On August 24 - 26th, the sixth FME User Conference took place at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Attendees had over 100 breakout sessions to choose from where customers, partners, and Safers showcased the unique ways they use FME every day to maximize the value of their data.
All breakout session recordings and slides are now available for on demand viewing! Check out the Event Proceedings sorted by track below.
Day 1 - August 24, 2022
Producing Apple IMDF Datasets with FME
Presenter: Benjamin Quest, con terra GmbH
The conversion of a 2D floor plan into Apple’s indoor format IMDF can be challenging. The presentation shares the experiences and challenges in creating an indoor model from a CAD drawing of a hospital building. Using the FME process to automate some of the necessary work that otherwise would have been needed to be realized manually provides huge benefits in time and budget as in data quality. As a second approach shows the building of a campus viewer based on ArcGIS with workplace information and the integration with office applications.
Temporal Analysis on Pipeline Health and Risk Assessment
Presenter: Patrick Cheng, Plains Midstream Canada
Traditionally, pipeline health is determined by periodical run-throughs of sensor tools of the pipeline. The resulting data is then used to determine actions on the pipeline such as exploration digs and repairs. These sensor tools can be of varying technologies such as in-line magnetic sensors, ultrasonic tools, as well as indirect electrical surveys. With no standardized format nor spatial component analytics for these tools provided me with an awesome opportunity to provide deeper insights with FME.
Using FME to standardize the data and then spatialize the data in both 2D and 3D allows our pipeline integrity team to analyze these pipelines in a much more detailed fashion to observe pipeline health. Not only are engineers able to utilize GIS to observe if pipeline anomalies are caused by environmental factors, the engineers are now able to layer many vintages of various tools to observe anomaly growth and target problematic issues far in advance away from catastrophic events happening.
Modelling Trees with FME
Presenter: Jonas Nelson, Municipality of Täby
The Municipality of Täby aims to populate 3D city models with trees, but without known tree points and without tree classifications in the LIDAR data, this is difficult. Unless you use FME, of course.
CityGML Integration Into the ArcGIS Platform
Presenter: Christian Dahmen, con terra Gmbh
For 3D applications and environmental simulations, including urban planning, mapping the energy characteristics of buildings, or noise mapping, a variety of (open) standards are available in CAD, BIM, and GIS domains for the storage, visualization, and transfer of 3D geospatial datasets.
Examples of open standards are OGC’s CityGML and Indexed 3D Scene Layers (i3s). These formats are essential to many organizations dealing with 3D datasets. Whereas CityGML is meant to be a data model and exchange format, i3s is designed to stream large amounts of heterogeneous data.
Indexing in Elasticsearch with FME
Presenters: Jean-Luc Miserez & David Reksten, INSER
This presentation will show how we combined Elasticsearch, FME, AWS, and SharePoint into a dynamic high-performance indexing of a geodata catalogue
In addition to this, we'll be comparing this approach with some other recent experiences using "full text" indexing in SQL Server.
Deployment on FME Server through DTAP street
Presenter: Jelle De Zwaef, Nordend
Evolving from FME Desktop-based processes to FME Server integrations is often a growing pain. Organizations sometimes struggle with the promotion management of FME workflows through the DTAP street. During the presentation, we will explain some solutions to avoid having hard-coded server names, passwords or API endpoints in the Workspace itself.
We will focus on: developing the process in FME Desktop, the configuration of the different environments of FME Server, the usage of Web and Database Connections, the use of Projects and validation of these Projects and the Workspaces. The goal is that nothing needs to change in the Workspace and that even a Deployment Manager knowing very little about FME can release an FME Server process into production. The ultimate goal would be to fully automate the deployment using the FME Server API.
Automate Data: CAD Transformation from SharePoint to AGOL
Presenter: Caner Akin, GHD
The client has many Civil3D CADD design files and they would like to use these datasets to show on an online mapping platform. GHD hosts an ArcGIS Online platform for their client and publishes the spatial datasets there. From time to time, new CADD design files come in, and the data has to be appropriately manipulated to display on the mapping application.
The Civil3D CADD files are not spatially referenced and require spatial adjustment and geo-referencing. Also, the data should be transformed into GIS datasets and normalized for the mapping application.
We created an FME automation that takes the files from the SharePoint site, spatially adjusts them automatically, normalizes the data, converts them to GIS files, and publishes them directly in the ArcGIS Online platform.
Aiding Machine Learning with FME
Presenter: Bo Guo, Gistic Research, Inc.
In NLP-based street address parsing, training new rules to enhance existing models is as much a dicey proposition as a necessity. The problem is that the additions of the newly-trained rules may unexpectedly nullify previously-trained-and-established rules in the model and may lead to a lower overall success rate.
The presenter will share a training and evaluation system built with FME Server at its core supplemented with Google Data Studio for monitoring and assessment to maximize the NLP training performance and outcome.
FME Platform Best Practices
Presenters: Christian Berger & Sienna Emery, Safe Software
The FME Integration Platform is filled with readers, transformers, and writers to help your data flow freely between applications. It's also filled with a variety of features that can help you troubleshoot, plan hardware upgrades, and keep your environment safe and secure.
Whether you are installing FME for the first time or planning your next upgrade, this is the presentation for you. Join Sienna and Chris as they share tips, tricks, and best practices that you can easily implement in your organization.
How to Integrate Efficient & Reusable FME Components in Web Applications
Presenter: Dennis Wilhelm, con terra GmbH
Especially since many FME use cases are getting more and more complex, the need for intuitive user interfaces is key to a good user acceptance.
In this talk, we will talk about how to use FME Server Apps and when to go even further using the FME Server REST API in order to build custom web apps.
Wood vs. Wings
Presenter: Tim Albert, Victoria Airport Authority
Trees and Airplanes don't play nicely together. Many airports face the constant struggle of ensuring that obstacles, like trees, do not threaten the safe operation of arriving and departing aircraft. How does YYJ, located on the west coast of Canada, in area known for its especially large trees, deal with this issue? LiDAR is often used to capture the height of obstacles around the airport, but what do you do with all that data?
This presentation will show how FME is used by YYJ to manipulate the LiDAR data, develop cost estimates for removal and develop layers for an ArcGIS Online management tool.
Adventures with Hillshading in FME
Presenter: Jan Rykr, Jacobs
FME can be used for creating professional cartographic products and thanks to its flexibility, it can often overpower standard desktop GIS and graphic design applications.
Jan will share his experience with developing new concepts for using various hillshading techniques for creating cartographic products in FME. During the presentation, Jan will describe the crucial steps for creating stunning terrain models using multiple hillshading methods and their application. Samples of will include "Turning a Vintage Map into a 3D Art in FME", "Enhancing Aerial Imagery with Hillshade in FME" and "Minimal Atlas of the US".
How to Synchronize ArcGIS Portal Items with FME
Presenter: Jan Middel, con terra Gmbh
This is a technical presentation about how to synchronize and release ArcGIS Portal Items between different instances of ArcGIS Portal, like migrating certain items between a Staging and a Production environment. Those Items can be service types, maps, apps, or groups.
In doing so, I am using FME as a central spot of interaction between those environments. The aim is to maintain and synchronize several ArcGIS Enterprise instances that belong to one bigger deployment, including TEST and PROD environments, without a lot of manual maintenance. The developed workspaces makes use of ArcGIS functionality based on the Python and REST API for ArcGIS. In this project, I am using FME Desktop and FME Server (Automations, FME Server Apps, Dynamic Engines).
Contribute to Study Marine Mammals and Help Preserve them, with FME
Presenter: Frederic Eichelbrenner, Veremes / Ellipso Factor
Improving our knowledge on marine mammals' behaviour is key to contributing to their preservation. Several NGOs work on this subject in the Pelagos sanctuary, located in the northern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Crews of eco volunteers spend days at sea each year to contribute to the inventory of cetacean populations. Their task is difficult as the study area is quite large (87,500 sq. kilometres).
In this presentation, we'll first talk about the key factors that influence the probability of observing whales.
Then, we'll present some Copernicus datasets that are useful to estimate those key factors.
Finally, we'll show how FME Cloud is super efficient in processing those datasets, merging them with static data, and regularly providing scientists with easily transferable maps that help estimate observation opportunities.
Extend the Life of a BIM Model in GIS/FM with Revit Reader
Presenters: Lubomír Lazar, CAD Studio, s.r.o. & Jírí Carda, Arkance systems CZ
Arkance Systems is the one of major CAx, BIM, GIS provider in Europe, with solutions based mainly on Autodesk technologies. Arkance Systems is a part of a big international group - Groupe Monnoyeur. Our GIS division is delivering GIS solutions mostly to private enterprises, utilizing mainly own Arkance Systems technology - twiGIS. Besides usual utility-GIS (water, wastewater, heat, telco), we focus our GIS solutions on facility management of large public and industrial areas like airports, exhibition grounds, manufacturing plants, power plants, etc.
Our talk will focus on the following topics:
- Introduction of twiGIS and its BIM connector – why and how
- Details on how the Revit reading is done in FME
- Pitfalls and highlights of the BIM to GIS transformation
Application Integration: A Key Component of YOUR Digital Transformation
Presenter: Todd Lewis, Spatial DNA Informatics
Asset and operations management software collects all sorts of data and information about your vehicles, equipment, facilities, and infrastructure - location, original purchase cost, current condition, and more! But, this amazing software also requires a lot of care and feeding of curated data from your financial system, your customer service applications, sensor and SCADA networks, and your space management and GIS tools. How can you ensure that all systems are up-to-date with the latest data?
Enter Application Integration… This talk will outline what Application Integration is, the various models for integrating your applications. We will introduce Integration Patterns that are more accessible now - even to smaller operators. And we will propose a process for integration and your realized outcome.
Joining the Dots | An Electra & FME Story
Presenter: Matthew Cooper, Electra
On the FME journey with Electra, this presentation will explore how a New Zealand electricity distribution company identified a need to derive greater value from the enormous amount of data available, develop a business case to meet that need, source, and implement a solution, FME.
With the introduction of FME, Electra has been able to better understand and improve the customer experience by building solutions like the Phase Loss Sensor that plugs into all three phases of a power line. When the voltage drops below a certain threshold, it triggers a signal that travels via FME and onto the outage management system identifying the fault and the customer(s) impacted - all in less than 5 seconds!
Introducing the new Package SDK, Create and Share Python Based Transformers
Presenter: Stewart Harper, Safe Software
FME, combined with the FME Hub, has over 1000 transformers to let you read and manipulate data. Despite this coverage, there are still thousands of services and formats we don't support.
In this presentation, we will introduce you to the new FME Development Platform that will allow you to create Python-based transformers and then share them on the FME Hub. We will provide an overview of the platform and then walk you through creating a transformer using our new transformer GUI builder and Python SDK. We will then share the Python transformer on FME Hub.
Department of Conservation Automate Their Google Analytics Data With the Help of Snowflake and FME
Presenter: Pip Norris & Darren Fergus, Locus
This presentation is a practical exploration of work undertaken by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) to develop the Modern Data Platform (MDP) implemented as a Snowflake-based cloud data warehouse to improve business intelligence and report by delivering a single source of truth, as well as automating data dispatches received from a multitude of sources.
Traffic Count Data
Presenter: Ali Hojat, City of Vancouver
There are various methods for determining traffic quantity and characteristics around the city of Vancouver. These traffic data are collected from different methods, including permanent count stations. These stations collect the pedestrians, bikes, and vehicle volume that are used to monitor temporal traffic pattern changes around the city. Short-term count data is used to supplement permanent count data by providing specific metrics related to road user classification, turning counts, and speed data.
We used FME for data integration to a variety of data sources, including SQL server, files based in XLS and PDF format for the data engineering part. All QC rules, data calculation and data conversion, were part of this workflow and were developed by FME to be close to real-time data visualization.
Working with Partners' CRM Data
Presenters: Kailin Opaleychuk & Kezie Yu, Safe Software.
As a company, you may work with several partners. Here at Safe, we've been working on a project to gather Customer Management System (CRM) data from our Partners and consolidate it into our Partner Management System (PRM), Salesforce. The hurdle is, each partner may have a different CRM – meaning different systems, file exports, and ultimately different schemas.
Using the FME Platform, Kailin and Kezia developed a process that reformats partner CRM data, validates, and submit records to a Salesforce endpoint. This project will help us have a holistic view of our sales prospects across the globe
FME at a Global Design Firm (HOK)
Presenters: David Baldaccino, HOK, Inc.
You might not know that FME is one of the least-known (awesome) and most versatile tools at HOK, but why keep it a secret? This presentation will tell the story of the various uses we have dreamt up so far as an excuse to play with FME. We will highlight the occasionally preferred transformer, share some tips and indulge in any geeky details that the audience might want to engage in. From preventive care, data transformations, to administrative IT tasks, FME can rise up to the occasion, shine and impress!
Driving the Where and What of Your Data - FME Driven Metadata and Data Governance
Presenter: Peter Veenstra, Pivvott
Pivvot is a location intelligence company offering its customers cloud-driven, web-based siting and optimization software. We utilize FME at all levels of the data curation and ingestion process. All of the data that drives the Pivvot applications are geo-spatial. The data is derived from public sources and kept ever-green in the database. Understanding and documenting the provenance (Source) and pedigree (timeliness, concurrency) of each of the 500 million rows of data in the Pivvot database requires detailed attention to process and metadata.
The applications on the Pivvot platform can provide our customers with the latest data they need to decide where to site their renewable projects. None of this would be possible without FME Desktop and FME Cloud. This presentation outlines how Pivvot uses FME to transform the data required to keep the Pivvot applications running.
Production Database Restrictions? Make way for “SQL Script Creation”
Presenter: Julia Rozema, Alberta Health Services
Ever get stuck using a GUI that only allows manually editing data one record at a time? I know that feeling. At the end of it, I’m left with a sinking feeling about the potential errors that may have been introduced.
Have no fear, FME is here! Our GIS Team can now utilize FME to generate SQL scripts so that records can be inserted, updated or deleted, live. But, why was a script created vs updating the database directly with FME? Due to the critical nature of the dispatch database, there is limited access to modifying records. No problem. With some additional transformers, FME can generate a text file that can be given to IT to run and apply the changes. Voila!
1200+ FME-workspaces in hand? –User story ProRail.
Presenter: Pim Christiaans, Tensing
As the second biggest FME user in the Netherlands, ProRail (charged for the management of the main railway network in the Netherlands) has more than 1200 workspaces and more than 10 applications running on the FME server.
In this presentation, we will talk about our proven experience on how ProRail works together with its FME partner, Tensing, to achieve a satisfactory result. The challenges are taken at both the management level and technology level.
Our experience has shown that a good management system on the FME server can provide a stable production environment and ease the workload during development, production release, and migrations. Active monitoring helps in capacity planning and process scheduling.
Modernizing Hazard Data Feeds at the PDC
Presenter: Jorma Rodieck, Kontur/ Pacific Disaster Centre
In this presentation, we will highlight how moving from a custom build in house solution for aggregating data feeds to using FME Server and Desktop helped to support disaster risk reduction efforts.
Entering A New Digital Realm With AR
Presenters: Dmitri Bagh, Safe Software & Pierre Nowacki, Holo | One
In this presentation, we'll explain our vision of the future of Augmented Reality, cloud-based, readily available anywhere you go, on any device and tuned for your needs. FME as a data integration platform delivers data to Holo|One, the creator of the enterprise AR productivity solution Sphere.
Spatial Data at Scale with Databricks
Presenters: Christopher Chalcraft & Kent Marten, Databricks
Databricks is the world's leading Data + AI platform. This session will provide an overview of Databricks, the Lakehouse paradigm, and the state of geospatial processing and analytics on the platform. We will discuss how FME fits into the geospatial Lakehouse ecosystem and demonstrate a solution to a challenging, real-world use-case that explores spatial and temporal dimensions of massive geospatial data.
Day 2 - August 25, 2022
FME in Action to Support Pharma Giant Roche
Presenters: Jean-Luc Miserez & David Reksten, Inser
In this presentation, we will show how the swiss pharmaceutical giant became addicted to the power of FME managing their facilities.
In particular, the following current projects will be presented:
- Maps4SmartBuilding: Convert CAD data to be used in IoT processes or for indoor navigation
- Data Quality Cloud: Check the quality of CAD and BIM data
- Digital Twin: Process data to feed a Digital Twin platform for daily maintenance planning.
The Quest for a Digital Twin - How FME Can Help?
Presenter: Randy Murphy, Arora Engineers, Inc.
The concept of a digital twin is attractive to designers and builders who need to see how the new infrastructure they are creating will fit into the existing environment efficiently and effectively. Digital twins are also attractive to facility owners who need to maintain and operate this new infrastructure once it is created. A key challenge in realizing this goal is populating the digital twin with data and then keeping that data to the quality expected by users. Arora Engineers, Inc. has found FME a vital tool when bringing these sources together and maintaining the data interoperability throughout the facility’s lifecycle. This presentation will trace typical data sources as they are transformed to meet the specific needs of users at each lifecycle phase. Examples from particular projects will highlight how FME can be used and ultimately help support the digital twin so many desire.
DITUR, or How to Create a Digital Twin for Assisting Climate Action Plans
Presenter: Martin Koch, Tensing
Energy efficiency is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to combat climate change, achieve a more sustainable and secure energy supply, reduce pollution, and cut our energy bills. Nevertheless, almost 40% of the current building stock in Europe is not built according to any energy efficiency plan. To reach 2050 climate goals, a deep renovation of residential buildings is required, enabling considerable energy and CO2 emission reductions.
Avineon and Tensing participate in a research consortium (DITUR or Digital Twins for Upscaled Retrofits) that explores the potential of advanced data analytics to support the renovation challenge of the existing residential building stock by focusing on the digital twin concept.
Avineon acts as a partner for 3D modelling, and Tensing takes on the role of developing the digital twin infrastructure and data integration processes. Of course, we used a lot of FME for this.
Ready Player One - Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers and Scientists with FME and Minecraft
Presenter: Lewis Mould & Sam Collier, Atkins Consultants Limited - EPSOM
Recently, Atkins UK began working closely with the Digital Engineering Technology and Innovation (DETI) Inspire team at the University of West of England to explore accurate spatial data as a digital twin, delivered via the popular game Minecraft.
The Atkins Geospatial Team built a custom FME process to convert Ordnance Survey data into a to-scale Minecraft world, allowing highly detailed local communities to be created – the UK’s wild west in Minecraft.
Through in-game interaction with this recreated Bristol, children from local communities can explore the familiar parts of their community in a new way, using them to frame engineering challenges, piquing their interest, and giving them the power to reshape where they live to enable a net-zero future.
A Safe Haven for IFC Files
Presenters: Francisco Girón Gesteira, con terra Spain
The Barcelona Port Authority is working on a 3D library of a wide variety of objects as a first step in creating a 3D digital twin of the Port of Barcelona. They chose IFC as the data exchange format for this library because it is an open and widely supported standard. But as with all standards, there are many degrees of freedom and different ways of implementing them, and it is crucial to ensure that all IFC files received from the producers comply with specific criteria.
For this purpose, con terra created a self-service IFC Validator based on an FME Server App, so that data producers can validate complex IFC files before submitting them to the Port of Barcelona. The output is a report listing the file's leading properties, layer structure, property sets and a 3D view of the IFC object, and a validation record of any errors and warnings.
3D City Model Applications with FME Server
Presenter: Matthew Smillie, Virtual City Systems
Recently, there has been a surge in interest and demand for 3D GML-based City Models. With cheaper acquisition of remote sensed LiDAR data and with the help of smart tools like Building Reconstruction, the process has never been cheaper. In addition, the open source CesiumJS has boosted access providing the ability to visualize models directly in the browser free of any plugins.
With more models comes the need for more applications to put the data to use. With its wide range of supported 3D Formats and tools, FME Server is an excellent tool for quickly creating both generic and user-specific processes. At Virtual City Systems, we have created several FME-based applications and want to share some of our workflows with interested parties.
RDF Linked Data: Automatic Exchange of BIM Containers
Presenter: Oscar Willems, Vicrea
This presentation tells the story of FME solutions of a Dutch Utility company for the automatic exchange of data containers containing RDF Linked data, BIM, and documents.
The presentation will focus on the non-traditional representation of RDF Linked Data and how this integrates with FME through SPARQL, Apache Jena, and a few customer-built transformers in FME.
This FME solution also uses my Excel switch-based method of directing the data flow.
Mobile: The Future of Everything
Presenter: Lena Bagh, Safe Software
With hundreds of Readers/Writers and transformers and upcoming FME Development Platform, FME provides you with endless possibilities to manipulate your data. Cut out the delivery time and process your data instantly whether you are in the office or in the field with FME Data Express. Bring your data to life by augmenting the environment around you with FME AR.
Join us to learn more about these free mobile applications. We will talk about FME Data Express and FME AR functionality and upcoming features, we will also share our vision and demo a few scenarios.
Inspecting Outdoor Events in Augmented Reality
Presenter: Freek de Wachter, Municipality of Nijmegen
Nijmegen hosts several large outdoor events each year. E.g. the largest walk of the world (Nijmeegse Viergaagse). With a Digital Twin, we can manage these events more safely. We use FME to present the design files in augmented reality and check whether objects are in the correct position. We use a library of FBX files and a transformation matrix for this.
Empowering Users with Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks
Presenter: David Runneals, GeoDecisions
Have you ever had to open up someone else's workspace and spend time attempting to figure out what they were doing and why they were doing it? Did you know that following some best practices can dramatically reduce your run time by over 50%? Come learn best practices, tips, and tricks gathered through 8+ years of on the job experience and from the user community that can help you dust off your dirty, cluttered workspaces. Those of you who are Managers or FME SMEs can take these best practices back to your organizations and implement them to have more consistent workspaces and reduce time troubleshooting issues.
Gitflow with FME and Autobuilding a Project with the Gitlab Build Pipeline
Presenter: Matthew Smillie, Virtual City Systems
FME and git do not work so well together at the moment - but a git workflow is an attractive option when creating FME-based products. In some IT companies using git during development is part of the company policy. It is not only using git and the attractive git workflow; Gitlab, and Github are also very attractive tools for developers.
This presentation will cover the challenges and benefits involved when applying a git-based workflow to FME development and discuss how Gitlab can be used to help run a pipeline to auto-deploy an FME-based project.
Lost in Transformation (Managing the Workspace Jungle)
Presenter: Henning Lackenberg, con terra GmbH
FME users can profit from fast and comprehensive searches through all major FME Workspace categories with FME workspace search. You can search specifically and customizably for Readers, Writers, Transformers, Repository Names, and FME Parameters. Furthermore, you can search for categories such as the number and timeliness of the used transformers.
Don’t Bug Out! The Ins and Outs of Debugging FME Workflows
Presenters: Mark Stoakes, Laura Wu - Safe Software
Have you ever developed a workflow but reached a roadblock of an unexpected result or error message you weren’t sure how to resolve? You aren’t alone. If you’ve ever stumbled through the troubleshooting process, this webinar is for you.
You’ll leave this talk with the tools to identify what’s gone wrong when you receive an error message (and hopefully, prevent the next one altogether!), allowing you to troubleshoot efficiently so that you can spend more time on the things that matter - like data analysis.
Getting a Make-over or How to Apply a Good Layout to Your Workspace
Presenter: Lars De Vrie - Omkeere B.V.
We all know the best practices for designing your workspaces, but applying these rules of thumb does not guarantee a readable workspace. This presentation will provide you with some additional thoughts on how to design and layout your workspace.
Quality Assurance of FME Scripts
Presenter: Johan Esko, Gitter Consult AB
Testing is a cornerstone in the modern software development process to assure code quality by examining the software's artifacts and behaviour. Methodologies for testing source code are well-developed, mature, and well-described. On the other hand, methods for testing scripts or programs developed with a “drag- and drop interface” development software like FME are not as well established. Some work on establishing a test framework for FME scripts has been done, for example, the rTest framework developed by the company Veremes and presented at FME IUC 2017.
We present a test method for quality assurance of FME scripts that is not based on defining test cases but instead works by comparing datasets at different measure points in a script to ensure that data has not changed in an unwanted way after updating a script.
The Long Way to the Map - Geodata and Services Provision Via an Automated Pipeline
Presenters: Christopher Dittmann & Jonas Wiemann, DTIT GmbH
At Deutsche Telekom, we are operating a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) with the objective of being a One-Stop-Shop for spatial data and associated services for multiple applications and use-cases at DT.
Data integration on the enterprise level is an interaction of multiple applications. In our case, FME plays here a central role. FME-Server is used for data intake and manipulation, as well as for managing several workflows to satisfy our end-users needs. Workflows triggered by FME process data for respective use cases, such as anonymizing photographs, thus allowing consultations with public while respecting data privacy requirements.
Automated Testing: How To Guarantee Correct FME Output, Every Time
Presenter: Kevin Weller, Modern geoSystems
Have you ever wondered whether your finely crafted workspace produces the most accurate output, no matter how bizarre the input data? If so, take a leaf from the software engineering book and use an automated test framework with your workspaces as you build them (or after, if they already exist). I'll briefly cover the theory and existing FME testing framework options and then summarize the effective usage of the relevant freely-available transformers I've published on the FME Hub.
FME - My Solution to Almost Every Data Challenge!
Presenter: Mary Brown, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
In this presentation, I will go over the following data challenges I have tackled using FME. First, I will illustrate how FME has been used to help establish GIS at the core of Swiss Humanitarian Aid. The challenges faced in the field of humanitarian GIS are many, and with FME, there is almost always a way to get data ready fast and automate some key tasks.
Next, I will discuss how FME in combination with ArcGIS Online (AGOL), was at the heart of a significant GIS breakthrough at Swiss Humanitarian Aid in 2019.
Lastly, I will talk about supporting the Foreign Ministry during the Covid-19 pandemic. With offices and staff in over 170 countries, Covid-19 significantly impacted the FDFA. The urgent needs of the Crisis Management Centre (State Secretariat) in the spring of 2020 meant GIS (and me) were called in to help. This presented an opportunity to revolutionize communication. An application was built in approximately two weeks. The impact was significant and remained operational for 2 years. The oil in the machine was, of course, FME Server.
PDF Parsing for Utility Location Planning Print Requests
Presenter: Jim Post, UW-Madison
Come along on a deep dive into how I got FME desktop to read a text-only .pdf file and create an attributed polygon feature.
Since I still don’t quite understand it myself, explaining it to someone else may push me over the edge to further understanding…
Using FME to create Maps for Games
Presenter: Peter Veenstra, Pivvot
This presentation is a summary of how FME Desktop was utilized to make maps for games. Games of strategy, games for the table-top, games for the computers. All of these typically require a map. FME is excellent for business geo-processing of spatial data, but it also lends itself to generating games. In this presentation, three different types of table-top and computer games will be demonstrated: a table-top strategy game, a computer-aided terrain visualization, and of course, a virtual world as shown in Minecraft. All the maps were generated or enhanced using FME.
F+M+E = SUCCESS. Getting Results Using Map Algebra
Presenter: Mark Ireland, Safe Software
Spatial analysis takes many forms. Perhaps the most overlooked is map algebra. Map algebra is commonly employed in land-use research and applies arithmetic expressions on multiple layers of data. Traditionally that data is raster, but with FME... vector, raster, point-cloud; it's all just "data."
This presentation demonstrates using map algebra in FME to produce results you'd never even thought possible.
Flood and Landslide Impact Components for the OGC 2021 Disaster Pilot using FME
Presenters: Dean Hintz, Jenna Kim & Kailin Opaleychuk - Safe Software
The impact of natural disasters is only growing in a world increasingly impacted by climate change. Open standards are one of the keys to providing tools and data to meet this challenge. Safe Software was an active participant in the OGC's 2021 Disaster Pilot and provided several critical components to support data extraction, transformation, integration, and automation.
This presentation will review the components that Safe provided using the FME platform, including examples across the data value chain from extracting source data through building analysis-ready data to driving indicators and publishing results to the cloud. In particular, we focused on flood scenarios in Manitoba and BC and landslides in BC. We will also review how the FME tools interacted with other components via OGC standards.
Reportnet 3: Online Integration of Environmental and Climate Data in Your Processes
Presenter: Ulf Månsson, Sweco
Reportnet 3 is the new e-platform for reporting environmental and climate data to the European Environment Agency (EEA). The platform embraces the European Commission's "Green Deal" strategic objectives" and is an essential component of its digital strategy.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) sorts large amounts of European countries' geographical, environmental and climate data. The data is used to analyze the most significant environmental problems and what to do about them. The environmental goals in Agenda 2030 guide the work.
The speaker has been commissioned to develop a public and free package for FME. The package enables direct access to data in Reportnet 3 for access and reporting. Examples of how environmental and climate data can be automatically integrated with geodata in different types of data flows will be shown, along with an introduction to Reportnet 3.
Supercharging Your Map Production
Presenter: Hans van der Maarel, Red Geographics
As cartographers, we often have a need to produce a lot of maps in a short amount of time, minimizing the amount of time spent on manually performing tasks while retaining a high output quality. By combining FME with the FME Auto plug-in for Avenza MAPublisher, we can get the best of both worlds and produce maps in a matter of seconds.
Detecting Roofs with Potential for PV Solar Panels from Open Data Lidar
Presenter: Jasper Wisbecq, Nordend
We created a Proof of Concept with FME to detect roofs with the potential for installing solar parks from open data (Lidar). Roofs must have an area bigger than a certain threshold and have an appropriate orientation.
Using FME Cloud to Produce Realtime Data Transit Update Streams (GTFS Realtime)
Presenter: Tino Miegel, con terra Gmbh
Google provides a real-time interface for public transportation agencies to update their static schedules data at Google with live vehicle positions, trip updates (e.g. delays) and service alerts. While FME can read and write GTFS data, the GTFS Realtime data exchange format is based on Protocol Buffers without integrated support in FME. This talk presents the additional steps necessary to utilize the Google Python Protobuffer Library to create GTFS Realtime proto files in ASCII and binary representation and push these updates to Google via HTTP and OAuth2 on FME Cloud.
Transforming Data at the Speed of Streams!
Presenters: Mark Warren & Stewart Harper, Safe Software
With FME, building and deploying stream processing streams has never been easier! With the growing demand for harnessing the power of continuously generated data, we’ll be showing you how to maximize the value of your stream data without any code in FME. This presentation will cover the concepts of streams, how to build stream processing workflows, and how to deploy them to FME Server to run around the clock.
"Locate" Your Business Data using SAP HANA and Esri Technology
Presenter: Mark Döring, con terra Gmbh
FME Data Integration, Consolidation and Restructuring is critical in bringing together the world of business and spatial data
- Consolidation of data to map overarching business processes
- Restructuring and quality assurance of GIS and SAP data
- Real-time analysis and reporting on mass data
Empowering the Enterprise: Customer Success Stories
Presenter: Marie-Rosanne Van Rietschoten, Vicrea
During this presentation, we will present several use cases from our clients on leveraging FME (Server) to empower their business through business intelligence, automated processes, and real-time data processing. Get inspired!
Streamlining Knowledge Base Content Prioritization Using the FME Platform
Presenter: Liz Sanderson, Safe Software
Over the past year, I've been developing a PostgreSQL database that contains everything I need to know about our Knowledge Base. Using FME to pull reports from Salesforce and Google Analytics to build the PostgreSQL database, clean up the data, and send out emails should an article be missing data or is not filled out correctly. This workspace is published to FME Server to run on a daily schedule to ensure the database has the latest article metadata. An FME Server App uses a second workspace to create reports that anyone at Safe can use to help decide on upcoming articles.
This project has freed up the time I used to manually generate these reports for others and allowed me to focus on improving Knowledge Base content.
Creating Your Own FME Connectors
Presenters: Christian Berger & Sienna Emery, Safe Software
FME provides native support for over 450 formats to enable your data to flow freely between various systems. However, you can also connect to virtually any design and build integrated workflows using a few key JSON transformers and the HTTPCaller. These transformers are used in most of the connector-type transformers available on the FME Hub that enable users to connect to various systems like Cityworks, Cartegraph, Infor, and much more!
Join Sienna and Chris to learn various tips and tricks for connecting to systems via the REST API from FME and how you can extend FME's reach in your organization!
Automation Central - FME @ HOK
Presenter: David Baldacchino, HOK inc
One of the most versatile tools used by the HOK Firmwide Design Technology team is FME. Sure, we chew through quite a number of data tasks to sharpen our pencils, but this presentation will reveal our secret sauce to doing more and better with less resources by using FME Server to engage several external services via REST APIs. From user account management, to project creation and email parsing, FME can do it all. We will demonstrate “Trajectory”, a custom HOK web app that “speaks” FME, and learn how you too can stretch your small software development team to achieve incredible results!
Beat the Peak: Optimizing FME Server Resources to Handle Varying Load
Presenters: Don Murray & Holly Coxon, Safe Software
Do you notice FME Server jobs waiting in a queue even though you have engines sitting idle?
In this presentation we’ll walk through some of the challenges FME Server Administrators may face as their FME Server usage grows, and provide demonstrations on how to use Queue Control and server analytics to better understand your server to make the most of the engines you have available - whether that be one or one hundred - by making sure they n-Everest!
We’ll then give you a preview of two new features coming in a future release that will allow you to make informed decisions about how to maximize the value of your processing resources.
By the end of the presentation, you’ll go away with all the tools you need to help deliver a peak experience to your end users.
Moving From a Large Onsite FME Server to a Large FME Azure Environment Sigbjørn Herstad, Norkart
Presenter: Sigbjørn Herstad, Norkart
We have moved our FME Server infrastructure from on-premise to in the cloud in the last few years. This presentation will showcase some of the challenges and things to consider when moving into a large environment while in production.
Eglinton Crosstown West Extension: Leveraging FME to Automate Data Conversions
Presenter: Raj Ubhi, Arup
Arup is providing engineering design and technical advisory services supporting procurement, coordination, and construction of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE), a $4.7bn extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto.
The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will take the Crosstown LRT another 9.2 km farther west, and includes seven stations, a new bridge over the Humber River, and a 6.5-km tunnel. Arup developed automated processes using FME (Feature Manipulation Engine) and FME Server to convert and publish CAD files to the project web viewer on a daily schedule as they were updated.
FME has automated an otherwise manually exhausting ETL (extract, transform, load) process to accurately maintain and upkeep data, ultimately saving a significant amount of time and improving communication across multiple software platforms and within a multi-disciplinary design team.
Empowering the Enterprise by Moving to the Cloud
Presenter: Sarah Singh, Waka Kotahi
At Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, FME desktop and FME server underpin the development of data, research, and analytics and facilitates the day-to-day management and maintenance of an Enterprise Geospatial Platform.
This presentation explores the challenges and successes of our experience in moving to the cloud and upgrading FME desktop and server from 2017 to 2021. The example is of the management and maintenance of an Enterprise Geospatial Platform where FME is used to support independent production systems with no inherent mechanisms for synchronizing data flow between those systems.
Using GIS, RDBMS, and FME Server to Automate Infrastructure Availability Tax Assessments
Presenter: Brooks E Kelly, Avineon
The Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) utilizes infrastructure availability tax assessments to help share the cost of providing water and sewer infrastructure to its service area. Charges are based on each parcel’s proximity to existing water and sewer facilities and tax status.
An infrastructure availability tax assessment reporting system was recently deployed to calculate the charges for 251,000 parcels using GIS-based assessment methods, to ensure that the charges are easy to maintain and are defendable. This system is built on GIS, RDBMS, FME Server, and web technologies. This approach has resulted in process efficiency and accuracy improvements, bringing in over US$ 5,900,000 annually.
Importance of Data Interoperability in the Telco Industry and how FME Can Help.
Presenter: Mateusz Pyra, Globema
Telecommunication vendors are dealing with constant changes in their networks. New investments, breakdowns, planning facilities or upgrades – all elements should be updated as fast as possible to the main repository on which business heavily depends.
In this presentation, we will discuss the positive aspects of this implementation in the Smallworld environment. We will also talk about moments that surprised us and the un-obvious side effects of such an approach.
Afterward, we will talk about facilities that come from using FME in data migration between the old network inventory system and the new one. A good tailored data migration process is a crucial point that seems to be a time-consumption challenge. Therefore, we want to show you how FME can help to handle all steps of data migration, especially when we need to conduct it for one of the major telecommunication companies.
The Incredible Bulk (Mode)
Presenters: Dale Lutz & Ryan Proulx, Safe Software
Since the beginning, the unusual schema-less data handling approach FME was built around allowed users astonishing problem-solving flexibility. But there was a price to pay for this limber approach, both in memory usage and performance. As data volumes increased, this price began to be more and more painful.
Enter Bulk Mode, a parallel data architecture implemented seamlessly throughout the FME core that is specifically tuned for large amounts of similarly structured data.
This talk will review the evolution of this revolutionary approach, and reflect on its rollout that has spanned the past 7 years. Stay to the end to learn exactly where the rollout is today, and what the plans are for FME 2023 and beyond.
Special Interest Group: Local Government - Novel Solutions To Process Big Data
Presenter: Kevin Smith, City of Austin
Since 2011, the City of Austin has used FME workspaces to power the data creation for its FloodPro Web Application. FloodPro is responsible for automatically distributing a variety of FEMA, floodplain, and storm drain-related information. Over the past several years, numerous optimization and enhancements have resulted in improved processing time.
The latest project, undertaken with Consortech Solutions, resulted in changes to business practices and the creation and application of novel solutions in data processing. Using these methods, we reduced the processing time to approximately one hour.
This presentation will provide an overview of the implemented traditional methods and detail the new approach created by Consortech Solutions, Inc.
Special Interest Group: Local Government - Webhooks in FME Server, Cityworks & GIS Applications
Presenter: Langdon Sanders, City of Dublin
Webhooks are automated ways to send messages between applications based on triggering events. We'll introduce webhook data flows and requirements, where FME Server comes into play, and illustrate working examples. Our examples will explore webhooks in Cityworks asset management software and how they can be used to update ArcGIS Online hosted feature layers on events such as closed inspections. We'll also preview the webhooks capabilities of ArcGIS Online to send data when GIS features are changed.
Special Interest Group: Utilities - Creating Custom Visualizations in Google Earth
Presenter: Virgil Robinson, Aerecon
The first workflow creates an optimized table output in Google Earth using custom HTML. Additional functionality has also been added, including feature cout, navigation arrows and company branding. The second workflow allows you to display geotagged photos in Google Earth. JPEG images are compressed and stored in the KMZ. Photo metadata such as date/time are also displayed in Google Earth alongside the photo. Several user parameters have been set up to allow the user to optimize the output for their needs.
Biological Data Validation for Compliance
Presenter: Priyantha Pallegama, 1Spatial Australia
Fortescue’s geospatial team identified FME Server as the ideal platform for a new Web-based self-service solution – known as the Portal for Environmental Data Submissions (PEDS) – to ensure the integrity of its environmental data.
Let's Get Ready to Wrangle! 6 Steps Towards Data Quality Bliss
Presenters: Jenna Kim & Dan Minney
Are you struggling to scrape together useful insights from poor-quality data? Then get ready to wrangle.
FME is the tool that provides a no-code, high-speed way to wrangle your data. Bonus: it works just as well with spatial data too.
Let us show you how to spend less time fighting with your data, and more time using it. During this talk, we will walk you through how to perform the 6 main steps in the data-wrangling process: discovering, structuring, cleaning, enriching, validating, and publishing.
Join us to learn how you can use FME to seamlessly achieve these 6 steps towards valuable analytics, and ultimately, data-driven business decisions.
Day 3 - August 26, 2022
Augmented Reality: an Everyday Tool for a City Worker
Presenter: Dmitri Bagh, Safe Software Inc
In this presentation, we will talk about high accuracy model placement in Augmented Reality scenes using external GNSS receivers and other methods. Then we will show how high accuracy allows using Augmented Reality in city maintenance scenarios.
Upcycle Your Workspaces: Tips & Tricks for Custom Transformers
Presenter: Lars De Vries, Omkeere B.V.
FME is a wonderful tool with over 500 transformers, but apparently, that isn't even enough! On the FME hub are over 750 custom transformers published. Within this presentation we'll take a look at the advantages of a custom transformer, the things to take into account when building one and how to streamline your dataflow. Also, we'll take the next step, push the peddle to the metal and have a look at how to use your workspace as a custom transformer on FME Server!
Peak Performance with FME
Presenter: Michiel Schram, Sweco
When setting up workspaces that are intended for processing lots and lots of data smart choices need to be made to make it work. Should you use custom transformers, should you work with databases and workspace runners or should you run it on FME Server in the cloud?<br><br>In this presentation, we are going to share practical experiences to make it work for you.
rTest ? The Testing Tool for FME Workspaces
Speaker: Vincent Aalalou, Veremes
Testing an FME script is an essential part of project quality, but this is also a tedious and time-consuming task.
To solve this particular problem, Veremes, a French Platinum level reseller, decided to develop rTest, a free and open-source tool composed of an FME workspace and an HTML application that gives you the possibility to automatize the qualifying tasks of your workspaces.
In this presentation, we will showcase rTest's capabilities, and you will see how it is a valuable tool for anyone looking to increase the quality of their deliverables while reducing their workload.
Bridging Between CAD & GIS - 8 Ways to Automate Your Data Integration
Presenters: Dale Lutz & Jovita Chan. Safe Software Inc
Converting between CAD and GIS is a common requirement for projects involving infrastructure, buildings, city plans, and more. Unfortunately, the workflow presents many challenges, like translating geometry, attributes, annotations, symbology, geolocation, and other elements.<br><br>So how do you allow data to flow freely between these disparate data types, without losing the precision offered by CAD and the spatial context offered by GIS?
This talk will explore the power of automated data integration workflows for CAD and GIS.
How to Find Excellent Wine with FME: the Geocoder of IDErioja
Presenter: Iria Costas Vázquez, con terra Spain
To achieve a high percentage of success in address-matching operations is not easy, because it is necessary to standardize address data. This information has to be known and accessible to everyone.
With this objective, La Rioja Government (Spain) edits a regional geographic street map with the collaboration of all the municipal administrations. In addition to the viewing, consulting and downloading operation of the produced data, it is essential to develop a direct and inverse geocoding API that allows any application to interact with the address database.
To convert and optimize the address data from the original repository to the environment and structure of Elasticsearch, we use FME, since its flexibility allows us to adjust to the required structure easily, and to expand the search database with address data from other territorial areas.
In addition to offering a geocoding service for our own address data, we have extended its functionality to a national or global level.
Managing ArcGIS Online Using FME
Presenter: Tim Albert, Victoria Airport Authority
The Victoria Airport maintains its GIS data in a standard desktop GIS environment. In the past few years, we have fully embraced ArcGIS Online to distribute the information to our staff. This presentation will provide insights on how FME is used to keep the ArcGIS Online data updated, perform Quality Control tasks and build CAD versions of the data with little user intervention.
Development of an Interagency Biological Observation and Site Analysis Workflow
Presenter: Daniel Karnes, NV5
In this presentation, I describe the development of a workflow to analyze biological observations and sites from two disparate data stores maintained by the US Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) and the Bureau of Land Management (Department of Interior). Challenges included dealing with the differing schemas and business rules obtained in each and effecting checks on quality as data were processed.
Automatic Map Production 1:25,000 scale. Simbology and Raster Creation for Web and Download Services
Presenter: Santiago Prieto del Caño, National Geographic Institute of Spain
The demand for geo information is constantly growing, forcing data publishers to strike a balance between the art of map-making and the need to keep data and services up to date.
The Geographic Institute of Spain(IGN) as a public institution is entrusted, with creating and maintaining, the State’s basic cartography at a 1:25,000 scale. At this scale, Spain is divided into 4.096 sheets, with an update frequency of less than a year.
FME was used to create an automated workflow that starts importing data from a PostGIS database and through the most diverse decision-making methods ends up with a cartographic output symbolized in MAPublisher, obtaining GeoPDF files for each sheet, which are then made available for public download. This workflow is also being applied for the generation of topographic maps at a scale of 1:50,000.
Measuring Bus and Bus-Passenger Travel by Road Segment
Presenters: Susanne Bell & Graeme Brown
A transportation system is not just the sum of its parts, but also how and where those parts interact with one another. Measuring the effectiveness of that interaction contributes to everything from understanding the overall system, to analyzing key components at the most disaggregate level of the system possible. In this case, the segments of roadway between stops.
This presentation will show how analysts at TransLink developed a new foundational dataset by combining three existing datasets: Compass travel, the road network, and our bus location data.
This new dataset describes bus and passenger travel at the street-segment level. We will walk the audience through three phases: how the need for the model was identified and what data considerations were important to success; the FME workflow process and some important lessons learned; and how the end results are being used to visualize and analyze our system in all-new ways.
Product Development Lifecycle with FME Desktop and Cloud - a Case Study
Presenter: Daniel Slidel, Halliburton
It can be a challenge to understand where FME Desktop and Cloud sit within the development lifecycle of a new feature or solution. Stepping from local to development and then production environments can often be a daunting prospect; FME Desktop and Cloud can help to bridge this divide.
Recently we added functionality to our web map solution to create animated time series movies that use FME behind the scenes to generate these exports. During this presentation, the development lifecycle from initial inspiration through to the end solution will be discussed along with the role of FME Desktop and Cloud played in the different stages of the lifecycle.
Automating Geospatial Health Systems Status
Presenter: David Runneals, GeoDecisions
Happy Systems = Happy Admins = Happy Customers!
Come and see how you can increase your geospatial enterprise maturity by implementing an Automated Geospatial Health System built on FME. This solution shares the status of your systems, services, and processes with your customers and IT staff. It goes beyond most traditional monitoring systems and looks at the proper health of your geospatial systems, services, and processes.
Common and timely situational awareness with FME and GIS.
Presenter: Marie-Luise Kautz & Pia Sperber, Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance
A common and timely situational picture is essential to assess exceptional situations, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, data sources are often very heterogeneous and inconsistent, consuming many human resources if collected and harmonized manually.
Using FME allows us to connect to various data types (spreadsheets, APIs, spatial data) and add value by calculating indices. Finally, integrating the results in our GIS (web and desktop) allows consumer-friendly access to the information.
The whole process is fully automated, taking advantage of FME Server capabilities.
FME Improving Public Services one Transformer at a Time
Presenter: Jon Hawkins, Waterford City County Council
Waterford City and County Council is the Local Government body responsible for delivering public services to the City and County of Waterford, Republic of Ireland.
We are using FME to improve business processes significantly. This has resulted in smarter working methods, using mobile technology, moving to paperless offices and implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Through staff engagement and detailed knowledge of the capabilities of FME, these changes have been universally adopted, and a new way of utilizing FME has evolved. Increased efficiencies and time savings have also been achieved by putting the customer first and focussing solely on their needs.
FME Server and Linux: 0 to 60
Presenters: Richard Mosley & Merline George, Safe Software
Many new customers migrate to Linux environments to host their FME Server installations. Linux Operating Systems often offer a lighter, faster, and less expensive platform for FME Server deployments. This presentation will work through both positive and negative considerations of migrating to Linux. It will also give you clear steps to ensure you are confident in your decision and can get the most out of your deployment, whatever it is.
FME in the Continuing Quest for Improvement in Mine Safety.
Presenter: Patrick Booth, Mccee Solutions
Using FME from the region to the microscopic scale for research into mine gas safety, we learned over a 7-year journey culminating in a new and practical methodology for characterizing mine gas emission risk.
Level Up With Parallelism in FME Server
Presenters: Mark Warren & Sanae Mendoza, Safe Software
Often we deploy a single workspace to FME Server that carries out too many separate tasks. These workspaces can over (or under) utilize resources and cause troubleshooting headaches, along with a variety of other performance and organizational challenges.
To make our lives easier, FME Server Automations provides a variety of tools to address these stumbling blocks!
In this presentation, we’ll be discussing advanced Automation tools like the Automations Writer and Split-Merge Block that can optimize processing tasks, both large and small.
Having Trouble Learning or Teaching FME? How I Helped my Co-op Students Learn and Love FME.
Presenter: Alonzo de la Cruz, Suncor Energy
How often have you or someone in your company completed the introductory FME courses and then never used them in practice and never really understood FME?
We need our co-op students to learn and apply FME, and we need them to do this in about six weeks. Not only for the work they are expected to do but also so that they have a tool that can help them in their careers. But learning FME is akin to learning math for the first time. So, we needed a way to quickly get the students up to speed. We did this by developing a focused plan that gets the students to learn the basics of FME and then learn and apply what they need to know for their terms at Suncor.
This presentation will show what we get the students to do and how it helps them learn FME quickly.