Pidpa produces and supplies drinking water to 1.3 million customers in the province of Antwerp. In several municipalities, it is also responsible for sewage management. As a result, Pidpa manages a massive amount of geographical data. The FME data integration platform serves as a solid binding agent between various Pidpa applications.
Looking for automation and integration
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play a central role in Pidpa’s asset management, a technology that collects, analyzes, and visualizes geographical data. At Pidpa, this infrastructure includes a wide range of advanced applications such as ArcGIS Enterprise, GeoCortex, and SQL Server Geodatabase.
These applications must be able to communicate with each other and exchange data with external information sources. Examples include the Large-Scale Reference File (GRB), the Buildings and Addresses Register (CRAB/GRAR), the Cable and Pipeline Information Portal (KLIP), and the Generic Information Platform for Public Domain (GIPOD) – as well as data from engineering offices and contractors.
“When we partnered with GIM, we were initially only looking for a way to automatically process call-before-you-dig plan requests,” says Bart Reynaert, Manager Geo-ICT & Asset Applications at Pidpa. “But it quickly became clear that their solution – the FME data integration platform – is also valuable for optimizing other data streams.”
FME: A solution of the purest water
Today, FME is a solid glue between all Pidpa applications. The platform automates the inflow of various external data sources and ensures the exchange of information with other business applications such as SAP and SharePoint.
“We use FME for a variety of concrete applications,” Bart continues. “Think of data synchronization and updates between our various asset management and GIS systems or importing design plans for sewers and roadworks.”
With FME, Pidpa can fully embrace automation. Bart: “For instance, we can now automatically process photo files from external partners, automatically export/import data for periodic flushing programs between GIS and a hydraulic modeling package, and automatically generate emails for Geodatabase reporting.”
A wealth of benefits
And it doesn’t stop there. Thanks to the no-code software, Pidpa can deploy FME relatively quickly for new applications. Additionally, the tool follows the evolution of ESRI GIS – particularly the Utility Network version. Since Pidpa also uses this, FME remains relevant and interesting for optimal data flow and integration.
“We combine the components FME Form and FME Flow,” says Bart. “This provides a lot of flexibility and makes planning and logging so much easier. Moreover, the FME models deliver excellent performance, which only enhances the reliability and speed of data integrations and analyses.”
In summary...
Thanks to the implementation of FME and the collaboration with GIM experts, Pidpa found an efficient and flexible solution for various data integration applications.
The result? Improved operational processes, optimized data synchronization, and more efficient management of Antwerp’s drinking water and sewage network.
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