AssetConnect

Abstract

Geospatial technology is a powerful tool for monitoring ground-based assets. The best way to visualize ground-based assets is by tracking asset conditions in space and time. Spatial information is one of the crucial requirements in decision making for ground-based assets. An effective asset management can improve the performance; strengthen the infrastructure and tackle current and future challenges. The asset management system focuses on reducing the maintenance while extending the lifetime of the asset. This system is very essential and crucial in the infrastructure industry or all those industries where ground assets need a continuous spatial monitoring.

This application was built on ASP.NET framework using C#, while the front end was developed using HTML, Bootstrap. LINQ was used to converse with the database. Spatial Analysis on the assets was performed using Google Maps API, JavaScript and Ajax callback. The methodology consists of a four-phase approach which includes data modeling of masters and transactions, spatial analysis of assets using a comprehensive system, tracking history of asset, costing and reporting to provide an advanced support system. The web services play the key role by providing a gateway for any device to communicate with the system for e.g. a mobile or a Garmin device.

A user-friendly, interactive GIS interface is designed for inserting, editing the asset’s information. It provides cost of travel and asset history along with the asset data and asset condition assessment. It demarcates buffers around the asset for nearest replacement possible if any damage occurs to a particular asset. The real-time auditing of the asset’s condition and status is done just by a click. The details of the asset along with any other specific damage alert or just a regular assessment of the asset are mailed to authority using the application along with a report.

The advantages of the system are that the system can communicate with any device; can achieve real time auditing of the assets while being on the map and also a complete track of assets history can be maintained for security; as a whole it improves the decision making of the organization by tracking the assets along with its parameters at real time. The system fails at evaluating the performance of the asset and check the asset while on the field using a camera.

Integration of stored data like the location, status, condition, history, and description has enabled easy access to the system. An organized management is achieved leading to less cost and less time consumption. The system’s long-term goal is predictive maintenance and security of assets. The results in this work will improve the spatial dimension of asset management systems. The further scope in this study is the integration of IoT which will be a game changer in this system.