mapFeeder is a location based task tracking and data management studio served to you through an internet web browser. Simple maps, powerful user driven searching capabilities, historic data tracking and reporting make mapFeeder ideal for managing your spatial / GIS data.
With many of our mapFeeder customers needing field data capture capability, it made perfect sense to integrate a mobile, native application with mapFeeder. In 2012, we began a partnership with Fulcrum, an elegant mobile app with advanced data collection capabilities, and added it into our software stack offering. By synchronizing mapFeeder with Fulcrum, our customers can get near real-time data using mapFeeder back in the office.
Since then RESPEC has deployed mapFeeder and Fulcrum for dozens of applications such as water quality, asset management, permitting, best management practices, mining and more.
With the ease of use, disconnected editing and robust tools, Fulcrum has allowed us to bring field data capture to our clients in an economical manner.
The City of Andover, MN has been using RESPEC’s mapFeeder application to track and manage their traffic signs. Andover is a diverse city with the southern half of the city heavily developed with residential, business, and industrial uses. The northern half is comprised of larger lots and farmland. The city uses mapFeeder to track inspections and maintenance needs for the over 7,000 signs they manage.
The sign management team can search many date related attributes such as last maintenance activity, date installed, date replaced and also when the sign was retired. They can also search by many other attributes such as MUTCD code, sheeting, zone, .etc as well as using the interactive map to select signs. mapFeeder’s easy to use interface allows the user to create complex queries which they can save for use at a later date. Further, mapFeeder allows for ad-hoc reports which can be exported to Excel, CSV, or PDF.
mapFeeder is perfect for this task as each inspection and maintenance need is captured in the database allowing the city to view historic information about each sign. mapFeeder more than fills the requirements of the FHWA requirements to track traffic signs to ensure the reflectivity is up to the standards making the road safe for travelers.
In the field, the sign technician’s use the mobile app Fulcrum. Fulcrum is an elegant mobile app with advanced data collection capabilities and disconnected editing. mapFeeder “speaks” to Fulcrum so all data entered in the field is synchronized with the mapFeeder database for near real-time data management by users back in the office — a seamless integration.
Fulcrum is used in an iPad with an ISX Blue GPS to capture sign information, inspection and maintenance needs. The iSX Blue is connected to the iPad via Bluetooth technology and overrides the GPS on the device to capture high accuracy data points. The combination of mapFeeder, Fulcrum, iSX Blue GPS and iPad have made the job of Andover’s sign management team seamless and increased their efficiencies from sign install to sign maintenance.
