The immense size and complexity of pipeline data assets have made it difficult for pipeline operators to distribute meaningful information to their employees in a timely manner. Facility Explorer™ solves these data distribution issues by providing enterprise-wide access to the company's maps, data, documents and reports from your desk or in the field. Facility Explorer™ allows you to collaborate in a secure web-based environment instantly querying, viewing and reporting on the entire range of pipeline system data from one common data source.
Facility Explorer™ is a web-based application, which means there is no software for users to install—all they need is a browser and a secure connection to the company's network. It can be delivered through a company intranet or ERP system. Facility Explorer™ places data and querying capabilities right into user's hands with minimal effort. GeoFields offers a hosted implementation where we provide the infrastructure for a Facility Explorer™ deployment, or you may choose to install the system in-house.
By allowing you to create annotated and labeled views of pipeline data and immediately share them with whomever you wish, Facility Explorer™ simplifies the process of communicating about complex activities and ensures that all team members are working on the most current data available. Team redlining allows maps to be saved and shared to a specified group of people working on a project. Your notes and the data selections you made are immediately shared, so within seconds anyone involved in a project is assured of getting the same accurate information.
Facility Explorer™ is updated dynamically as administrators approve and publish data edits. This pipeline system data is integrated with a wealth of information from throughout the organization. For example, you can view one-call tickets in context with HCA and risk analyses, or you can review dig sites at the same time as the ILI defects being excavated. Facility Explorer's multiple levels of security manage application access, places limits on data viewing and controls data extraction and reporting.
From detailed, drill-down queries to sophisticated summary reports that provide an overview of workflows and processes, Facility Explorer's reporting capabilities provide the information you need, when you need it. The easy-to-use reporting wizard allows you to generate pipeline data reports by simply zooming to an area, choosing a pipeline and selecting from the library of pipeline features to be included. Reports can be saved, e-mailed or exported to a range of common business application formats for analysis, publication and distribution.
Facility Explorer™ is built upon geographic information systems technology, which allows users to zoom and pan around a system map to view and query pipeline data in context with a wealth of other datasets. Users can measure distances on the map, obtain driving directions to locations on the pipeline and create custom maps to suit any activity. A wide variety of base maps are available including aerial photography, street maps, satellite imagery and topographic maps.
Facility Explorer™ provides interactive access to any associated documents simply by clicking on a feature. Documents as diverse as field reports, CAD drawings, alignment sheets, dig photographs and landowner contracts can all be retrieved either interactively on the map or through document-specific searches. The system integrates with common document management systems as well as offering its own data store for documents that are not already accommodated elsewhere. Since Facility Explorer™ is web-based, documents can be accessed anywhere using a standard web browser.
Maps can be generated from Facility Explorer™ to suit a wide variety of needs. In addition, maps can be printed in standard and custom paper formats with annotation or saved for sharing with other users.
Facility Explorer™ is built on software industry standards using published, open data models so all data, at the company's discretion, can be exported to familiar formats. Through the use of a common data source, other applications can immediately access the information without translation. Data can be extracted to a variety of common formats.