IN THIS ISSUEEmailing Spatial Query ResultsThe New TestFilter TransformerFME and ROI at Tampa ElectricFME Server: Bringing Ideas to LifeWhen “Failure” Is Not an Option“X”treme Productivity GainsFME User Spotlight: Tatjana KutznerFME Regional User MeetingsAccording to TwitterMeet a Safer: Ken Bragg

2234566788

n SPRING 2010

FME Regional User MeetingsThis year, more than 630 FME enthusiasts

participated in FME Regional User Meetings

to share best practices, network, and

exchange ideas. Find out more about these

local events and how you can access key

presentations on page 7.

Follow Dale on Twitter @DaleAtSafe

Follow Don on Twitter @DonAtSafe

Founders' Perspective

Everyday Life with FME

“How has FME “transformed” your

everyday life?”

Can using FME® be a life-changing experience? Has it made your job easier, more fun or rewarding? Overall, how has FME “transformed” your everyday life? (Pun intended!) As we met with over 630 local users at several FME events this spring, we found your responses to these questions both intriguing and inspiring.

That’s why this issue of the Safe Insider is all about the impact FME can make in our users’ everyday lives. You’ll learn about the role FME played at three customers: how FME brought Infoterra’s

leading edge 3D data visualization service to life; how a city in Australia saved time by integrating FME with Python® to

altering (ok, we’re biased!) transformers in FME 2010 – the TestFilter and XMLTemplater. We hope these articles will spark new ideas on how FME can transform your jobs and your company overall.

We’d love to hear from you. With FME as part of your toolset today, how is your day different? As you’re using FME throughout the day, tweet us at @SafeSoftware. In the meantime, take a moment from your busy lives to enjoy this issue.

"Again with the hair... When are we releasing that HairRestorer transformer?"“Look Don! Another

hairy data problem solved with FME!”

automatically email spatial queries; and how Tampa Electric used FME to realize almost $400K in annual savings. You’ll also read about two new life-

n SAFE INSIDER

- 2 -

Best Practice: Emailing Spatial Query Results“Without FME, I’d have to do this entire process manually, which would be very time consuming and prone to error,” explains Andy. “The more business processes we can automate like this with FME, the better!”

Now that the City is reaping the time-saving benefits of this workflow, they are applying it to other key tasks. For example, they are using FME to email stakeholders when polygons have changed between cadastral updates, and to calculate and email statistics on their spatial data.

FME users around the world continue to find interesting ways to integrate FME into their business processes. Andy Bates from the City of Armadale in Western Australia recently shared with us how he eliminated hours of manual work by using FME and Python scripts to automate the delivery of spatial query results. Let’s take a look…

Each time a parcel of land containing a water bore is sold, the City’s Planning Department needs to be notified. In the past, notification requests were manually created and distributed on an ad hoc basis. Today, FME plays a key role in a completely automated process.

First, to determine if there is any intersection with the City’s cadastre polygon data, FME creates points representing water bores from lat/long coordinates stored in an Excel® spreadsheet. A SQLExecutor transformer then reads a property database and integrates any ownership changes. The FME workspace also includes a StatisticsCalculator transformer to determine how many parcels containing water bores have changed ownership within the month. If no parcels have changed ownership, FME uses a Python script to automatically send an email to the Planning Department to inform them that there has been no activity. If parcels have changed ownership, then FME builds a list from the intersected data and uses Python to send a nicely formatted HTML email containing an FME-generated table of parcel details, change of ownership dates, etc. This powerful combination of FME and Python has also enabled the City’s IT team to quickly meet requests for this data in other formats like PDF and JPEG.

Introduction: The New TestFilter Transformer The Tester is the most commonly used transformer in FME, splitting features for processing through different pipelines based on test results. To complement this transformer, FME 2010 introduces the TestFilter, a new support transformer designed to streamline your workflow.

To accomplish a filtering task in previous versions of FME, you had to link together strings of Testers. The Tester would evaluate the results of one or more tests on a feature (Boolean expressions or comparisons), and then identify it as either “Passed” or “Failed”. And so, if more than two outcomes were desired (small – medium – large, for example), the features had to be sent through as many Testers as there were desired test results.

Now in FME 2010, the TestFilter can replace this series of Testers. It simplifies your workspace by aggregating your Testers

into one single transformer. Plus - for the first time - you have the option of naming output ports so you can document your workflow with meaningful names.

The following example illustrates how you can divide features into four classes based on a range of values – first using the Tester, then using the new TestFilter.

With the Tester, we pass the features through the first test, route the “passed” features to output, and route the “failed” features into the second Tester. Again, “passed” features go to output, and “failed” features are routed into yet another Tester, and so on.

With the new TestFilter, this string of Testers is replaced by just one transformer. The named output ports make the test results clear, and the workspace is much more intuitive and self-explanatory.

Continued on bottom of page 3

FME and Python scripts automate the delivery of spatial query results via HTML emails.

Did you know?Kilkenny County in Ireland is using FME to alert residents of service outages via SMS messages. More at: www.safe.com/Kilkenny.

www.safe.com n

- 3 -

Then and now… On the left, using the Tester to classify features into four categories while validating geometry at the same time. Four Testers are required.

On the right, using the new TestFilter aggregates the tasks into one transformer and clearly documents the output.

FME and Measurable ROI at Tampa ElectricMeasuring return on investment for GIS projects is a challenge at the best of times. So when a story comes along that illustrates measurable returns as a direct result of a GIS initiative, we want to tell you about it; especially when FME is at the core of the project.

Many utilities have digital spatial information about their assets and use it regularly in the context of inventory, planning and repairs. But when it came to damage prevention, Tampa Electric Company wasn’t taking advantage of this data to support decision making for “locates” – the physical identification of buried facilities such as power or gas lines.

"Be sure to take advantage of Workbench's

ability to rename transformers and in some

cases, transformer output ports. Giving

transformers and ports meaningful names

increases the clarity of your workspace, so it's

easier for others to understand and maintain.

Sometimes, the person whose life you make

easier is your own."

Expert Tip!

buffered polygons around the actual facilities. LSS used FME to extract the underground lines and features from Tampa Electric’s Oracle® database and then generate a set of 100 foot buffers destined for One Call’s IRTH system. Replacing the grids with these polygons has resulted in more accurate ticket generation with an actual average monthly reduction in tickets issued of 28%. That translates to an annual savings of $150,000 USD per year. And that’s just step one.

Step two was focused on improving the internal screening process at Tampa Electric. FME was used to generate a set of 25 foot buffers

for their internal system. When they receive

So now with FME 2010, whenever you have two or more consecutive Testers in your workspace, consider using the TestFilter. Take a closer look and find more best practices at www.safe.com/TestFilter.

So, they turned to Louis Panzer and the team at Locate Support Systems (LSS) to build a solution that would help them improve ticket handling accuracy and efficiency. Since initial tickets are generated by an external source – the Sunshine State One Call service – and then screened by internal personnel at Tampa Electric, there were two tasks at hand.

The first step was to improve the accuracy of the data provided to the One Call service by replacing the grid system with

Sunshine State One Call receives these locate requests and generates the initial ticket. Tampa Electric’s notifications were based on a gridded service territory, which resulted in tickets being issued for every request, 100% of which were sent to the field. In 2008, $900,000 (out of a $1,150,000 budget) was spent on field visits for no-conflict tickets.

a ticket, these 25 foot buffers are used to review the request. By analyzing this information, along with other internal and external data, the screener can now make an informed decision as to whether a field locate is required or not. Implementing this process gave Tampa Electric an additional reduction of 50% in ticket volume, for total estimated annual savings of $390,000 USD.

Tampa Electric realized a positive ROI

within three months. The cycle of ticket management and data updating, with FME at the center, imposes a full circle review on the GIS data. This has resulted in higher confidence in the data, improved accuracy and efficiency, and most importantly, increased damage protection and public safety. It’s a win all around.

- Ryan Cragg is a Product Support Engineer in Safe's Professional Services Department.

Single TestFilterMultiple Testers

n SAFE INSIDER

- 4 -

FME Server: Bringing Ideas to LifeThis spring, Safe partner Infoterra Ltd. of Leicester, England, launched Skape – an online 3D visualization and modeling environment designed for architects, planners, local authorities, and surveyors. Imagine interactively flying through a photorealistic 3D online world, deleting existing buildings with a mouse click, replacing them with your own 3D models, and analyzing the shadows that will fall on the building across the street as a result – at any given day and time.

While Google EarthTM and BingTM immediately come to mind, Skape takes it to a whole new level. And FME Server is what makes this possible.

Skape facilitates high resolution collaborative work in small areas, and it is certainly detailed. Infoterra used their own fleet of aircraft to capture high res LiDAR and oblique aerial imagery of

major cities in the UK, generating roof and façade textures for the resulting 3D building models. The sub-meter LiDAR data has been combined with the five centimeter oblique, using complex optimization algorithms and multiple lines of sight, to generate well over 50,000 detailed buildings to date.

for base mapping include Ordnance Survey® Street View® or Mastermap®, as well as varying resolutions of conventional aerial imagery. This is a LOT of complex data. The challenge of serving it up – over the internet, no less – is handled through intelligent compression and streaming techniques.

Preparing the data to produce this visually stunning virtual world is a formidable processing task, and FME is the workhorse behind the scenes.

To create the highly detailed and accurate building models, Infoterra uses FME to combine textures, photogrammetry data, and 3D building data, and then generate a unique dataset for each structure. The building datasets are combined with the 2D base mapping options to create the final seamless Skape environment.

"Preparing the data to produce this visually stunning virtual world is a formidable processing task, and FME is the workhorse behind the scenes."

To round out the picture, Skape combines 2D and 3D to enable users to visualize the entire environment in a number of ways. Choices

www.safe.com n

- 5 -

When “Failure” Is Not an Option

Did you know?You can stream any FME-supported format over

the web using FME Server’s Data Streaming

service. For example, a simple workspace that

reads your GIS database and writes Adobe® PDF

can be published to FME Server. Register it with

the data streaming service, and you can then

add a simple link to any web page, enabling your

users to retrieve the current PDF with a click. For

more details, see www.safe.com/PDFMapping.

When supporting key day-to-day operations, high availability of spatial data is a must. In many cases, “failure” to provide consumers with data – where, when and how they need it − is simply not an option. To meet the ever-growing demand for high information availability and reliability, we’ve added failover support to FME Server 2010.

Failover, in the traditional sense, is the ability to automatically switch to a redundant or standby server when the existing one fails. With FME Server 2010, you can now configure FME Engines to connect to one or more standby computers running the FME Server Core. In the event that a connection to your primary FME Server Core is lost, the FME

Engines will automatically switch to a standby FME Server Core. Services in FME Server can also be configured for failover in a similar manner.

Combined with other fault-tolerance mechanisms introduced in previous versions, such as automatic FME Engine restart and job resubmission, FME Server 2010 is now ready to support your mission-critical data sharing projects. If high availability of spatial data is a key requirement for your organization, why not try out this latest release? Email us at info@safe.com to request an evaluation, or read more about failover support in the FME Server Architecture whitepaper at www.safe.com/FMEServerArch.

planned fly-throughs − including your new 3D objects − with camera placement, rotation, tilt, and speed controls.

Infoterra and Safe have been partners since 2008, and Skape is by far their most ambitious application of FME Server technology to date. “We have been delighted with the support that Safe Software has provided us during the development of Skape,” says Phil Cooper, Geospatial Software Products Manager at Infoterra.

Although Skape has only been released for a short time, it is generating some serious buzz and impressive early adopters in the architectural world. We are delighted to share another FME Server success story!

Check out Skape for yourself at: www.skapeworld.com.

High Availability Architecture and FME ServerSuccessful implementation and maintenance

of a high availability system relies heavily on

both software and hardware components. FME

Server’s new failover capabilities take care of one

part of the equation – but what about the system

it is running on? While we don’t recommend a

specific architecture for your deployment, we

certainly have a knowledgeable user community

who are happy to share their ideas and

experiences with us.

To see what FME Server users are doing in their

production environments to achieve a high

availability architecture, check out fmepedia:

www.safe.com/HighAvailability.

Skape users are typically interested in a focused area, perhaps a few city blocks, to perform various analyses and detailed work. After refining your area of interest using the online interface and selecting the licensing option appropriate for your project, Skape sends your request off to FME Server, which dynamically manages both data upload and download requests in the background. When it receives a download request, FME Server extracts, formats, and ships your requested data as 3DS, OBJ, or 3D PDF, ready to use in your local applications.

Skape also enables you to upload your own model into its world – for example, replacing an existing building with a new one. FME Server handles the import of your model, while Skape provides the tools to hide the old building, insert the new one, and play with position, atmospheric conditions, date, and time of day to see what effect your structure will have on light and shadow. You can generate precisely

n SAFE INSIDER

- 6 -

“X”treme Productivity Gains With the XML TemplaterAs various flavors of XML emerge as the spatial data exchange format of choice, users are increasingly faced with the apples-to-oranges challenge of translating from conventional database and GIS formats to complex XML schemas. With drivers such as the Open Geospatial Consortium Inc. ("OGC") and INSPIRE, the need for a better way to generate XML was behind the development of FME’s new XMLTemplater transformer.

In theory, it shouldn’t be difficult to generate XML. It’s human-readable and easy to parse. But in reality, the complex hierarchical structures of many XML data models are inherently different from the native formats we store our data in. FME users creating XML output of any complexity have had to learn additional languages such as XSLT, XFMAP, and XQuery, to painstakingly handcraft their output.

The new XMLTemplater in FME 2010 changes the game completely. Early adopters are reporting incredible efficiency gains in generating complex XML documents. They are now even able to include personnel with no XML knowledge in large data conversion projects.

On a technical level, the XMLTemplater harnesses the power of XQuery, while hiding a great deal of its complexity using a

Tatjana Kutzner, Research Assistant, GIS Group, Technische Universität München (TUM), Germany, FME User for 2 Years

FME User Spotlight:

“Hierarchical Template Representation” methodology. (For us non-techies, XQuery is to XML what SQL is to relational databases). The transformer enables you to substitute attribute values into a defined XML template using XQuery syntax. The template itself can be defined in the transformer interface or from an external file.

And so what does this mean? Well, for XML gurus, it means huge time savings. For the rest of us, it’s a start to demystifying XML. For an example and more details on turning apples into oranges with the XMLTemplater, check out fmepedia: www.safe.com/XMLTemplater.

BETA NEWS: Validate your XML output with the XMLValidator transformer, available now in FME 2011 Beta. Download the latest Beta release at www.safe.com/Beta.

What are you working on at TUM? I am conducting research for an INSPIRE-related project. We’re developing a new approach for transforming distributed spatial data using web services. I’m also pursuing my doctoral degree.

Tell us about your research project. Each European Union (EU) Member State maintains its own national data model. In order to share data, EU States need a way to dynamically restructure their data so that it meets the Data Specifications outlined in the INSPIRE Directive. Our project is focused on enabling this data transformation via web services. Our method is unique as we use a model-driven approach for transforming the data. This means that a user defines the mapping of feature types and attributes

anyone can access the restructured data by simply sending a request to the web service.

What role does FME play in your project? Part of our project is about developing a language for describing schema mappings at the conceptual level through UML diagrams. Safe is supporting our research by enabling FME to understand our new schema mapping language.

What is your favorite FME feature? The Dynamic Schema capabilities in FME have been instrumental in helping us meet our project’s goals.

What are your hobbies? Apart from gardening and knitting, I’m very interested in Arab culture; its language, people, archaeological history, etc.

from the source schema to the output schema at a conceptual level. Once a web service is configured with these definitions,

“The XMLTemplater transformer greatly simplified my XML file generation. It reduced the number of transformers I needed from seven to three and made the translation much more straightforward and easy to understand.”Michael Fashoway Base Map Service Center, State of Montana

www.safe.com n

- 7 -

Develop Your FME ExpertiseHave a problem you think you can fix with FME,

but aren't quite sure where to start? Solve your

problem and become a more productive user by

registering for an FME training course.

Upcoming FME Training Courses:

� Amersfoort, NED −June 3-4

� Münster, GER − June 8

� Chicago, USA − June 15-16

� Bromsgrove, UK − July 6-7

� Kuala Lumpur, MAL − July 6-8

� Surrey, CAN − July 13-14

� Surrey, CAN − Aug 17-18

(FME Server)

To see more course listings and to register, check

out www.safe.com/TrainingCalendar.

Event Roundup: FME Regional User MeetingsOver the past few months, the Safe team has been on a whirlwind tour of Europe and North America, meeting with over 630 FME users. First stop was FMEDays in Münster, Germany, where attendees were treated to a bilingual 2-day event, hosted by VAR partner con terra GmbH. Read a review of this event at: http://www.fme-days.de/en/review.shtm.

Learn How Others are Using FME View, share and comment on these recent user presentations from the FME Regional User Meetings in North America. Visit www.slideshare.net/event/fme-odyssey.

Topics – Using FME to… CompanyRefine Electric Company Facility Data Locate Support Systems (LSS)

Compile, Validate and Maintain a 4 Million Oil and Gas Well Database Whitestar

Provide On-Demand Feature Downloads with JSON and SDE Spatial Objects Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)

Spatial and Non-Spatial Data Conversion Translate Data to/from GeoMedia Southern Company (Georgia Power)

Translate Data to/from GeoMedia Intergraph Services Company

Integrate Disparate Regional Spatial Information Critigen

Import and Restructure Pipeline Data DCP Midstream

Convert, Restructure and Integrate Datasets for Easier Cross-Platform Analysis Ricondo & Associates

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program HNTB Corporation

Dynamically Map Fish Catch in Hawaii using Google Earth National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Convert TIGER Spatial Data from Oracle Spatial to ESRI Shapefiles US Census Bureau

Enable Automated Workflows in Web Applications Farallon Geographics

Support Asset Management City of Santa Rosa Utilities & Websoft Developers

Migrate Mapping Data to Google Earth Divestco

Support Micro and Macro Data Transformation Stewart Weir & Co

Move Data from AutoCAD Map 3D to MapGuide Enterprise with SQL Server Arrow Geomatics

Build an Enterprise Geodatabase Vertex3

Open Data to the World City of Vancouver

Integrate BC’s Cadastre for the BC Spatial Project Consultant to City of Vancouver, GeoBC and ICIS

in Denver was treated to a special voyage, complete with a huge snowstorm that resulted in a last-minute web broadcast of the event.

In April, French-speaking users gathered at the French FME User Conference, hosted in Paris by VAR partners Veremes and INSER. Parlez-vous français? Download the presentations from this event at: http://conferenceFME2010.veremes.com.

Next stop was the UK FME User Meeting, where VAR partners Dotted Eyes, Star-APIC and Intergraph® UK welcomed 85 attendees. FME’s role in two recent law enforcement projects was of particular interest.

May marked a new milestone for Finnish users. Thanks to organizers SpatialWorld Oy, 20 people attended the inaugural Finnish FME User Meeting.

The next leg was the 10-city “2010: An FME Odyssey” across North America. Flight suits, limited edition FME Rocket Fuel (hot sauce) and 20+ technical and user presentations made these 1-day events a unique and engaging experience for all. The Safe crew

n SAFE INSIDER

FME is a registered trademark of Safe Software Inc. All other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Printed in Canada.

Web: www.safe.comEmail: info@safe.com

Suite 2017, 7445 - 132nd StreetSurrey, British Columbia Canada

Tel: 604-501-9985Fax: 604-501-9965

- 8 -

About Safe SoftwareSafe Software powers the flow of spatial data

with its software platform, FME. The recognized

standard in spatial ETL (extract, transform and

load), FME is the only complete solution for data

conversion. It delivers the most extensive format

support for data translation and integration,

and provides unlimited flexibility in data model

transformation and data distribution.

FME is used by thousands of customers worldwide in

a variety of industries including government, utilities,

and petroleum. Its powerful data access technology

also makes FME the choice of leading GIS, CAD,

and database vendors for integration into their own

solutions. Designed for true data interoperability, FME

unleashes spatial data so people can use it where,

when, and how they want to. For more information,

visit www.safe.com.

What is your role here at Safe? I wear two hats - as the FME Server Product Manager, I ensure that our product is aligned with our customers’ needs. I’m also part of the FME Server team in Professional Services, where we provide support, training, and consulting.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?Building relationships with our customers and integrators, and being a part of their success. An integrator once told me that his own career achievements came from solving his customers’ problems using FME. That was truly rewarding. And it’s really amazing to see what customers are doing with FME Server these days.

What is working at Safe like?

It‘s a true team environment. Some places say it;

we really live it. I’ve made some of my best friends

working here. We often get together to cross-country

ski, mountain bike, and play soccer.

Mountain bike, you say… Yes! My current personal focus is on a seven-day mountain bike race this summer. I’m probably the only person at Safe who ever expensed a bike rental instead of taxi fares.

Employee Profile: Ken BraggJoined Safe Software in January 2004

According to Twitter: Characteristics of an FME UserTo learn more about our users, we explored Twitter. What did we learn? Well, we found that FME users:

Safe in the NewsWe believe that FME 2010 is our best

release yet, but don’t just take our word

for it! Third-party reviews and articles from

respected publications, such as GISCafé,

Directions Magazine and GEOInformatics,

are available in our News Room. To see what

other users are saying about FME 2010,

simply scan the list for items marked with

“(Blog)” and read a variety of blog posts from

the FME community.

Check out our News Room by visiting

www. safe.com/NewsRoom.

Follow Ken on Twitter @KenAtSafe

Enjoy meeting together jeffhobbs: Attended #FMEOdyssey conference yesterday with @DaleAtSafe in SF. Very cool user group and very informative.

Show great dedication briantimoney: Got up early to shovel snow and attend #fmeodyssey in Denver.

Solve problems with ease cageyjames: Nothing is better at converting CAD to GIS than @safesoftware #thanksgents

Aspire to great things zerocool_ds: My goal this month = apply for a FME Professional certification.

..and love using FME fantomplanet: Finding I'm in love with FME Transformers.

Find out how you can connect with Safe online; visit www.safe.com/SocialMedia.