00738816

Component

Asset inventory and management is often a tremendously burdensome activity for most government entities and many private sector concerns. Traditionally, this task tended to be highly dependent on manual labor, both through the data collection and management activities. By replacing manual procedures with digital field data collection and management techniques, this work becomes more cost-effective and generally results in higher quality data. These techniques and methodologies were developed and implemented for the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Outdoor Advertising Sign Inventory Project. The methodologies developed on this project were used for inventorying outdoor advertising signs and verification of existing information to ensure conformance with applicable regulations. However, the procedures used on this project are applicable to a variety of data collection activities. The NJDOT had a tremendous wealth of data on outdoor advertising signs stored in paper file format. At the onset of this project, existing records for each sign were digitized using a custom scanning application that converted paper records into digital image files. This information became the basis for the database for the overall program. The scanning application enabled different types of records, such as permit applications and inspection reports, to be uniquely numbered in the database. The information related to individual signs now in the database needed to be reviewed and updated. A comprehensive field data collection system was implemented that allowed field personnel to quickly verify and update the database. The field system was designed around a ruggedized pen-based computer running a forms-based Windows application, which enabled field personnel to populate and update database fields using text fields, pulldowns and pick boxes. Field personnel were also able to capture positional information with integrated GPS equipment, digital images with color digital cameras and sign size/distance data with laser rangefinder equipment. In order to expedite some of the data collection activities, information from the NJDOT's mainframe system was downloaded to an ASCII file format, parsed into data fields and loaded into a DBF file format, which would be compatible with the data collection system. The collection of GPS data and digital images presented unique problems in that these data collection peripherals needed to be incorporated into the data collection platform through a "one button" or icon interface. The tremendous amount of new data needed to be managed. An office management system was developed to allow for easy retrieval of the scanned record information, new sign data collected in the field and color digital images. Routines were developed to select records using standard SQL database queries and allowed for the color printing of sign reports, color sign images and historical information.

This preprint was duplicated from a camera-ready copy provided by the author(s) and has not been subjected to the formal TRB peer review process or edited.

PREPRINT B-1

English

8p

1997

Eighth AASHTO/TRB Maintenance Management Conference

Data collection; Data management; Digital computers; Field studies; Information processing; Inventory; Maintenance management; Roadside advertising

Digital techniques; Field data

New Jersey

Freight Transportation; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I60: Maintenance

TRIS, TRB

Jul 2 1997 12:00AM