Boosting efficiency and innovation
Mapping universities is a challenge. Not only are there many buildings, floors, and rooms, but the landscape is ever-changing. On top of that, many facility managers want to use modern GIS applications to manage their data. Yet, their floor plans and other spatial datasets are collected in CAD – if not incompatible, then often scattered in thousands of drawings.
The University of Washington needed to implement an automated process to more accurately update AutoCAD floor plan drawings into a seamless, multi-campus Geodatabase. FME Form workflows were created that enabled facility managers to integrate floorplans, outlines, basemaps, and archives to create simple 3D maps. Scheduled updates maintain synchronization, enabling CAD changes to be loaded into a SQL Server staging area, quality checked, and incrementally updated in the GIS. Future plans include the option to run the Floorplan Sync Engine on FME Flow Hosted.
This innovative solution enabled the University of Washington to map 1700 floors and 24 million square feet of interior space. Their new and improved automated system saves time, allowing them to focus more on developing innovative ways to use the GIS, while also ensuring decisions are based on the most accurate information.
