Canadian Department of National Defense- Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield, Canada

Canadian Forces Base Suffield Storms Data Islands to Take Command of Infrastructure

The Challenge

Like many organizations, Canada’s Department of National Defence – Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield recognized that to operate the base more efficiently, they needed to integrate vast amounts of information kept in numerous databases. The Construction and Engineering (CE) branch is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all base infrastructure as well as environmental management. These activities vary from repairing overhead doors on buildings, laying water pipes, determining cost information for foreign military forces, and performing environmental clean-ups. The base did not have the capability to share gathered data from these tasks between users, and consequently, the data existed as isolated “islands.”

The CE branch maintains the realty asset information data and work order costing data in separate client server application databases. In addition, personal databases are collected and maintained by each staff member to support their activities. These databases are in many electronic and paper formats, and information in these databases is often useful to other staff but is difficult to access. In some cases, staff members may not be aware of the existence of these personal data sets. Integrating these various databases into one seamless system would enable users to easily obtain the information they need from each department’s database for enhanced decision making.

The Objectives

Integrate information kept in numerous databases seamlessly into one centralized system
Make integrated information available to all staff members to promote efficient decision making

The Solution

Using Intergraph’s GeoMedia, GeoMedia Professional, and GeoMedia WebMap software, CFB Suffield effectively associated and integrated their isolated data using the Spatial Information Management System (SIMS). For example, a user can select a building on an intelligent, interactive map, and see physical infrastructure data about that building in the asset information database. They can also see work order information, gas consumption data, and electrical plans from separate databases as well as an image of the building exterior. With all this information readily available, the user is better equipped to make area-specific decisions.

Not only do users have the ability to view the data, they can make redline modifications to their copy of the data as well, without modifying the database’s master data. Maps developed by data mining can be printed or saved in a text document that can then be imported into reports or spreadsheets for further manipulation or presentation. GeoMedia technology provides excellent manipulation capabilities by offering fast and easy-to-use capture and editing tools. In addition, the technology allows users to make live connections to infrastructure data housed in multiple databases simultaneously. The data’s integrity is not compromised since GeoMedia’s open architecture integrates data in various file formats in real time – no conversion necessary.

Moreover, SIMS grants those individuals responsible for the maintenance of building equipment and services access to the attribute data associated with each infrastructure item. Essentially, this allows the data owners to update the data in a single repository, which is accessible to many. So data previously stored in paper format, word processor files, log books, or inside the brains of key personnel is now recorded and accessible via an easy-to-use graphically linked data repository.

Future Plans

According to the base’s plans, CFB Suffield’s geographic information system, SIMS, will go online as a Web-based application using Intergraph technology. This application facilitates efficient decision making by providing access to base infrastructure data to any personnel with Local Area Network (LAN) access.

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