Author
Steve Peregrine BEng Hons, Senior Technical Manager
Page Contents
Introduction
This is a generic guide to the basic requirements of data layers for getting the best and most user-friendly results from WinCan Enterprise.
Layers
Layers can be imported from well known formats including Shapefile, Geo Database and hosted online feature services.
The absolute minimum that WinCan Enterprise requires is a point layer for manholes and other point objects. This layer must include a unique reference for each object.
Better data can be created by adding a line layer to the point layer for the linear assets. This layer must include a unique ID for each object and also the upper node and lower node point IDs from the point layer. Every upper and lower node in the line layer should exist in the point layer.
Optionally, for even further improved user experience, access to the customer’s background mapping via web feature service is also very useful.
Layer Attributes
The absolute minimum requirements for data layers are described in the section above ‘Layers’.
The user-friendliness of the data can be further enhanced in almost all global drainage inspection standards by adding the following data where items in red are mandatory, all rows where the layer exists:
Point Layer
Unique Asset ID
Alternative Asset ID
Cover Level AOD
Asset Depth
Asset Type (i.e. manhole, gully, catchpit etc)
Asset Style (i.e. real node or virtual modelling node)
Asset Usage
Town Name
Street Name
District Name
Line Layer
Unique Asset ID
Asset Upper Node Unique ID (Asset must exist in the point layer)
Asset Lower Node Unique ID (Asset must exist in the point layer)
Major Dimension (usually height or diameter)
Minor Dimension (usually width)
Asset Material
Asset Shape
Asset Usage
Alternative Asset ID
Town Name
Street Name
District Name
Asset Depth at Upper Node
Asset Depth at Lower Node
Asset Type (i.e. gravity sewer, rising force main etc.)
Depending on the target standard being used, it may be possible to use many more useful pieces of information over and above what is described here.
Column names should be intuitive.
In the attributes of points and lines, we need to understand measurement units for numeric data where applicable.
Field Translations
What are we talking about? Consider a database structure where the shape code used for circular pipe is CIRC as an example, but the target standard only understands C for this information. Here we must translate CIRC into C by understanding the meaning of the customer’s database keys. Another example could be a material code where there is no equivalent lookup in the target standard, but there as an option for ‘Other’, so we can make a suitable translation by deduction.
Where codes are used for values in data columns, we need to either have for every column that has database internal keys:
The lists translated into those used in the local inspection standard up front.
'Plain language’ lookup lists of all possible (may include some that are not in the current data set) field values so that we can create translation mappings into the target standard on WinCan Enterprise.
Note - the target standard may possibly not include all of the options in the customer’s data, so assumptions may need to be made, or field values nulled in some cases.