Welcome to TGMG, Inc

eographic Information Systems (or geospatial information systems) are dramatically changing our world from the inside out. Just as GIS now allows us to view and interpret information about places externally, FacilityONE™ a Louisville, Kentucky based software company and business partner of TGMG, uses the same technology to learn about objects internally. Relational databases are currently capable of spatially analyzing the inside of a building, its equipment and systems, and then relating this information to the building’s surroundings. In addition, with the help of today’s equipment manufacturers, we are now able to control much of that equipment from off-site: doors, dampers, lights and air handlers can all be remotely operated in case of emergency or natural disaster. The big difference between GIS and CAD (or computer aided design) systems is that in a GIS world, objects are associated and perceived together with their surroundings and environment. As drafting-based objects, CAD objects are perceived as part of a drawing (although referenced to other items in the databases attached to them). When an object moves in a GIS system, it is moved geographically as well as in the GIS data structure. CAD can only recognize the drawing and associated data, but cannot recognize its new surroundings unless they are entered as attributes. While the CAD object remains confined to its world, the GIS object moves in a fluid context with its associated relationships. TGMG offers this exciting technology to its customers through our partner FacilityONE™. Using their net-based solutions, building managers and owners are connecting their relational databases and Web technology to the major GIS and CAD technologies outside the buildings. Inside, they are mapping the internal workings, creating control interfaces with major equipment manufacturers such as Trane and Westinghouse. Why is this a powerful tool? Because, as an official for the Department of Homeland Security put it, “We have a pretty good handle on what’s going on outside the building, but when responders get through the door, they’re blind!” As a what-if scenario, imagine a chemical spill released in your city. first responders typically call upon their local GIS applications (ESRI, IMAP, Intergraph, Autodesk) to analyze and calculate the air plume, map its projected path. Police identify areas and buildings threatened and attempt to contact emergency management. These critical people are not always available. In this situation and many others, how could crises be averted if police --- using the Internet — were able to access control of the dampers or air handlers and shut off water or close front doors of affected buildings? Now that we have eyes inside and outside the building, our hope is that time, dollars and, most importantly, lives can be saved by both GIS and FacilityONE's technologies.