GIS Integrated Field Data Collection

ScanControl, Inc delivers field data collection solutions to multiple specialised functions through a simple to use platform combining database technologies with central servers, desktop and mobile computing devices. This Trak product series provides a core database and integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to provide a rich reporting capability. The software can be configured to keep track of almost any variable and deliver the output seamlessly to a map of the sample area. This approach allows decision makers to understand the magnitude and distribution of a problem without having to scan through volumes of tabular data.

Users can define their own set of variables for field measurement. The program has been extensively deployed in farming operations where it is used to track anything from yield estimates to which harvest crew completed a particular operation in a specific spinach field on a particular date - a particularly useful capability that is frequently referred to as geotraceability.

Public Infrastructure & Utility Maintenance Auditing

Public infrastructure management, public safety, asset management and environmental impact assessments are also common uses. Almost any field inspection activity that involves repetitive data collection is a prime candidate. GIS integration delivers field measurements directly to maps and immediately highlights the location of threshold data.

A public works employee or service provider may be tasked with inspecting utility poles or identify vegetation encroachment into electrical utility corridors. The pole condition can be assessed by drawing from a predefined set of descriptive terms or using a numeric scale. The data is entered on a form on a PDA or smartphone and a digital image of the pole can optionally be attached to the record. Latitude and longitude information is automatically stored along with date and time information. When the mobile software is synchronized with the host database the connected web-enabled GIS interface is automatically updated and deficient poles are immediately identifiable... If the field worker had been using a smartphone device it would be possible to synchronize the mobile software with the host database without having to return to the office.

Whether it is sewer manhole inspections or street light audits at almost any location on the planet, the system will provide central data storage and GIS reporting at a low cost of entry. Ongoing costs depend on the scale of the project - local, regional, national, international...