PennDOT’s Maintenance-IQ for Improved Maintenance, Asset, and Operations Management

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Winner of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) 2020 IT Recognition Awards

CLIENT: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)
LOCATION: Pennsylvania

 
“The work GeoDecisions has done with PennDOT staff in developing a user-friendly platform to create an endless series of custom GIS maps that assist with maintenance planning and asset management is outstanding.”
— Sandra Tosca, PE, executive with PennDOT Engineering District 3-0
“More than 500 individuals were trained in Maintenance-IQ and the feedback has been incredible…new requests for functions and ideas are received daily, along with user testimonials on how the application is helping to get the job done.”
— Shawn Crane, project manager with PennDOT Bureau of Operations and Maintenance

CHALLENGE

PennDOT spent the last ten years unable to obtain a single picture of their maintenance and operations activities – pulling from a minimum of 10 different databases that may or may not have maps associated with the data. PennDOT needed a way to streamline the processes – eliminate out-of-sequence rework, get selected maintenance activities “on-cycle,” and reduce mobilization and travel time costs.

SOLUTION

GeoDecisions developed a GIS-based web solution, called Maintenance-IQ, to improve the planning and scheduling of maintenance activities. This solution successfully uses geospatial technology and methods, PennDOT’s GIS data warehouse, and external data feeds from other organizations and divisions, all integrated using Esri®’s ArcGIS® platform and Oracle® Spatial. Maintenance-IQ allows PennDOT to integrate, analyze, and visualize the interaction of data from disparate data systems in a central location – giving them the ability to identify solutions to once complex maintenance scheduling issues.

Maintenance-IQ integrates data from more than 10 of PennDOT’s systems. Data includes maintenance needs, planning, and production; highway and bridge inventory and condition; traffic and safety; capital projects; and environmental data. Direct integration happens at the Oracle database level through database links and the ArcGIS level via ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Server. The three main data sources come from SAP®’s Plant Maintenance module, PennDOT’s Capital Planning System (MPMS), and PennDOT’s Roadway Management System (RMS) that lives in DB2.

This solution allows PennDOT to perform GIS temporal and spatial analyses and visualize the data at the state, political district, engineering district, county, maintenance areas, and municipality levels to aid in budgeting and improvement plan curation. Layers and filters can be quickly added or removed from a map to evaluate multiple potential scenarios. The user-friendly interface allows staff to generate both preprogrammed and customized maps. Maps are created from a set of customized map layers and specified variables – traffic or roughness thresholds; and posted road, bridge, or weight restrictions.

KEY RESULTS

  • Quick and easy access to data helps users to ensure regulatory compliance.

  • Improved and coordinated roadway maintenance helps to alleviate traffic congestion, which lowers vehicle carbon emissions, fosters more enjoyable commutes, and improves air quality.

  • Smoother highways result in less vehicle wear and tear and safer commutes.

  • Use of technology to track and manage maintenance activities reduces paperwork and saves time and money.

  • Create sharable funding scenarios for yearly Surface Improvement Plans in days, not months.

KEY TECHNOLOGY

  • Esri ArcGIS platform, including ArcGIS Online

  • Oracle and DB2 database platforms

  • SAP® Plant Maintenance module

  • SAP® Business Objects

Learn more about Asset Management Solutions