assets and experiences that can inform planning and policy-making.  By combining narrative text and other multimedia content with Geographic Information System (GIS) maps and data, story maps serve as an effective means of helping residents and developers visualize and understand projects with greater clarity.  Increasingly becoming an art form unto itself.  Broadly and increasingly used across the geospatial spectrum from the industry-leading ESRI StoryMaps platform  to say the least of the versions being offered by others in the geospatial space including Google Earth, CARTO, or Tableau. 

I’m sure its not the first time Story Map subject matter has found its way to be included in a more technical oriented conference, but I was nonetheless interested, if not surprised, to see a presentation by NYC H2O at the recent the September 9th New York City Watershed Science and Technical Conference.   A conference historically the home for geospatial-based technical and scientific presentations by engineers, biologists, and others in the water science disciplines, NYC H2O’s presentation was entitled “Engaging an Urban Population With Water Engineering Utilizing a Virtual GIS Platform in the Pandemic Era”.

Having received its nonprofit 501(c)(3) designation in May, 2012, such work is not new to NYC H2O as it has built a niche in the environmental education space using the Story Map platform as its primary teaching and outreach tool. Story Maps augment and support their mission to “inspire and educate New Yorkers of all ages to learn about, enjoy and protect their city’s local water ecology.  Since 2009, NYC H2O has offered over 120 educational programs focused on NYC’s water system and ecology to a combined audience of 4,000 people.  Their StoryMaps often incorporate  digitized historic maps, photographs, videos, and social narratives to tell the story of water‐related  infrastructure.

A couple of NYC H20’s StoryMaps in the water sciences and environmental space include:

Water Systems Overview

I’ve often heard the New York City aqueduct system referred to as the “eight wonder of the world”.   Maybe not as sexy and visible as the Great Pyramid but an incredible engineering marvel nonetheless.  Conceived, designed and built in another era to support the drinking water lifeline of the city. 

NYC receives 90% of its water from the Delaware and Catskill Watersheds. Aqueducts (red line work) transports the fresh water from a series of reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains over 100-miles from the city.

Fitting that the first StoryMap posted by NYC H2O on their “Hub” website is entitled  Water Systems Overview outlining and showing the many geographies of the system which originates in the Catskills Region.  An interactive StoryMap highlighting the major aqueduct systems (Catskill and Delaware – named for the watersheds where the water is collected), as well as the individual reservoirs both upstate and those in the city.  Household water consumption stats are also included in the StoryMap as well as several interactive learning activities as illustrated in the application toolbar below.  Included in the Site Specific Lessons is a StoryMap just for High Bridge and the Jerome Park Reservoir.

Sewer System and Stormwater Management

This StoryMap, focusing on the relationship between storm water and sanitary sewage, and its overall impact on water quality in the metropolitan region has lots more maps and associated data.

Beginning in 1850, NYC laid 70 miles of sewers, or underground pipes that carried away wastewater.   Today the city has over 7,400 miles of sewer pipes. These pipes move wastewater with the help of 95 pumping stations to 14 sewage treatment plants located in all five boroughs.  Each day, NYC wastewater treatment plants process, or “clean”, a total of 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater.   Produceing about 1,400 tons, or 60 truckloads, of biosolids!

The city maintains 14 sewage treatment plants covering the five boroughs. Treated sewage effluent is discharged into the Hudson and East Rivers and Long Island Sound.

About 60% of New York City’s sewer system is a combined sewer system. This means that one single pipe carries both stormwater runoff AND sewage from city buildings.  During heavy rainstorms, combined sewers systems receive more stormwater runoff and sewage. Wastewater Treatment plants have a capacity, or a limit, to how much water they can clean. When there is more water than the capacity, a mix of stormwater and untreated sewage empties directly into the City’s surrounding waterways. These wet weather events are called combined sewer overflows (CSOs).

The presence of combined sewers are still very prevalent in the metropolitan region with the majority emptying into the East River and the east side of the Hudson River.

Also central to the long term management of clean water – are government regulated programs entitled Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) programs.  In populated areas many neighborhoods, including in New York city, as well as industrial areas along coasts, have deployed MS4 programs.  A MS4 has one set of pipes that transports sewage to sewage treatment plants and another set of pipes that transports stormwater directly to local waterways.   Unfortunately, many pollutants (like oil, trash, pet waste, pesticides, and fertilizers from lawns) are washed into this system when it rains. MS4 helps solve one problem (CSOs and sewage in the local waterways) but causes a similar, although smaller, problem since trash and pollution can still enter the local waterways when it rains.

Currently, only about 40% of the NYC footprint is covered by an MS4.

As it relates to the collection of data for the purposes of monitoring citywide water quality, this StoryMap also includes interesting map displays of both fecal coliform (1985-2017) and dissolved oxygen (1909-2017) testing.

Summary:

It’s nice to see as part of such advocacy efforts the use of open data sets and geographic content as made available by government agencies and data portals.  Much of which is included in many of the 21 StoryMaps listed on the NYC H2O HUB.

“StoryMaps allowed us to keep students engaged in learning about their local water issues throughout the challenges of the pandemic. The tool has been so popular with schools that this year we launched a curriculum introducing GIS and StoryMaps to several environmental science and environmental justice in high school classrooms”, notes Kevin Barrett who guides NYC H2O’s mapping instruction.

With regard to the September 9th New York City Watershed Science and Technical Conference, Stalin Espinal, School Program Manager for NYC H2O adds “The conference gave us the opportunity to share our work and programs to a community of our peers. We were delighted to have received such enthusiasm and interest in our work with GIS and StoryMaps.  Even resulting in a new StoryMap collaboration in partnership with the Watershed Agriculture Council (WAC) which works with local farms on and around the upstate New York City watershed to promote Best-Practices and make improvements that help protect the water quality of our drinking water.”

Contact:

Kevin Barnett
GIS Education/Project Manager
kevin@nych2o.org
www.nych2o.org

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

Taking a Peek Under the Hood: New York State GIS Association

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How’s Your Regional GIS Association Group Doing? Biden’s Infrastructure Plan. And Dude, What’s Up with Senate Bill S1466?

Its mud season in the Adirondacks so outdoor activities are kinda slow in the North Country.  Not much on the trails and the black flies loom.  Similarly is the blog content, scrounging around for new material and the like.  Couple articles in development hoping to pull together over the next couple months.  Some cool stuff coming out of NYC.  Seemed like a good time to pull together some topics and issues I’ve been staring at for a while.  Much of it related, for the most part, to the NYS GIS Association.

New York State GIS Association Regional Groups

The end of last fall I started a conversation with a GIS colleague who was responsible coordinating meetings for a local/regional GIS user group. An honorable task given the amount of time and effort which goes into doing so – often solo or with only one or two other folks.  Our conversation focused on a combination of declining attendance and participation throughout the region albeit at the time this may have been more of factor of COVID.  The play book almost the same everywhere:  virtually no in-person meetings, Zoom fatigue, and/or in general everyone completely pre-occupied with the pandemic.  All of this adding to the challenge of working with others to develop and propose meeting themes which would/could focus on something other than COVID.  And as we all know, much easier said than done over the past 16 months.

Curbing my own personal thoughts and opinions about where the profession is headed in this space across the Empire State – fodder for another article and another day – I put together a short 10-question Google forms questionnaire which was sent to the 15 regional coordinators listed on the Association’s Regional Coordination Committee web page.

Response rate was actually very good as I received responses from 14 of the 15 individuals I sent surveys to.  One of the 14 opted not to complete the survey leaving only one coordinator not responding.   Selected questions are listed below for which I’ve included summary results.   A spreadsheet containing all questions and and responses by all respondents can be downloaded here.  For the purposes of this article I removed the name of the Regional User Group so responses could not be linked to a specific person or group.

Taking a look at some of the questions and grouped responses:

1. When was the last time your Regional Group met?

2.  Was the last meeting in-person or online?

3.  Whether in-person or online, how many people participated in the last meeting?

4.  How many people are involved in helping coordinate and administer your user group activities (i.e., scheduling meetings and speakers, establishing agendas, maintaining email lists, maintaining any kind of user group website, etc) as of March 2021?

5.  Any thoughts as to whether or not your Regional User Group will go back to in-person meetings once the COVID pandemic has generally passed?

6.  Are any future Regional Group Meetings scheduled?

(Note:  During preparation of this article one Regional Group announced a Fall 2021 in-person meeting

7.   Is the membership of your User Group mainly composed of government workers or from private sector/industry?

8.  When User Group Meetings are held, do the topics and content of discussion focus on local/regional geospatial issues or more on statewide GIS issues?

Synopsis

Given the high percentage of the number of regional coordinators who responded to the survey (14 of 15; one responding to me but not completing the survey) the information gathered should be considered reflective of the current activities and engagement of the regional groups.  Admittedly the survey was really only 10 questions and completed during our time of  COVID, thus one could argue that some of the organizational issues which the Association is facing is similar to other organizations due to the pandemic.

That said, couple immediate takeaways on the pulse of the Association’s regional groups:

While the pie chart shows nearly 54% (7 of 13) of the groups haven’t met in over 12 months, overall its probably closer to 60% as I suspect the two groups which did not respond to the survey have not met during the same time period as well.  One of those for sure.  Sixty percent is significant.

Closely related is the question about whether or not coordinators anticipate getting back to “in-person” meetings after the pandemic has passed.  Seemingly more relevant, however, was the issue of “re-energizing” the group first (61% or 8 of 13 responding).  My guess it’s safe to assume the other two survey non-respondents are in the same space or mindset – and the percentage goes to a whopping 66% – 10 of 15.  75% of those responding indicated the next meeting wasn’t even planned and again, if you throw in the non-respondents to this questions it goes to over 80%.

A noticeable feeling of malaise?  Seems like enough to give the Regional Coordination Committee Co-Chairs something to think about.

Findings to other questions which included, for the most part, anticipated results such as:

  • Meetings taking place (independent of how long ago) were about half in-person and half-online)
  • Numbers of people participating in meetings (in-person or online)
  • As we all have painfully come to know, normally a handful of people (in many cases only 1-2) individuals coordinating the group and meetings
  • Probably didn’t ask the question properly, but nonetheless it appears the groups are split about 50-50 on private/industry sector vs. government individuals; and
  • Meeting agendas/discussion tends to focus about 50-50 on local/regional issues vs. statewide issues

Biden’s Infrastructure Bill

I included the question about meeting content (local level vs. state level) to get a sense of the discussion as to who/what may be directing the narrative.  Why, you say?  How about Biden’s $2.3B Infrastructure Plan.  Rarely has so much federal money been allocated which links itself to local and regional GIS programs.  Roads, buildings and utilities, bridges, public transit, water and sewer systems, disaster resiliency, public schools, and much much more.  Large amounts of geographic features and systems best managed at the local level.  And with local resources.  If not local and regional governments themselves then with trusted consultants and business partners.  Engineering consultants with broad and capable geospatial capacity.

Yes, the time for local and regional geospatial programs to proactively and reach out to state organizations such as the NYS Association of Towns, NYS Association of Counties, ot NYS Conference of Mayors to work towards making sure this new funding sources are secured for local use and application in the geospatial space..  As well as enhancing collaborations and efforts with professional organizations such as the New York State Society of Professional Engineers and New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors which have an established presence in Albany.

Of course state assets are in play with regard to this funding, but local and regional geospatial programs, in May 2021, cannot afford to sit on the sidelines to wait and later find out distribution of this new federal funding is going to state programs first and being left to fight for the remaining scraps. And/or left to some funding distribution formula which included no local and regional geospatial programs input.

Time now for local and regional GIS/geospatial programs and organizations to mobilize on this funding opportunity.

Senate Bill S1466

Hello, McFly? Anybody home?  Anybody watching and monitoring anything with regard to the state legislature and legislation which is connected  to the Empire State geospatial space?  In the big scheme of things, S1466 probably doesn’t amount to much but it does seem something is amiss in the broader context when the words Geographic Information Systems Mapping Technology are used in describing any proposed New York statewide legislation and it goes completely under the radar screen without review and input from the statewide geospatial community. Can’t say absolutely no discussion because something, on some level, some people, somewhere, were talking and exchanging information to frame the legislation.  Was the Association part of that discussion?  Or maybe your Geospatial Advisory Committee?

And a bigger head scratcher is connecting the state GIS office with “strategic planning and municipal study assistance”.   Specifically the proposed legislation reads, in part:

“The usage of available floor space within a given political subdivision
is a critical detail. Evaluation of floor space usage allows the local
area to understand how buildings are being used, and evaluate whether
new zoning or construction plans are needed to stimulate activity in
certain sectors. However, conducting a study through questionnaires and
or geographic information mapping (GIS) technology is difficult and
costly for local entities. On the other hand, the Office of Information
Technology Services already maintains statewide GIS information and can
readily adapt that material for more specific purposes.”

This legislation would allow towns, villages, cities, and counties to
request GIS and study assistance from OITS to undertake a review of
floor space usage. Such assistance could include specific GIS maps,
online questionnaires, and other technological methods that would assist
the conducting of such studies.

Maybe I need to get out more.  Granted, if passed, the whole process of ITS of getting involved presumably wouldn’t happen unless requested locally, though it is interesting to see this office ready to provide these professional services.  Also, interesting it hasn’t ruffled a few feathers in the professional planning and GIS consultant communities as well.  NYS Association of Regional Councils?

Almost two years ago I made reference to a similar geospatial community asleep at the wheel legislative moment with regard to Senate Bill 9061 involving Google Maps.  Have there been similar pieces of legislation?  In absence of full-time staff – including an Executive Director who can operate in the Albany space – its almost an impossible task on staying on top of pending legislation proposed by others.  To say the least of identifying sponsors and proposing legislation for the benefit of the industry and membership.

One way or another, the legislative space is where the Association needs to expand and build capacity.   Thus far it hasn’t been easy and will continue to be difficult to do so.

 

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