Logan City Council has a large number of assets. In some cases, the position and condition of these assets was not known. However, it is estimated it would cost approximately $2 billion to replace all of these. With existing information held in a variety of forms in various Council departments, Council needed to develop a database of asset information.
In conjunction with Gold Coast City Council, Logan is conducting a Hazard and Vulnerability Study of the Logan and Albert River catchments. From this information, Council will develop an emergency management plan to address risks associated with a range of national hazards, such as floods, cyclones, storm surges and hailstorms. The aim is to provide a database of building infrastructure within the Probable Maximum Flood zone of these rivers.
Logan’s Chief Surveyor, Ewen Sneddon, said photogrammetric methods provide building footprints and floor levels. This information, together with files from MapInfo software, are then uploaded into a number of laptops containing the Asset Map software package.
“Asset Map provides a drop down menu for users to enter the required building information and photographs,” he said. “In the field, the operator selects the necessary property in MapInfo and enters the required information into each field. They would also take a photo of the building, which is directly linked with other collected information on the property.
“Downloads at the end of the day are quick, and a colour coding system is used to detect any errors, keep editing to a minimum and avoid duplication.”
With a reliable database of buildings within the flood zone, Council officers and emergency services organisations are better equipped to develop emergency management plans.
Ewen Sneddon said that over time, Council will extend the database to collect information on a variety of other assets.
“It will then become an excellent tool to aid planning for Council’s physical infrastructure,” he said. “Council officers will be better equipped to handle the problems in natural disasters, enhancing community lifestyle and wellbeing.”
For further information, contact Ewen Sneddon on (07) 3826 5559.
