MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: New Straits Times

Thesis is a software package that has been designed specially to facilitate the management of drainage and sewer systems.

With the Malaysian Government's plans come into being and there are a number of companies offering drainage and water services, the operators will have to compete in a market just like any other business.

As a result, these companies will need a way with which to manage their operations effectively. In this day and age, that means turning to information technology (IT) solutions.

With a software such as Thesis running on their desktop PCs, the water and drainage companies would be able to save time and run their operations smoothly. Nevertheless, Thesis only manage the operational part of a drainage company.

For office administration tasks, you'll need another package.

Brieftly, Thesis is an integrated PC-based software for the management of drainage asset-related data. It comes from the British-based Oscar Faber Group. If you haven't heard of it, that's probably because the company has yet to market it officially in this country.

However, the British company has appointed its local office, Oscar Faber Nair Ven Sdn Bhd, as its contact and representative in Malaysia. What Thesis does basically is to give an overview of the networks of pipes and drains covered by a particular company.

To do this, it provides a consistent and complete mechanism with which data can be collated and maintained. The software is claimed to work with a variety of geographical information systems (GIS), including one from Oscar Faber itself. It is also compatible with various file formats, so you can import maps and data generated in other packages into the system. The modular product is based on a core called the central datastore (CDS). This an integrated relational database that forms the heart of the system.

The CDS contains all the information within the Thesis modules. As such, it has been designed to ensure that information from any source is consistent with previously entered data.

The three system modules - GeoThesis, CCTV and Manhole and Operational are built around this central database. Each of them can be used independently to capture, validate and analyse data.

The analysis tools include facilities to prioritise maintenance and survey work as well as statistical and graphical facilities that assist in the management of underground assets. GeoThesis is the main module.

It is a mapping facility that allows data stored in the Manhole module to be displayed against a map.

In United Kingdom, this would be the Ordance Survey Map, but since the program recognises various file formats, you could probably use it with local maps generated in GIS programs.

Apart from just displaying the assets on the map, GeoThesis also allows the user to produce standard cartographic plots using layer configuration annotation and labelling tools.

The Manhole module is the one that allow you to collect, validate and analyse data collected from surveys. Close circuit television (CCTV) is a complementary module to Manhole.

This module is used in conjuction with remote video camera that are used in some countries to inspect underground facilities.

Finally, the various Operational modules allow for the collection and analysis of operations related data. This includes customer complaints, blockage report and sewer cleaning.

In use, Thesis could make it easier for companies to respond to burst pipes and systematically maintain their network of drains.

For example, when someone calls to inform of a burst drain, the company can call up the affected district's network and then zoom in on the particular section of the pipe system.

The data stored in the CDS would then inform the user of the specifications of that pipe, thus allowing the maintenance department to raise the purchase order for the necessary parts.

In conclusion, Thesis is an interesting product and one that would prove valuable to companies which have to manage a large network of drains and sewage systems.