, , ,

Water Maps getting back to Normal

, , ,

The Town of Normal, IL is taking great strides in its GIS progress under the leadership of two highly talented professionals.  IT Director, Teri Legner and GIS Coordinator, Cassidy Killian are currently working with the water department to update all of their old maps.  The water distribution system is currently all mapped out in CAD however it is not exactly to scale, causing a huge challenge when trying to convert to GIS format.  Normally a simple georeferencing process can stretch or rotate the old maps to fit, however in this case it was not a practical approach due to the scale variance.  

Cloudpoint was brought in to help with this process consisting of referencing old records such as pdf valve cards, construction drawings, and CAD data to reconstruct the data in a GIS environment.  The newly converted data will be in Esri's local government data model and can be easily integrated into all of the latest Esri tools, maps, and apps including the Water Utility Network Editing and Reporting tools which are freely available to the Town as part of their current Esri licensing.  Soon the GIS department will be able to use this new GIS layer for water distribution applications such as valve isolation traces, reporting, and customer outage notifications or boil orders.  

As-built record drawings were scanned to pdf and used for reference in constructing the GIS layers

As-built record drawings were scanned to pdf and used for reference in constructing the GIS layers

Water main details are incorporated into the GIS which can later be used for system-wide analysis and reporting.

Water main details are incorporated into the GIS which can later be used for system-wide analysis and reporting.

Having Trimble GeoXH units on hand will allow the water department staff to further "fine tune" their data and collect GPS information with greater accuracy.  The professional staff at Normal has displayed great insight in migrating their data to the GIS environment and using the resources they have in place.

Don't miss the ILGISA Regional meetings

This year we have been actively involved with the Illinois GIS Association (ILGISA).  At two of the recent regional meetings this spring Cloudpoint will be participating through speaking and sitting on a career panel.  Micah Williamson presented at the recent regional meeting in Normal, IL on the topic of Making Your Own Parcel Viewer.  

Micah presents at this year's first ILGISA regional meeting in Normal, IL.  Several more will be taking place throughout the state this year.

Micah presents at this year's first ILGISA regional meeting in Normal, IL.  Several more will be taking place throughout the state this year.

Next week, Jon Hodel will talk about routing garbage trucks using ArcGIS Network Analyst at the second Regional Meeting in Macomb, IL.  Cloudpoint is proud to support the ILGISA organization and appreciates all of the efforts that have been put forth to make these localized meetings happen.  If you, or someone you know  is interested in learning more about GIS or becoming a member of ILGISA please visit their web page.

Cloudpoint expanding to Wisconsin

Clark County, WI has partnered with Cloudpoint Geographics to migrate to an enterprise GIS environment and create a seamless workflow for migrating tax and parcel data into a standard format compatible with the state’s Act 20 requirements.  

The State of Wisconsin's Department of Administration is very proactive in their GIS initiative working with all of the counties within the state to create a seamless state-wide digital parcel map.   The Wisconsin Land Information Program (WLIP) allows counties to receive grant funding to address these statutory directives to post parcel information online in a standard searchable format.  The strategic initiative approach is broken down into the following benchmarks:

  • Benchmark 1 – Parcel and Zoning Data Submission
  • Benchmark 2 – Extended Parcel Attribute Set Submission
  • Benchmark 3 – Completion of County Parcel Fabric
  • Benchmark 4 – Completion and Integration of PLSS

Cloudpoint Geographics' staff of highly trained professionals have a long history of local government experience specific to county GIS workflows and are pleased to offer these services to Wisconsin counties in meeting these requirements.  For more information on parcel data services or migrating to Esri's parcel fabric, contact Jon at (877) 377-8124.

ESRI Water Conference 2016

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 2016 ESRI Water Conference in Austin, TX (not a bad place to be in February). This was the second annual iteration of the conference, and this year they included not only utilities, but also water resources. And I think that was an interesting move, to expand the scope to a broader look at the water cycle.

Naturally there were a plenty of interesting GIS uses and technologies showcased from streamflow and flood prediction to a growing number of mobile applications. Primarily interested in the keeping up with the latest ESRI has to offer, I got the most excitement out of the upcoming releases of applications like Collector and Survey123, and the news of development for a new Utility Network Model. It was also pretty awesome to hear what other organizations like the City of Philadelphia are doing with the technology and water management.

 

Austin was a great venue and the downtown scene had plenty of great food and music. And for those dealing with water and GIS, I'd recommend this conference if you get the chance. It's a nice, more focused alternative to the UC, or early addition / sneak peak.

 

, ,

Stephenson earns GISP certificate

, ,

Congratulations to Cloudpoint's, Paul Stephenson, for becoming the team's latest certified GIS Professional (GISP).  Paul was one of the very first people to sit for the newly established GISP examination through the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) which he took last November.  With his professionalism and outstanding work ethic it was no surprise that he passed with flying colors.  Obtaining a GISP certificate involves an extensive application process which now includes the exam requirement.  With Paul's achievements, he joins Jon & Micah bringing the total number of GISP certified staff members at Cloudpoint to three.  The following are some notes highlighting what makes a certified GISP:

Pictured are Paul Stephenson (left) and Jon Hodel (right) with Paul's new GISP certification

Pictured are Paul Stephenson (left) and Jon Hodel (right) with Paul's new GISP certification

  •  Certified Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Professional endorsed by a 3rd party (GISCI) though a peer-reviewed evaluation. 
  • Has met the minimum standards for educational achievement, professional experience, and manner in which he or she contributes back to the profession, and practices in an ethical manner. 
  • Must abide by higher guidelines for ethical behavior. 
  • Continues to educate and reeducate him or herself while preparing for recertification. 
  • Has had their professional background scrutinized and reviewed by an independent third party organization. An Institute comprised of leading non-profit associations (AAG, NSGIC, UCGIS, GITA, URISA, and GLIS) focused on the application of GIS and geospatial technology. 
  • Can come from anywhere in the world, and current, active GISPs reside in all 50 States and 25 foreign countries.
  • Is more than a practitioner of GIS technology. 
  • Is a Professional.

Well done Paul!

Customer Spotlight - Dick Simon, City of Rock Falls, IL

Dick Simon, Rock Falls Electric Director, shown here with his GIS pulled up on the big screens for quick access to his electric distribution network.

Dick Simon, Rock Falls Electric Director, shown here with his GIS pulled up on the big screens for quick access to his electric distribution network.

Dick Simon is the Director of the Electric Department for the City of Rock Falls, IL.  Here is a little bit of information about how Dick got to where he is at today and what GIS has done for him.

Dick has been with the City for 25 years, starting as an Apprentice Lineman and working his way up to his current position of Director of the Electric Department.

As part of his duties, Dick is responsible for the maintenance, repair, replacement, testing and capital improvements to the transmission, substation, distribution and metering systems. Other responsibilities include, design of electrical system improvements, capital improvement plans, inventory coordination, preventive maintenance, bidding and contract documents, coordination of updates and improvements with GIS, liaison between City and electrical contractors.

When asked how his agency has benefited from GIS, Dick says "GIS will give us the power to create maps, (Electric, Fiber, Water and Sewer Systems) integrate information by creating an inventory of each system. Visualize scenarios, an example; we color code our electric feeders so when we have an outage we know how many customer are off.  Solve complicated problems, such as identifying the location of tie switches to restore power faster."

As a decision maker, Dick knows that GIS can be used for much more than just electric utilities.  He says "GIS is a very powerful decision-making tool that has a massive range of applications, whatever your business – resource management, logistics, planning, transport, surveying, demographic studies, and environment, to name but a few."

Cloudpoint would like to thank Dick for his commitment to GIS technology and use of the Esri platform in helping his organization to succeed with providing quality electric service to the citizens of Rock Falls, IL.  Because of Dick's insight, the city's utility networks are well on their way to streamlining operations through the use of GIS technology.

A Marketing partnership in the Making!

Cloudpoint teams up with Central States Media!

2016 is going to be a great year.  The Cloudpoint team is settled into our new office, we have several projects on the horizon, and we are happy to announce that we have hired Central States Media (CSM) to supplement our marketing needs.  CSM is based in Peoria, IL and works with clients throughout the country who complete a variety of different work.

We can't say enough good things about CSM and the help they offer.  President, Ann Johnston, and Project Manager, Brian Buralli, are a tag team of marketing professionals that provide detailed and creative ways for us to reach new clients. Jon had this to say, "CSM has been a big help for us with our marketing.  They have professional experience and a proven approach that easily builds a trustworthy relationship with them. We're very excited to see how they can help us expand on our services in the coming year and thankful for their partnership."

We are excited to have them on board to put their expertise to work and help spread the word about Cloudpoint Geographics.  You can learn more about Central States Media by visiting their website HERE

,

Open wide..... We've Moved!

,
aaagh.PNG

Growing up, I had a mouth full of cavities and now have plenty of fillings to show for it.  Little did I know at that time (back when I though I wanted to be a fireman) I would soon be making a living by working in that same building where I would go for routine checkups and teeth cleaning.   No, didn't go in to dentistry (although if you stop by we could take a look at your teeth but I wouldn't trust our diagnosis).  We recently purchased the former dentist office in Roanoke where just a few short months ago people were getting crowns and caps, now it is used for drones, ipads and desktop PC's.  We are excited to make it our new home here at Cloudpoint Geographics.  

 

Ten (10) weeks of renovations consisted of ripping our old sinks and X-ray boxes, hoses, lines, excess wiring, tons of painting, new carpet, and best of all- the lighting.  We converted an old lab into a kitchen, and exam rooms are now functioning as high-tech office space.   The large window view that so many of us distracted ourselves with while a hygienist scraped on our jowls,  is now enjoyed by our staff as each person has their own private office.


We are blessed to have a new spot that so perfectly fits our current needs and the move was just across the parking lot from our old location.  Be sure to come by and visit us during our upcoming Open House on October 2nd from 4PM to 6PM.  

Map St. Chuck

Historic St Charles Missouri has a very modern tool for you to explore. We were delighted to help the staff of St Charles to create a hosted StoryMap that lets the general public discover all the city has to offer. Using ArcGIS Online templates and hosted on Amazon S3, we built the mapstchuck.com website in relatively short order and were able to customize it to meet staff requests.

The responsive website has 7 tabs across the top showing 7 categories of points of interest for the cities downtown area. Most every business, parking location and cultural landmark in St Charles is listed on the map. using the bookmarks available on the web map, we were able to also note the routes/detour locations for easy navigation around the city. 

Best of all the staff of St. Charles has complete control  over the content using ArcGIS Online organizational account to add, update or delete locations within the map. No continued cost or obligation to us or anyone else. Make it better!! 



,

Coming to an Office near you!

,

Here's an update as to what's going on at Cloudpoint Geographics. 

Office Remodel: 

I've had some people say they heard we were moving a while back but nothing since then.  We are deep into the remodel project and can see light at the end of the tunnel.  Here are some quick snapshots of the work being done.

employee spotlight:

Our new office manager, Jodi Hoffman, has been doing an awesome job.  Outside of work, Jodi keeps track of three fine young boys (four if you count husband Eric) and keeps things rolling smoothly at home and in the office.  We are thankful to have her on our team.

ILGISA Conference 2015: 

1434664066.png

We are heading to the ILGISA conference in Springfield, IL very soon.  Hoping to get moved in to the new office just before that.  Be sure to stop by our booth and say hello to our team.  We will all be there!

Also Cloudpoint will be sponsoring the new Monday night social so don't miss out on the fun.