{"id":50392,"date":"2019-02-01T14:22:48","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T22:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=50392"},"modified":"2023-08-07T15:43:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T22:43:51","slug":"real-time-field-measurements-result-in-staggering-roi","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/real-time-field-measurements-result-in-staggering-roi","title":{"rendered":"Real-Time Field Measurements Result in Staggering ROI"},"author":1312,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[401,1051],"tags":[241,101,161242,157872],"arcnews_issues":[25212],"class_list":["post-50392","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","category-real-time-gis","tag-gis","tag-mobile","tag-roads","tag-roi","arcnews_issues-spring-2018","arcnews_sections-your-work"],"acf":{"short_description":"All local governments need to collect measurements in the field quickly, accurately, and safely.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Real-Time Field Measurements Result in Staggering ROI<\/h2>\r\nBy Vanessa Bagnato, ikeGPS<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAll local governments need to collect measurements in the field quickly, accurately, and safely. But oftentimes this gets hampered by lengthy and inaccurate methodologies, expensive equipment that requires specialized training, or fragmented workflows that hamper cross-departmental collaboration.\r\n\r\nThe GIS and roads departments in Carbon County, Utah, recently experienced huge improvements in their field data collection processes when they implemented Collector for ArcGIS with Spike, a mobile GIS and laser measurement solution from Esri partner ikeGPS.\r\n

That Aha Moment<\/h2>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":50532,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Daniel Campbell, the road supervisor for Carbon County\u2019s road department, understands the importance of GIS data. In the 17 years he\u2019s been with the road department, Campbell has completed numerous projects more efficiently and effectively by collaborating with the county\u2019s GIS team.\r\n\r\nOne of the road team\u2019s responsibilities is completing an annual signage inventory. This entails visiting every street sign in the county to check and record its condition. In the past, it used to take Campbell and his team six months to conduct an inventory of 1,500 signs\u2014and it cost the county approximately $50,000 each year.\r\n\r\nTo make this more efficient and cost-effective, Campbell turned to Mellissa Lasslo, a GIS specialist who has been with Carbon County\u2019s GIS department for about a decade. Lasslo learned about ArcGIS in college and has been using it ever since.\r\n\r\n\u201cOne of the greatest advantages of using Esri\u2019s software is that\u2026any GIS shop in the world knows how to use it, so anybody can pick up my work where I\u2019ve left off,\u201d said Lasslo.\r\n\r\nOn a mission to capture asset dimensions and photographic records in her GIS data, Lasslo came across Spike, a device that attaches to smartphones and tablets and allows users to take measurements right from their photos. She first heard about Spike while attending a presentation at the 2016 Utah Geographic Information Council Conference, and she was so impressed by its ability to ensure accurate and even real-time measurements that she asked the speaker if she could borrow his Spike.\r\n\r\nIt just so happened that while Lasslo was testing out Spike, Carbon County experienced flooding. So Lasslo and Campbell were able to test Spike during a time-sensitive disaster, and they were impressed by the results.\r\n\r\nThey used Spike\u2019s built-in laser range finder and Bluetooth\u2014which work directly with each mobile device\u2019s camera, compass, and GPS\u2014to measure the depths and widths of road losses and erosion. Moreover, Carbon County was trying to get support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for flood recovery. Having the measurements readily available, together with a photographic record, made it easier to calculate the amount of material that would be needed for repairs, as well as estimate costs and bid out each project. The county was also able to give its engineering team insight into how flood recovery and damage repair would work best.\r\n\r\nAlthough Carbon County did not receive flood recovery funding from FEMA, having all this information at hand helped Campbell and Lasslo determine that their departments needed their own Spike devices and that they wanted them to work in conjunction with ArcGIS.\r\n\r\n\u201cKnowing that Spike had a GPS capability and was collecting the GPS location of the road damages with each photo, we were pushed to find a way to connect Spike with Collector,\u201d said Lasslo.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur experience with the flood was the first time we could see what Spike could do for us, and we had the aha moment of using this for the signage inventory project,\u201d added Campbell.\r\n

Going from Time-Consuming to Efficient<\/h2>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":50562,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Due to high costs and time constraints, Campbell and his team were already behind on the annual sign data collection project.\r\n\r\nNormally, field teams were required to collect each sign\u2019s GPS coordinates and take its measurements, write them down, and transfer them to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet on a computer that was plugged into a field generator. They also had to take a photo of the sign and, back at the office, match it with the coordinating sign in the spreadsheet. Finally, they had to embed the photo in that same spreadsheet and add their field notes. Campbell\u2019s team was using multiple instruments\u2014a GPS device, tape measure, ladder, laptop, generator, and camera\u2014to complete what is essentially one task. And none of this was connected to ArcGIS.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe road and GIS departments were\u2026doing their own programs with signage, and neither department was collaborating with one another,\u201d explained Campbell. \u201cData was not updated frequently, and some signs were collected multiple times. This became my pet project, and I went straight to GIS for help.\u201d\r\n\r\nOnce Campbell and Lasslo started using Collector and Spike to complete the signage inventory, the whole process was turned on its head\u2014and the two departments have never looked back. Now, Campbell sends just two team members out into the field to collect sign data. Here\u2019s how it works.\r\n\r\nOne person drives, and the other does the measurement work. When the driver pulls up to a sign, the passenger opens both Collector and Spike. The passenger first marks the location of the sign with Collector and then, with the Spike laser device attached to his or her iPhone or Android smartphone, takes a photo of the sign. From the Spike mobile app, the passenger uploads the photo to the Spike Cloud so that any additional measurements can be taken later back at the office. The passenger also creates a feature in Collector, attaches the Spike photo, and adds notes about the condition of the sign, as well as the measurements taken using Spike. All this data is pushed to ArcGIS Online.\r\n\r\nIf a sign is found to be broken in the initial inventory and is later repaired, the field team can easily go out again to collect a new photo of the sign. The passenger just attaches this Spike photo to the feature in Collector, making it easier for the road maintenance department or attorneys to access the comprehensive photographic history and documentation of a sign.\r\n\r\n\u201cIf we do have an accident and somebody says there is an issue with road signage, attorneys can have the full history in ArcGIS to make the case,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cWe can prove we keep these signs in good order. For example, we could show a damaged sign and then show the picture of it replaced and on what date.\u201d\r\n\r\nWith Collector, Campbell\u2019s team can work off-line as well, which is helpful since the road team needs to cache maps of the entire county while conducting the inventory. Luckily, Collector can store basemaps as layers on each device via a tile package, so the road department\u2019s fieldworkers can be disconnected from both the Internet and the internal network and still have access to maps of Carbon County, complete with road names.\r\n

An Astounding ROI<\/h2>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":50582,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"After successfully implementing Collector with Spike, Campbell\u2019s road team was able to collect data on 322 signs per day, which amounts to 1,610 per week. What once cost $50,000 now costs $5,000. That amounts to a staggering 568 percent return on investment (ROI) for Carbon County\u2019s most recent sign inventory.\r\n\r\nAccording to Lasslo, implementing Collector and Spike together has significantly impacted how the GIS and road departments capture field data.\r\n\r\n\u201cWith this new process combining Collector for ArcGIS with Spike, we have been able to collect, measure, and store our data more efficiently,\u201d said Lasslo. \u201cWe have saved time and money. Now we can have multiple people collecting and editing data at the same time, and when Campbell\u2019s team is within range of service, be able to immediately see points added to the map in ArcGIS Online as they are collected.\u201d\r\n\r\nCarbon County\u2019s new and improved sign program has been so successful that other counties want to adopt it and integrate their ArcGIS platforms with Spike. What\u2019s more, Carbon County\u2019s road department is using its joint Collector-Spike solution for so many other projects\u2014from measuring the lengths and depths of trenches and drainage ditches to calculating the widths of road surfaces, sidewalks, and vegetation encroachments on rights-of-way. The solution is also proving useful for when Campbell has to order oversized equipment from the Utah Department of Transportation (which is often), since he and his team can use Collector and Spike to measure and plan out precise routes so they can get accurate permits.\r\n\r\nFor more information about how Carbon County\u2019s GIS and road departments implemented Collector and Spike, email Lasslo at\u00a0mellissa.lasslo@carbon.utah.gov<\/a>\u00a0or Campbell at\u00a0daniel.campbell@carbon.utah.gov<\/a>. For more information on Spike, contact ikeGPS senior vice president of sales, James Pardue, at\u00a0james.pardue@ikegps.com<\/a>.\r\n\r\n

About the Author<\/h2>\r\nVanessa Bagnato is the vice president of product marketing and partner success at ikeGPS.\r\n"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nReal-Time Field Measurements Result in Staggering ROI | Spring 2018 | ArcNews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"All local governments need to collect measurements in the field quickly, accurately, and safely.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/real-time-field-measurements-result-in-staggering-roi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Real-Time Field Measurements Result in Staggering ROI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/real-time-field-measurements-result-in-staggering-roi\" \/>\n<meta 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