Gümligen, November 2004
GIS for a very special world
Pritt and Pattex, Persil and Pril, Fa, Taft, Crème 21- Products
of HENKEL make life easier, better and more beautiful. A lot of these products
are produced at the location of Düsseldorf – Holthausen. To document
and plan the installations and buildings there, in 2002 Henkel decided for
TOPOBASE and started immediately with the new version 3.0, a pilot project
which appeared to be profitable over the whole line.
“An own small world” was the location in Düsseldorf
– Holthausen, Bernd Loh, IT-Manager for GIS and CAFM says. It is a very
complex world, in respect to planning as well as mapping: 32 different energy
networks, over 2000 production lines, high- and low voltage network cables,
and a network of over 95 km of underground and overhead pipelines spread over
the 1560 hectare terrain.
Mapping with tradition
The original, over 50 year’s old maps, act today as a work
of art, the old maps appear as they were painted. These analogue drawings
were replaced by several GIS-systems – proprietarily systems with its
own data structure, complex operation and too much interfaces to other software
solutions.
As Bernd Loh in 1997, besides the management of the plant, also got the responsibility
for the whole mapping, constructions and leasing of the buildings, he had
to find a new software- solution, in which both the Facility Management as
well as the planning for civil engineering and plant constructions were integrated.
Prerequisite: AutoCAD and Oracle
The responsible persons took some fundamental decisions:
- only software of Autodesk would be accepted as an editor for graphic data,
using it for building and construction maps, pipeline- and cable maps as well
as topographic or thematic maps.
- GIS, and the CAFM-data that goes with it, are stored exclusively in Oracle
respectively Oracle Spatial so that the data can be used by as much as possible
other uses across the plant.
With this solution, based on worldwide accepted software standards, HENKEL
would dissolve themselves from the previous dependency of his proprietary
systems and protect their investments in the voluminous data base.
The first steps
For facility management and building construction plans, in 1999 Henkel has
chosen for Autodesk Architectural Desktop and G-info. The company GEOCONSULT,
which supports the HENKEL-corporation in GIS and CAFM-IT issues, received
in the beginning of 2002 the mandate to find a GIS- system that applied to
the Henkel specifications.
It became clear very quickly that TOPOBASE™ from C-Plan applied to most
of the requirements: the GEO data server uses Autodesk Map as graphic front
end and stores the information in the Oracle and Oracle Spatial database.
The open standard interfaces are conform the OGC specifications, that means,
also other GIS applications can read and process TOPOBASE™ data without
any conversion. With the TB Web module, the developers made a solution suitable
for the Intranet were the Autodesk Map Guide is used as graphical interface.
The system clearly won the evaluation, not in the last place due to the fact
that the software is able to operate in a three tier architecture, where complete
functionality is offered in an intranet / internet environment by means of
a web browser, one of the important prerequisites at Henkel.
Development Potential
Although TOPOBASE™ was not able to offer all the functionality HENKEL
needed, c-plan was ready to adapt and implement all remaining wishes.
After a first intensive training, we repeatedly organized workshops in which
we worked out specific methods and workflows for data acquisition and maintenance,
GIS Administrator Gordon Kock says. These new workflows, functionality and
methods were implement shortly afterwards.
Plotting the Henkel Way
Based on the specifications of Henkel, the plot functionality in Topobase
needed to be extended and improved quite a lot. Today schema maps include
clear legends and maps or map series can be reproduced accurately, automatically
using the most recent data. Every 6 months one complete map production run,
covering the whole plant is produced and made available as official documentation
to all the divisions in the organization. Although these maps will be available
as paper output for quite a long time, supplying these maps over the internet
will become more and more practice. Anyhow, the technology of TOPOBASE™
is ready for it!
Data Migration
Analogue ‘painted’ maps from the past, graphic- and attribute
data residing in older Geo Information Systems, all available data needed
to be transferred smoothly and without loss of information into TOPOBASE™.
At first the idea was, to adopt the existing data model from the old GIS,
if possible without changes. At first site this procedure would be the easiest
way to go, however then the circumstances changes.
Fig, 1: In reality it is not quite easy: With GIS you need
a mouse click to remove a building completely from the ground.
Pilot Project
As the project manager Bernd Loh and his Geoconsult team were concerned to
set up and build up there new GIS, developers at C-plan worked already on
the new version of TOPOBASE 3
During a workshop it turned out, that this new system would fulfill many additional
requirements at Henkel. The suggestion, working with the new program version
right from the start, was tabled very quickly. Bern Loh was ready to use the
software as a pilot customer – even though this would lead to higher
costs since the data migration tools had to be engineered completely. But
at Henkel they were sure that this investment would be paid back shortly,
since the migration in a few years from TB 2 to TB 3 became obsolete, and
additionally they would save money on planned specific developments because
the required functions are standard in TB 3.
Re-engineering
With the decision to start with TB 3, Henkel also decided to redesign the
data model. Obsolete and no relevant information from the past, like information
and relations which play no role anymore, were removed from the data model.
Actually not the migration process itself was the problem, but the re-engineering
of the data model, Gorden Kock says.
In fact, the creative achievement and flexibility that decides about the success
or failure of the GIS, lays in the meaningful structure of the new data base.
The definition of new workflows shall be conform the actual work processes
practiced at Henkel and the data model should be defined accordingly.
Two Weeks Calculating
At the beginning, some data migration processes with small amounts of existing
data where practiced. De final transformation of the data into TB3 with Oracle
Spatial lasted about two weeks. After the migration process a lot of effort
was put in checking and adjusting the transformed data. The result was over
300 new tables with over 1, 2 million entities, so-called TOPOBASE features.
The first goal, to merge and centralize graphical and attribute data in one
sole database was achieved. Since July 2004 it is not necessary anymore to
synchronize graphical and Attribute data at Henkel, the integrity between
graphical and attribute data has become much easier and safer, in fact it
is guaranteed by TOPOBASE™
Support Business Processes
In the occasion that one of the buildings on the plant needs to be tear down,
in TOPOBASE™ we only have to push one button to remove all the graphical
and attribute information, Bernd Loh says. In the past we had to modify various
files, without any control and assurance that it was corrected everywhere
and in the right way. Disturbances, repairs and maintenance can be documented
more efficient today, one gets the map, localize per ,mouse click the place
of disturbance and reaches directly the attributes and eventually the external
attributes located in other information systems.
TOPOBASE™ data also build the bases for civil engineering applications.
(Construction and Utility Infrastructures). Within the GIS or CAFM we produce
a graphic extract, from which the architect can process further data using
Autodesk Architectural Desktop. Bernd Loh is convinced, easier is not possible.
The biggest advantage of TOPOBASE, according to Bernd Loh, is the support
of GIS in operative decisions. For example, deconstruction works were planned
on the railway tracks at Henkel. Using GIS they visualize the planned changes,
and it became obvious that it wasn’t possible to shunt meaningful on
this downsized rail net, that way they could correct the planning before costs
would arise.
Buildup and upgrading
At present 2 administrative- and 8 editing stations are in use at Henkel.
Step by step more editing stations will be installed at several departments.
Mainly over the Intranet and Internet, more and more information will become
available and accessible for many departments at Henkel.
A logistic system for railway construction as well as the SAP-Application
PM (Plant Maintenance) and Real Estate Applications have a direct access to
the information located in TOPOBASE™
At Henkel we say, “a brand like a friend”, Bernd Loh says. We
can use that saying for our IT-infrastructure: Autodesk Architectural Desktop,
G-info and above all TOPOBASE™ are for us “applications like friends”.
Top
