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GDMS User Guide
Chapters
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Introduction
It is normal in HADDMS GDMS projects to combine CCTV inspection data with GIS data into the required deliverable standards. Historically, this has often been done by entering into joint ventures between drainage contractors and GIS specialists, with the drainage contractor taking the lead.
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The deviation of the coordinates measured for an asset can be anything between a few mm to many metres. Again, this is normal and there are a number of reasons why there can be such large or small differences including local site conditions.
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Preparing the Data
The tool in WinCan VX for importing GIS data into an existing project can accept data in the following formats, in order of preference and ease of use:
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The structure of this data is completely open to the user and anything can be ‘mapped’ into the WinCan VX project within reason, but the data really needs to be grouped into individual data files for point, continuous and region items in the same way that it is in the original HADDMS GDMS data.
Furthermore, although not absolutely necessary, life becomes a lot easier if the data formats and column headings are exactly the same as the original HADDMS GDMS data files. Following this rule means that there will be little or no mapping edits required to import the data, because we have already done them for you in the software. So, creating your own style of data is possible, but will require additional skills with mapping editing and a detailed knowledge of WinCan VX database formatting that will not be covered here in any great detail, except for some minor advanced tweaks described later on this page.
This attached files contain the column headings for all the most significant shapefiles in the HADDMS GDMS data structure in .csv format:
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Advice - If you have followed this guide thoroughly, then you will be aware that good inspection data validation as described in Data Validation is essential for good data delivery, and if you have reached the point where you are ready to import GIS data, then hopefully your CCTV inspection data is in a good shape first. However, importing this data can (and often does) introduce a whole new range of errors, so it is a good idea to check the data for logic errors before import and to keep on validating the VX data throughout all stages of data processing, especially after importing external data. As just an example of this - when looking at some recent data where the WinCan VX data was well validated with little or no errors, we saw that after import of GIS data, there were many data errors. On closer inspection of the imported data which had been supplied by a partner contractor to the CCTV contractor, the errors became clear. Although it is not difficult to fix the errors in WinCan VX using tools such as the filters and the Search & Replace tool, it was easier in the end to roll back the project database, fix the source data and then re-import it again without the errors. |
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Adding Photos
In WinCan VX v10.0 and higher, a new feature has been added that automatically imports photos into the WinCan VX project while importing the GIS data. This is most useful for creating reports for point, region and surface continuous items, and these photos are usually taken by the GIS team at the point of inspection.
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There is no limit to the number of photos that can be added to an object using this tool. To use this feature:
Add the photos to the same folder directory as the GIS data import files.
Name the photos strictly using the naming convention [SUPP_REF]_[Some Text]
Example: CP501_Internal condition photo.jpg
Do not use any underscores in the [Some Text] part of the file name.
You can add as many photos as you like of CP501, provided the [Some Text] part of the file name is unique for each one. Use this part of the file name to describe the photo clearly.
Run the GIS import tool.
The result will be that after import, each object (node, continuous item etc) where a matching SUPP_REF is found inside the project database will now have a GP code added at zero metres for each photo assigned to the object where the [Some Text] part of the name string will be in the ‘Remark’ of the photo against the observation.
From here, you can print node cards very easily and the node photos can be printed in the same way that you do for pipe inspections.
Running the Import
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GDMS Update: This process is the same for GDMS over DDMS, but there is one very significant and important change to how the photos must be named. The reason for this is the significant change in how unique objects are identified. In GDMS, they were identified by SUPP_REF only in a single catchment, but now that data is received and delivered as any mixture of catchments, duplicate SUPP_REFs can exist in a data set, and now the unique identifier is a concatenation of ASSET_REF and SUPP_REF. This must always be unique except in the unique situation of region assets and their matching region node where they must be the same. The offshoot of all this is that in order for the photo import to work correctly now in WinCan VX, a new naming pattern is required for photos of existing assets, which is:
Note the ^ character that separates the ASSET_REF and the SUPP_REF - very important. For new objects that do not have an ASSET_REF, then the previously described GDMS naming pattern is still valid. In other words, the ^ character can be omitted from the filename. |
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Running the Import
The first thing to remember before running this import GIS tool into an existing project is that it will modify the data, so your project database will not look the same after running the tool as it did before. As has been mentioned already, it is not uncommon to introduce errors into the project during this process.
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As has been described above, if you have the data in exactly the same column format as the HADDMS GDMS shapefiles, then the import process is easy, because the data mapping files are already done for you. If you are using .csv files, then ensure that the point.csv file has coordinates in it. If not, the import will fail.
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To start the process, click on the ‘Import from GIS’ button in the ‘Data Exchange’ ribbon to launch the data transfer tool, and then select ‘Expert Mode’ from the ‘File’ menu in the pop-up window:
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Launching the 'Import from GIS' tool.
This hidden menu option opens the possibility to launch the data transfer tool, and see the option to import GIS data into an existing project which you can select from the drop down list here:
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From here, the process is very similar to that described at the very beginning of this process when we first imported the HADDMS GDMS data into the project for round-tripping as described in WinCan VX Project Setup. Select the file to import and select a mapping file. If you have created your import file in exactly the same style as the HADDMS GDMS shapefiles files, then you can use the existing mapping file which is already installed in VX:
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Remember, during this import, a database backup has been created as described previously, so if you are not happy with the results, you can roll back.
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Rolling Back the Database
There are a number of processes within WinCan VX where a backup copy is made against a date and time stamp of the current project database before the action is executed. This is done at points during different functions where the software is modifying the data automatically, and there is a chance that the user may not like the results. These include:
Running the ‘Import from GIS' tool into an existing project.
Exporting data from a HADDMS GDMS project.
Using the project merger.
Converting the database file type from SQLce to SQLite on opening in WinCan VX version 9.0 and higher.
Downloading a project from WinCan Web as SQLite databases where the original project that was uploaded used SQLce databases.
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To roll back the project to a previous state, simply take the relevant backup databases, copy them and paste them into [Project Folder] → DB. You may choose to overwrite the current database files or take your own backup again of these but this must be done manually and there is no automated tool right now for doing this in WinCan VX.
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Resizing Photos
In-pipe inspection photos taken inside pipe inspections have their file size specified by the video quality setting applied in the User Settings on the PC, but even when these settings are set to their highest values, the picture file sizes are not particularly large.
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This tool is available for all WinCan VX projects, not just HADDMSGDMS, but it is particularly useful for HADDMS GDMS work because of the often large number of files that need to be added to the project.
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Options to Improve the Data for Import
As described in Understanding Object Types, a solid understanding of WinCan VX object types as well as HADDMS GDMS object types is essential to creating good data in the WinCan arena. Fortunately, there are only 3 WinCan continuous types and 3 WinCan node types.
Furthermore, in Inspection Status and Scoring we talk about marking objects as ‘Inspected’ and this is also a WinCan field with no transfer of data into or out of the HADDMS GDMS shapefiles, but working with these fields efficiently at the point of import can greatly reduce future problems with validation errors and help to understand what has and hasn’t been done in the project.
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Info - before proceeding here, it is a good idea to create a copy of the mapping file that you are going to edit, so that you build up your own library of mapping files which can be used for different purposes. To do this, navigate in Windows to the folder:
In here you will see the shape mapping files that are included in the software and it will be clear by their name which one is which. In this example, we will take the ‘DDMS ‘GDMS Point’ mapping file, copy and paste it, and then rename it to something useful, like ‘DDMS ‘GDMS Point with Inspection Status’. Now it will appear in the mapping file list in the next screen shot, and we can edit this file without messing up the default one inside WinCan VX. This process will be improved in the future with an option to create cloned mapping files directly from the mapping editor and save them with a new file name. |
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The column on the left shows the fields that are in your import data file, the column in middle shows the WinCan VX database fields for the table highlighted at the top, and the panel on the right shows the currently mapped fields, so in this case, these are the WinCan derived mappings for HADDMS GDMS data round tripping import.
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CON (connector) - any of the 4 types of modelling node in the HADDMS GDMS point file.
NOD (node) - any type of point item that is not a CON.
REG (region item) - any type of polygon geometric shape.
With these values (SEC, LAT, SUR, NOD, CON, REG), you can follow the process described above and create additional columns in your import data to again greatly improve the quality of the results in the WinCan world, but it cannot be stressed strongly enough that you must be considerate when deciding which value to assign to which object and you must only use the text strings exactly as they are listed above.
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WinCan VX v11 Update
From WinCan VX v11 onwards, there are a number of improvements in the GIS file mapping editor:
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Import mapping editor improvements.
The buttons with text captions have been replaced with icons with hover tip text.
A new ‘Clone’ button has been added. This allows you to clone and rename the current mapping file so that you can take an existing mapping file (the one that is currently loaded) and make a direct copy of it which you can then modify to suit your own requirements.
Transfer mapping tool has been added. This allows you to specify import transfers inot the current mapping file, so where an import file has data that does not align with the drainage standard that you are using, you can exchange the data at the point of import.
The exchange mappings for
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GDMS are already defined in the standard mapping files, so for
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GDMS, there is nothing to do here from v11 onwards. The exchange mappings include things like converting the bad material code PVC to PV, converting the HA ownership code to HE, and many more besides where the data is not clean in the import shapefiles. This then immediately removes a lot of validation errors from the project right from the beginning.
The converter settings can include wildcards if needed, but these are not needed for
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GDMS.
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