IRWA '16 Nashville geoAMPS recently returned from the IRWA '16 Nashville tradeshow with fond memories, great photos and an award winner to celebrate. Here is a short slide show:                              

Increasing responsiveness and maximizing resources are important factors in how alternative energy companies improve their business in today’s data-driven, performance-based markets. The ability to deliver projects on time and within budget is one measure of that performance. Another is how efficiently operations and maintenance are managed and achieved. The effective delivery and maintenance of property and assets are fundamental to achieving a company’s objectives in any project that involves real land assets and property stakeholders. A well designed and implemented land asset and royalty management system can substantially improve these capabilities. Major benefits of an alternative energy management system can be found throughout the lifecycleof a project.This blog will briefly review the benefits that an alternative energy management system will achieve when implemented properly.

Congested right of ways complicate completion of infrastructure projects. Utility and telecommunications systems, and water and sewer lines are examples of existing infrastructure that can create nightmares for transportation project engineers. Historically, the lack of good records and technology has been the contributor to timeline overruns, accidents and, in some cases, loss of life when dealing with subsurface obstructions. To counter these dangers, the rise and adoption of subsurface utility engineering (SUE) makes projects safer, especially when paired with the conflict matrix. Absent of taking these steps, critical issues would not be addressed before the first shovels hit the ground.

When it comes to keeping the power flowing, challenges emerge from every direction. Limbs falling onto lines, vehicles hitting poles, or strong winds disrupting service to a neighborhood are only a small sample of the things that can call our crews out to restore power. Mounting a new pole, removing the limb or installing a new power line are usually simple challenges. Linemen are professionals and have the experience needed to complete the job. What I have seen, though, as a regular challenge throughout the industry is that accessing information about the infrastructure and real estate property management. There are solutions that are on the market thought to handle this test, providing field agents with on-the-go access to real estate management information that they need while in the field. Not only that, but other information from infrastructure to payments can also be accessed remotely from wireless devices like smart pads and smart phones. The industry’s reliance upon mobile technology continues to grow especially as real estate management and right of way management software solutions continue to advance. Here are five benefits mobile technology provide when dealing with real estate management in the field:

The 61st annual International Right of Way Association (IRWA) International Education Conference is an opportunity for attendees to learn about geoAMPS products and services. The conference will be held June 14-17 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego, CA. geoAMPS is the premier provider of software solutions to manage land rights and infrastructure assets. The rapidly growing company serves clients throughout the United States and Canada with 11 industry-specific, web-based software products. Each product is highly configurable to meet the specific needs of the customer. Among its products is rowAMPS, which was designed to bring efficiency to right of way (ROW) projects.

Increasing responsiveness and maximizing resources are important factors in how transportation agencies improve their business in today’s data-driven, performance-based environment. The ability to deliver projects on time and within budget is one measure of a transportation agency’s performance. The effective delivery of real property by the right-of-way office is fundamental to achieving this agency objective. A well designed and implemented information management system can substantially improve this capability. Adding geospatial capabilities (GIS) to the system to replace reliance on hardcopy maps and tabular information and to give additional management and analysis functions can significantly increase its usefulness. Understanding the critical factors necessary to successfully implement an information management system can ensure the best value for the necessary outlay in resources and can substantially improve the realization of the system’s full potential. Obtaining strategic buy-in from agency executive-level decision makers to pursue implementation will provide the necessary foundation for system.

A primary purpose of [a property] information management system is to facilitate standard business operations and support information and decision making by providing easy access to both internal and external information relevant to meeting the goals and operational needs of the transportation agency and the real estate office.

A well designed and implemented information management system can substantially improve management of resources – personnel, money, information, and time – which is critically important to successfully meeting state performance goals and budgets. Adding geospatial capabilities (GIS) to the system to replace hardcopy maps and tabular information and to give additional management and analysis functions can significantly increase its usefulness.

Last week a colleague here at geoAMPS wrote that, “right of way software is a game changer.” In the tough world of acquiring and managing land rights and infrastructure, he is absolutely right. For proof, just look at the competition, especially those who have embraced technology and all that it can do for their organization.  If you’re working with paper and pencil and have not yet implemented a technology solution in your right of way toolkit, then I would like to offer the following points for your consideration. You may even be able to take this list back to your boss and convince him that technology in today’s rough-‘n’-tumble acquisition game is what you need to give your organization the edge.

If you work in right of way and deal with land rights, or asset management, you understand the difficulties that outdated technology can create. With ever more complicated projects, the acquisition of land rights and the management of infrastructure assets have become a daunting challenge. Today, tracking title documents, contact information, negotiation notes, payment obligations, and all of the paperwork associated with the successful competition of a project can overwhelm traditional management tools. With technology advancements in Web-based computing, global information systems (GIS) and mobile applications, there are abundant opportunities to increase an organization’s efficiency. Seizing these opportunities can dramatically increase the profitability of projects and the speed of completion.