Henrico County is a large county in the Commonwealth of Virginia,
with a population of nearly 350,000 people and covering over 245 square
miles. Different regions of the county often experience different
weather events at the same time such as rain in the east and snow in the
west. As a result, public works crews are responsible for reacting in
real time to the changing status of 167 subdivision routes, ranging from
snow and ice removal, flooding and standing water, downed trees and
power lines, and malfunctioning traffic lights.
As the manager of the county’s GIS office, Jason Collins often meets
with colleagues throughout the county to discuss problems that might be
rectified by GIS (geographic information system). Three years ago, he
met with Steve Clark, Drainage Manager for the county, who described
problems documenting when, by whom, and the type of work performed on
subdivision roads. Clark described difficulties deploying crews quickly
in response to citizen complaints, especially when provided with
incomplete or inaccurate location information. Collins and Clark agreed
that GIS might be a good way to track complaints and prevent duplication
of responses. As well, they brainstormed how GIS could provide shift
foremen with information about changing roadway conditions so they could
make real-time adjustments in plowing strategies.
Together, they created a mobile GIS system that uses mobile devices
(such as ipads and smart phones) along with ArcGIS Online (a
collaborative web GIS for sharing maps, scenes, analytics and data) and
the ESRI Collector app (collects, updates and logs data from the field).
Data is easily transmitted between administrative offices and foremen,
creating real-time information as well as graphical visualizations of
the plowing status of subdivision routes at a glance. The system creates
record-keeping capabilities for all snow-related activities so
historical information, before and after pictures, and special notes for
crews can be compiled.
Clark reports the system has been in limited use for three years with
expansion to the entire county planned for next season. The program
will leverage the county’s enterprise licensing agreement with ESRI, a
GIS mapping software platform, and mobile devices already issued to
public works staff for work-related purposes. As a result, the county
will incur no additional expense to implement the new GIS system while
eliminating paper records for complaints and work orders, and realizing
significant potential savings by reducing re-treatments and damage
complaints.
He suggested this technology could be used for additional
applications such as mosquito control, leaf collection and debris in
waterways. “It’s proving to be a great tool for documenting who, where,
when and what was performed. It’s eliminating the need for paper records
and is helping us be accountable to private citizens,” explained Clark.
“Perhaps most importantly, it’s helping us to coordinate the 15
foremen, 57 city trucks, 11 hired trucks and 10 push trucks that are
deployed to lay down chemicals and remove snow every time there is a
snow event. That’s a massive coordination project and the GIS app can
handle it with ease.”
The ‘Build a Better Mousetrap’ competition recognizes the most
innovative solutions to common transportation problems, focusing on the
development of tools, equipment modifications or processes that increase
safety, reduce cost, and improve efficiency and the quality of
transportation. As the winner of the regional competition, the Henrico
Department of Public Works’ mobile GIS entry will represent Virginia’s
LTAP at the National LTAP/TTAP annual conference to be held July 17-20
in Portsmouth-Norfolk, Virginia.
“Our goal was to improve communications so quick decisions could be
made about where and when to send road crews to address poor conditions
or downed hazards,” said Collins. “It’s an extraordinary bonus to have
our solution recognized among those of our peers and colleagues at the
national level.”
For more information about the GIS app for snow plow operations, contact Jason Collins at jason.collins@henrico.us.
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