"Inside, Outside, All Around the Town"

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are changing the world we live in. In its simplest form, GIS is a combination of hardware, software, data and people that allows us to view, analyze and manipulate digital spatial information and annotate it. This process will then allow us to interactively ask questions about that data and get up-to-date answers as never before. GIS is the essential tool used to solve the multitude of problems facing governments and the private sectors of business. Those GIS tools capture information about real world objects within defined areas, associates pertinent information to the objects about their characteristics, and relate the objects to their geographic surroundings.

Once related, we can view, manipulate, analyze these data, write reports using itscontents, create new maps & map projections and control these actions from our desktop or remote locations.

In the world of building management, the control of interior utilities and assets is referred to as Facilities Management although typically they do not use GIS tools for that purpose. Because of its non-topographic nature and lack of a real coordinate system to rely on, different tools are used for the purpose of controlling the interior environment. Inside the buildings there is a world of engineering and architectural drawings, blueprints, equipment manuals and electronic control systems that are not handled well by GIS toolsets.

We use GIS technologies to address and manage exterior asset information and incorporate a variety of new mapping technologies such as LiDAR, digital cameras and airborne GPS into its collection and control. These tools capture, measure and control those external assets very effectively. The smooth transition of this electronic information between the GIS world and the Facilities Management world however, is still a problem.

In most cases, the asset management functionality inside the building uses the same technologies that are used in collecting exterior information. Video, GPS and LiDAR are also valuable tools that are changing the interior world in multiple ways. Using these tools to manage assets inside the building, technology is now capable of capturing objects by location, associating information with them, and relating all that data and attribute information it to its surroundings. In addition, with the help of today's equipment manufacturers, we are able to remotely control much of that equipment and its operation by turning off dampers, lights and air handlers.

Both of these sets of problems are being solved by similar technologies, except that one is concerned with the problems inside the building and the other outside the building. The difficulty is that for problems that need to access both types of information they find the electronic controls are on one system, the GIS on another, the CAD and facilities are on a third and it is difficult to communicate with one another . . . until now.

Most software programs make it very challenging to pass data back and forth from system to system. In most cases, there are individuals who need to see multiple sets of data residing on several different systems. An example would be in the case of professionals in emergency services (does the injured victim always get hurt outside?), homeland security issues (doesn't the terrorist go inside and outside buildings?), armed forces (we mobilize troops in building and in open fields), fire (does the fire stop at the door?), police and disaster preparedness groups (crime occurs in the streets and in the buildings, right?). The many uses of GIS and Facilities Management such as inventory management, facility construction and industrial site uses are no exception to the previous examples.
Engineers and architects that are working with off-site vendors on construction and maintenance issues all need to see the same data at the same time! What about maintenance, utilities, and telecommunication contractors? Don't they need to see what is outside and inside the buildings when addressing their problems?
Of course they do! The fact is that most of these organizations will tell you that they have a pretty good idea of what is going on outside the building. Since 9/11 we have realized what the penalty is for not knowing and making that up-to-date information available quickly. When we try to quickly retrieve accurate information inside the building, however, these agencies have very little available to them. Questions such as:

Where are the air handlers, water, emergency equipment and electricity? How is it connected? How can you turn it on or off? How can we access this equipment off site? Where are the engineering drawings? Are there any hazardous materials on site? All these questions, with a few exceptions go unanswered and unaddressed. As an official for the Department of Homeland Security so pointedly stated, “We have a pretty good handle on what's going on outside the building, but when we open the door and go inside, we're blind!"

TGMG and the industry-changing software of FacilityONE™, its business partners, are bringing solutions to the marketplace that are addressing these concerns now. With FacilityONE's™ unique software and services, they are taking GIS functionality inside the building and connecting it with the major GIS and CAD technologies. With the use of FacilityONE's™ unique ASP internet capabilities, they are connecting a variety of software solutions outside and inside the building. They are mapping the inside of buildings, its equipment, and creating control interfaces with major equipment manufacturers such as Trane and Westinghouse.

In an effort to prove its value in loss of life and assets, FacilityONE™ is conducting historically correct disaster drills using their software and services that now access information both inside and out and are changing the outcome of those actual events dramatically.

Here’s a scenario a hospital, fire, police or DHS would have to deal with:
A terrorist attack, chemical spill or extreme weather event has caused an unknown, dangerous substance to be released into the atmosphere within the city. Immediately the first responders call upon their local GIS applications (ESRI, IMAP, Intergraph, Autodesk etc.) to analyze, isolate and calculate the air plume, map its projected path and disbursement possibility. The police will then locate the affected buildings and areas threatened and take action. That action would certainly be to contact each of the building managers and the contact person (if they are available), notify the appropriate personnel and shut off incoming air or access. Lives could be saved or lost depending on the timely dispersing of this information. People will most likely be ordered to stay inside and not panic thus avoiding the possibility of air or water pollution inside the buildings. What if you had a database and knew what was inside those buildings and who the contact person was? If he was not reachable, what if you could quickly access control of the dampers or the air handlers and shut off the water or close the front doors FROM THE POLICE STATION USING THE INTERNET! This is what FacilityONE™ is enabling us to do now . . . GIS Inside the Building.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

In order that there is no confusion about the differences between typical Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) and GIS data structures as they relate to FacilityONE™, it must be clear how they work and how we interface.
Generally, CAD systems have a data structure that is organized as lines (these include circles, arcs and others elements), symbols and layers. This means that objects are drawn as line elements, collected as a group and displayed as symbols and organized on layers that can be named and manipulated. Data about those items can be associated to each item and the sorted or changed.
Typically, GIS is a point, line or polygon data structure, a relational data structure, or both. This means the data is either stored as a point, line or a series of connected points that close on itself (polygon).

Data and data bases can then be associated with each and in the case of GIS; new data can be created from overlaying two or more data sets. Newer types of GIS and CAD environments have a Relational Data Base or RDB that is a series of textual information stored in a database that relates and defines how the information is drawn, displayed and associated to one another. The big difference between GIS and CAD is that in a GIS world it is aware of itself and its associated surroundings and environment. CAD items typically know about themselves as a unique entity, do not create new information unless it is input separately and are references to other items in the databases by being manually attached to them.
An example of how CAD and GIS data worlds differ would be that if a road sign, pipe, panel or piece of equipment were moved from one geographic location to another in the drawing or map, GIS would relate that item to its new location and surroundings graphically as well as in the GIS data structure. CAD would know the new drawing or map location it is on and the data that was associated with the symbol as it moved but would not make any relationship with its new surroundings unless it was entered into the attribute information about that symbol. CAD also is generally drawing and drafting based information. That means the confines of the drawing work space is normally its data model and world. GIS on the other hand, knows the real world and the relationships associated within it. Just like in the real world, if a pile is moved, it knows the world it moved to and its surroundings.

CONCLUSION:

FacilityONE™ now knows the world inside the building and is not confined to the limits of a drawing. They have taken this GIS concept exterior to the building, by way of relational database and web technology and created an association INSIDE the building.

We at TGMG realize that there are many types of approaches and multiple data models with every GIS and CAD Company and this explanation is in no way meant to explain or limit the technology of each software company but simply meant to be a general explanation of generally accepted GIS and CAD technologies. As this is written, the world is rapidly changing and so are FacilityONE's™ software solutions. They, like many companies, have a dedicated staff of highly qualified R&D personnel at work on the next new data model.

Whether you are a CAD or GIS user, TGMG, as a partner with FacilityONE™, can help bridge the gap between inside buildings and equipment and outside topographic and event data. Now we have eyes inside and outside the building and our hope is that lives, time and dollars saved will be in your future.
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If you would like to see an online demonstration of how FacilityONE™ can benefit your company, or if you have any other questions, please contact:
Gary Rockwell at 410-745-0260 or email at grockwell@govmap.com