Guided Tour

"Our mission is to provide utility operations personnel with an intuitive map-based collaborative decision support platform that distributes critical business information anywhere and whenever it is needed."

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City of Los Angeles

The FAST System (Field Automation for Sanitation Trucks) is an exciting new application for managing sewer maintenance work orders and the associated facilities data and deploying that data to the field.

Georgia Power

When engineers and operators at Georgia Power Corporation (GPC) need maps or reports about their electrical distribution network, they turn to the Distribution Viewer

First Energy

As is the case with most energy companies today, FirstEnergy Corp of Akron, Ohio, looks at operational efficiency as the key to financial performance improvements and shareholder profit.

NaviGate Tour Scanned Images

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One of the most powerful features of the NaviGate application framework is the ability to display scanned images in the map window. Examples are aerial photographs, satellite images and engineering drawings.

NaviGate allows users to selectively display raster-scanned images as layers in the map display. Gatekeeper Systems has built several NaviGate applications that access scanned images and CAD drawings. The integration of these non-GIS objects into a vector-based mapping application can be a very effective means of distributing important information to the users who need it. Raster images such as digital orthophotography and scanned paper maps can also be used as underlays in maps and as downloaded files.

Viewing Scanned Paper Maps

As an example, the image below displays the map window portion of the full screen from a NaviGate application developed for a gas utility. This basic map shows building outlines, street right of ways, gas pipelines, valves and other facilities.

The utility has scanned atlas maps for this area that are engineering drawings which are labeled by hand with detailed information about their facilities. These drawings were scanned and the images inserted as layers into the application.

Viewing Aerial Photos

Another type of raster image that can be used with NaviGate is aerial photographs. These might be digital orthophotographs taken from aircraft or satellite images.

The map display below shows an intersection with parcel outlines (gray), building outlines (blue), and other structure outlines (pink) such as swimming pools, fences and retaining walls.

This image changes dramatically by viewing the aerial photograph layer underneath.

Access to CAD Drawings

Gatekeeper Systems has also built applications to deliver CAD drawings as part of NaviGate maps. There are three principal ways to accomplish this task. All three methods require that the downloaded images be cataloged carefully so that the Web application can locate the appropriate drawing.

• Display the CAD drawing as a raster underlay on the map.
  This method requires that the drawing be georeferenced, which may be time-consuming and very difficult. However, this method can provide very substantial benefits in ease of use.
• Display a scanned CAD drawing in another window in the web browser.
  The primary issue here is to make sure that the raster format of the drawing is compatible with the web browser. It is also important that the image be of a reasonable size for download.
• Display the CAD drawing as a live vector object, viewable in the Web browser.
  This method has several advantages. The vector object can often be smaller than the comparable scanned document, is easier to work with and view, and can print with much better resolution. The primary disadvantage of this method is that the CAD drawings must be "packaged" into a format suitable for transport over the Web (usually DWF, Autodesk's Drawing Web Format) and this may be difficult for objects with scanned images as part of the drawing. However, for most CAD drawings, this can be a very easy to implement and very cost-effective method of drawing delivery.

The NaviGate Application Framework is a suite of web-based products designed to promote information integration, increase self service, eliminate paper work, and improve field service for utilities. NaviGate is an off-the-shelf product that can be configured to meet our customers' needs  for spatial viewing, outage visualization, field inspections, mobile work orders, automated vehicle location, dispatch and call-before-you-dig. 

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Have a look at the success of our leading customers, from large publicly-traded electric utilities to municipal water authorities.

• City of Los Angeles
• PacifiCorp
• Georgia Power
• Clark Public Utilities
• FirstEnergy