The management of our cities and towns, intertwined with IT advancements, is becoming increasingly complex.
From buried lines to a web of fragile utility assets above and below ground, managing these infrastructure assets is crucial for ensuring organizational efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. With the growing complexity of infrastructure systems and the rising reliance on technology, organizations are turning to advanced solutions like SiteMap® (patent pending), powered by GPRS, to streamline their asset management processes. Let’s explore how SiteMap® utilizes advanced mapping and visualization techniques for subsurface mapping.
Understanding Infrastructure Asset Management
Infrastructure asset management (IAM) involves planning, acquiring, operating, and maintaining physical assets such as buildings, utilities, transportation networks, and IT systems. Effective IAM ensures optimal utilization, efficient maintenance, and alignment with organizational goals and objectives. It sustains public infrastructure systems throughout their life cycles, managing critical assets like wastewater treatment plants, telecommunications, sewers, roads, utility grids, and transportation systems.
In 2022, the United States spent over $36 billion on infrastructure projects, transferring another $94.5 billion to state governments. The IAM process includes:
- Asset inventory
- Condition assessment
- Level of service (LOS)
- Life cycle costing
- Risk management
- Long-term financial planning
Use Cases
IAM is vital across various industries in the public and private sectors. Key use cases include:
- Municipalities and cities
- Utilities
- Transportation
- Energy
- Healthcare
- Educational centers
- Data centers
- Waste management
The Future of IAM
Advanced technologies can enhance various aspects of IAM. Geographic information systems (GIS) capture, store, analyze, and visualize geospatial data, providing spatial context to infrastructure assets. This integration helps managers understand the relationship between assets, their location, and the surrounding environment.
Most GIS platforms, however, are limited to as-built and existing conditions data uploaded by users, which is often inaccurate and outdated. Only SiteMap® provides professionally captured above and below-ground infrastructure data, courtesy of GPRS’ 500+ Project Managers, trained to deliver the most accurate and accessible data possible.
IAM is crucial for sustainable, efficient infrastructure asset usage. The field is set to become more sophisticated, paving the way for smarter, more resilient infrastructure systems. GPRS exemplifies how new technologies can manage our infrastructure, with SiteMap® providing the missing puzzle piece to view the big picture accurately.
Challenges in Subsurface Mapping
Mapping the subsurface presents unique challenges due to the concealed nature of underground utilities. Traditional methods like manual surveys and excavation (potholing) are time-consuming, costly, and often inaccurate. The dynamic subsurface environment, with utilities constantly being installed, repaired, and replaced, complicates maintaining up-to-date records.
The Role of SiteMap® in Subsurface Mapping
SiteMap® offers a comprehensive solution for subsurface mapping, leveraging advanced mapping and visualization techniques to accurately map underground utilities and infrastructure. Key features include:
High-Resolution Mapping:
SiteMap® provides high-resolution mapping capabilities, creating detailed maps of underground utilities with unprecedented accuracy. This minimizes the risk of utility strikes, damage, and service disruptions during construction. The Digital Map Viewer is the central hub of SiteMap®, allowing users to interact with carefully visualized and aggregated data sourced by GPRS.
Advanced Visualization Techniques:
SiteMap® uses advanced visualization techniques, such as 3D modeling and reality capture, to create immersive and interactive representations of underground infrastructure. These techniques allow users to explore the subsurface environment from different perspectives, enabling better spatial understanding and decision-making. GPRS’ ProCap Progressive Capture documents construction progress with 3D photogrammetry, while WalkThru 3D offers virtual tours for site or facility walkthroughs, measurements, and digital notes.
GIS Data Portability:
SiteMap® offers seamless data portability with other GIS platforms, allowing organizations to overlay underground utility maps with other spatial datasets, such as land use, topography, and environmental conditions. This integration enables deeper analysis and insights into infrastructure assets.
Best Practices for Subsurface Mapping with SiteMap®
Data Collection and Validation:
GPRS aims for 100% subsurface damage prevention with a 99.8% accuracy rate for ground-penetrating radar services, utility locating, utility mapping, and concrete scanning. This includes locating critical targets like underground utilities, post-tension cables, rebar, conduits, and underground storage tanks (USTs), ensuring projects remain on time, on budget, and safe.
Utilize Advanced Mapping Features:
Leverage SiteMap’s advanced mapping features, such as high-resolution mapping and 3D visualization, to interact with detailed and immersive representations of underground infrastructure. GPRS offers complimentary KMZ and PDF maps and a SiteMap® Personal Subscription with every utility locate performed. The Mapping & Modeling Team can create anything from simple GPS-enabled locating maps to highly detailed 2D CAD drawings and 3D BIM models, depending on your needs.
Integrate Your GIS Data:
SiteMap® provides instant data portability with other GIS data sources, enabling overlaying subsurface maps with other spatial datasets for deeper analysis and insights.
The Future of Infrastructure Asset Management
IT leads the next wave of infrastructure asset management. Keeping up with the technology and methods to accurately and efficiently manage this complex, growing web isn’t easy but is essential for optimizing infrastructure management.
With SiteMap®, organizations can overcome subsurface mapping challenges by leveraging advanced mapping and visualization techniques to accurately map underground utilities and infrastructure. Access 99.8% accurate data with Intelligent Visualization and digital portability offered by GPRS. By following best practices for subsurface mapping with SiteMap®, organizations can streamline their asset management processes, simplifying and improving how they see the subsurface.
GPRS’ SiteMap® team members are currently scheduling live, personal SiteMap® demonstrations. Click below to schedule your demo today!
