| The Facilities Working Group (FWG) was formed in January 1995 and meets bi-monthly. Active participation in the Facilities Working Group has grown as a result of its standards development and outreach activities to include the following agencies/organizations: Forest Service, Defense Mapping Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tri-Service CADD/GIS Technology Center, Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Coast Guard, National Institutes of Health, General Services Administration, Bureau of Transportation and Statistics, Federal Aviation Administration, Bureau of the Census, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, American Public Works Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, Photo Science, Inc., Logan Technologies, Inc., and Applied Geographics, Inc. This report identifies the accomplishments of the group during 1997 as they relate to the Goals and Objectives outlined in A Strategy for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. Goal 1 - Increase the awareness and understanding of the vision, concepts, and benefits of the NSDI through outreach and education. Objective: Continued to hold bi-monthly Facility Working Group meetings that were open to all members of the geospatial community Action: Held 6 meetings to update members on standards developments and inform members of FGDC activities. Meetings were open and announced in the Federal Registry. The August FWG meeting was held in St. Louis at the Tri-Service CADD/GIS Symposium and USACE/NOAA Conference. By holding the meeting outside of the D.C. area, we hoped to increase non-Federal participation. At the August meeting, Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program (OGRIP) presented their framework project. If future meetings are held outside the D.C. area, the FWG needs to broaden meeting announcements. The St. Louis meeting did not generate as much non-Federal participation as was anticipated. Objective: Continued to increase awareness of FWG activities by updating FWG Web pages and Electronic mail reflector Action: The FWG serves minutes, announcements of upcoming meetings, membership list, and standards development activities on the World Wide Web. This may be accessed from the FGDC list of subcommittee and working group servers at http://fgdc.er.usgs.gov. It has proven to be an efficient tool for disseminating information. Goal 2 - Develop common solutions for discovery, access, and use of geospatial data in response to the needs of diverse communities. Goal 3 - Use community-based approaches to develop and maintain common collections of geospatial data for sound decision-making. Objective: Goals 2 and 3 both address supporting data standardization activities. The FWG continued to develop the following standards. Action: Facility ID Code Standard - The FGDC Standards Working Group approved development of a Facility ID Code Standard by the Facilities Working Group. This standard will consist of a set of standardized data elements which identify and locate place-based facilities such as a standard identifier, latitude longitude, name, and facility type. These unique, non-intelligent identifiers will coexist with agencies' internal codes and will initially be applied to Federal buildings. The standard has been forwarded to the SWG and is currently out for public review. Action: Utilities Data Content Standard - The FGDC Standards Working Group approved development of a Utilities Data Content Standard by the Facilities Working Group. The topics in this data content standard will include these systems and their components: electric monitoring and control; electrical distribution; fuel distribution; industrial waste collection; natural gas distribution; storm drainage collection; wastewater collection; water; and heating and cooling. This standard will support large-scale engineering and life-cycle maintenance of utility systems. The standard was forwarded to the SWG and is currently out for public review. Action: SDTS CADD Profile - The FGDC Standards Working Group approved development of an SDTS CADD Profile and the Tri-Service CADD/GIS Technology Center completed a study that outlines the tasks required to develop this standard. The Tri-Service Center has completed the SDTS CADD Profile. Needs to be sent to the SWG. Action: Environmental Hazards Data Content Standard - The FGDC Standards Working Group approved the development of an Environmental Hazards Content Standard. The Group proposed a standard that supports the study, management, and remediation of hazardous waste. A project team is working on developing the standard. Action: Accuracy Standards for Facility Mapping - The FGDC Standards Working Group approved development of an accuracy standard by the Geodetic Subcommittee. There are several parts to the this standard and the Facilities Working Group is responsible for the Section 4 on accuracy standards for facility mapping. The standard has been forwarded to the SWG and is currently out for public review. Goal 4 - Build relationships among organizations to support the continuing development of the NSDI. Objective: Continued to build relationships that will broaden the participation and scope of FGDC standards and , ultimately, the NSDI. Action: Spatial Data Standards Summit. With FGDC support, The Pennsylvania Mapping and Geographic Information Consortium (PaMAGIC) and The Pennsylvania State University held a two-day summit (Oct 22 & 23) to review the Utilities and Environmental Spatial data standards. The summit was an opportunity for state and local technical experts to review the FGDC draft standards and suggest changes, recommend additions, and suggest requirements for future standards activities for facility management. Participants included regional planners, GIS coordinators, utility and environmental experts, and Pennsylvania DOT. Objective: Expand our membership list to include state and local governments. Action: Participation in regional conferences. The Utilities Data Content Standard was presented at the New England Chapter of AM/FM International on October 28, 1997. Action: Request Participation from NACo Members. The FWG has formally requested technical members from NACo to develop and review the Utilities and Environmental Hazards Standard. To date, NACo has not identified an interested participant. |
