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Michael DeBoer Email
Director Information Technology . Lamp Rynearson and Associates
Omaha, NE
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Lamp, Rynearson & Associates (LRA) of Omaha, NE has provided civil engineering services to the Omaha Airport Authority since 1982. When Eppley Airfield asked them to investigate a better way to keep track of airport surface defects and their repair status, LRA's Survey and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) specialists were ready for the challenge. With their immense knowledge of Eppley Airfield's infrastructure and their extensive experience in transportation engineering, construction administration, survey, and GIS, LRA was given the opportunity to address Eppley's manual inspection process, bringing an innovative, technology-driven solution for the pavement maintenance management process. The goals of the Pavement Management System were: Provide safe & operable pavements at least possible cost Provide the owner with sufficient information to best determine when & where to spend funds Comply with federal requirements and maximize available federal funds The method used by LRA involves an operations person walking or driving up as closely as possible to a surface defect, instead of trying to describe in writing the location on the runways as operations personnel had in the past. Attached to his/her back is a "Ghostbuster"-like backpack holding a GPS (Global Positioning System), which locates the position on a hand-held computer (PDA). The PDA displays a map of the runway surface and the near exact location of the defect. This information is then reported to maintenance personnel to repair the noted defect. This new process has enabled airport operations personnel to easily locate surface defects on a basemap of the airport and take the process steps further and faster by identifying the defect's location by using GPS, listing each defect's characteristics, attaching a date and time stamp, and forwarding the information for creation of a work order for maintenance staff members. Ultimately, reports are generated for internal use as well as for submittal for federal grants. The Eppley team members using this system are not GIS specialists, nor are they surveyors or engineers. This complex, well-designed system is easy to operate. The deliverables such as located defects, repaired pavement, work orders, and annual reports are key to airfield maintenance, operations, and safety. This innovative, technology-driven system of pavement management using advanced global positioning (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS) at Omaha's Eppley Airfield has dramatically improved the pavement inspection, repair, and record keeping processes. The use of a mobile system connecting mapping with data to assess, track, repair, and create maintenance reports and forms for airport paving provided a simplified approach to what had been a cumbersome time-consuming process. Process: Then & Now. For years, Eppley Airport Authority personnel walked the runways and other areas looking for cracks or spalls. Large drawings were used to mark areas needing repair work. Carrying the large drawings around was cumbersome and it was difficult while in the field to find a surface on which to lay out the drawings to locate defective areas in question. Deficient pavement areas were marked with paint to indicate repair was needed. That wasn't efficient according to the Operations Supervisor for the Omaha Airport Authority, because repair crews would have trouble finding the spot or would not be able to find the paint marks because of aircraft traffic. Keeping track of the work orders was a paperwork nightmare. A pavement management maintenance system was implemented to track and thoroughly document pavement deficiencies and record all maintenance activity. By utilizing GIS and GPS technologies, operations personnel are able to help assure runway safety and justify the need for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Grant Monies. The system is a streamlined process, improving communications between the operations and the maintenance department, in which defects can be tracked in a more proficient manner and provides the Omaha Airport Authority with a spatial database of corrections, which can be reviewed by federal regulators during annual inspections. A spatial database is one that combines a map (space) with a database of information (data). The system focuses on an airport-centric GIS with a mobile, GIS/GPS component. ESRI's ArcView and ArcPad GIS software were customized to meet the client's needs, generating a user friendly graphical user interface for pavement defect data collection, data sharing, display, pavement defect record retrieval, work order generation, and report generation. The GIS consists of high resolution, ¼ foot aerial photography, rectified in State Plane Coordinates, with a pavement, as-built overlay. In addition, pavement inventory was accomplished by loading the GIS with constructed sections of pavement and populating the database with as-built information such as pavement description (material, age, allowable load), base construction material, drainage, history of rehabilitations, design engineer, construction contractor, year constructed, and the pavement condition index provided by the State of Nebraska's every third year inspection. Researching the best software product and customizing it to meet Eppley's pavement management needs was the first step in finding a creative solution. LRA's team of GIS experts populated the system and input known as-built information. A graphical user interface was developed. The LRA team tested functionality and ease of use before the solution was taken to Eppley's executive staff for review. Using a PDA (personal data assistant) or hand-held computer, running ArcPAD software linked to a Leica GS5+ GPS receiver (1 meter accuracy), operations personnel are capable of tracking their location on screen in reference to pavement boundaries and other GIS layers. By standing or driving next to a pavement defect, such as a crack or spall, the individual can log their position via coordinates (latitude and longitude) and fill out an electronic form pertaining to the defect captured. According to the Operation's staff, the unit is easy to use, either mounted by magnet on a truck or carried in a backpack. "We do field inspections daily and if we find something that needs to be repaired, we log it. If it's an emergency that can be indicated, the repair can happen immediately. We take the PDA unit out and get directly over or as close as we possibly can to the deficiency and then log the location in just a step or two on the hand-held computer. The software has descriptive terms for different types of discrepancies so that we can note whether it's a crack or a spall and whether it is concrete or asphalt". In the office, all collected defects are transferred to the department's GIS, where defects can be viewed in real coordinates overlain on top of aerial photography and pavement as-builts. Work orders are then generated, listing all field-collected information with the pavement defect's latitude and longitude (x,y) coordinates depicted on a visual aid. Work orders are submitted to maintenance department personnel, who complete the forms with field notes of the repair, resubmitting the form with maintenance notes back to operations, who update the GIS database. After the defect is repaired, information from the maintenance personnel or a construction contractor can be entered into the system recording the date, type and size of repair, weather and temperature. This information is stored in the database with the record of the initial report of the defect. When the defect is archived as "Repair Completed", the defect is removed from the screen, displaying only the outstanding repairs. At the end of the year, a report is generated from ArcView listing each defect, its location and all notes recorded in the inspection and repair process.Lamp Rynearson and Associates Address
14710 West Dodge Road,Omaha, NE
United States