ESRI, PODS and APDM Agree to Form Working Relationship
Redlands, California—ESRI, the Pipeline Open Data Standards (PODS) Association, and the ArcGIS Pipeline Data Model (APDM) Steering Committee announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding that sets forth a framework for a close working relationship. This agreement came as a result of the PODS Association’s desire to create a PODS spatial database.
The outcome of this relationship will be a PODS based data model that uses essential APDM core components. The APDM is designed for storing information pertaining to features found in gathering and transmission pipelines, particularly gas and liquid systems. The APDM was expressly designed for implementation as an ESRI geodatabase for use with ESRI’s ArcGIS and ArcSDE® products. The POD input will add to the APDM POD standards.
“This is an important event,” says Chuck Wilder, APDM Steering Committee Chair. “It creates greater commonality between the two organizations and offers operators a greater choice of GIS vendors. This is a significant step for the pipeline industry.”
“This agreement to work together is great news for the pipeline industry. It will allow operators to adopt an industry-standard data model that PODS provides plus take advantage of the full benefit of the spatial geodatabase of APDM,” notes Bill Meehan, director of Utility Solutions and acting pipeline industry manager for ESRI.
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Both the PODS Association and APDM Steering Committee will continue to work as separate organizations maintaining their separate identities. A joint subcommittee will be formed, which consists of PODS Association and APDM Technical Committee members, to work out the integration of the APDM core with the PODS data model. The results of this collaboration are posted on the APDM Web site at www.apdm.net.
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About PODS
The PODS Association is a nonprofit industry standards organization that is charged with the specific mandate of developing and maintaining extensive and open pipeline data standards and data interchange standards for the oil and gas pipeline industry. These standards primarily include pipeline operations, facilities, integrity management, and regulatory compliance. The association was incorporated in 2000 and was founded by the Gas Research Institute with contributing support from ESRI, gas transmission pipeline operators, and others. The PODS Association membership consists of international gas and liquid pipeline operators and vendors. The PODS Association develops and maintains a standardized industry data model through member participation in technical forums and incorporation of existing standards with cooperating standards bodies. Visit PODS at www.pods.org.
About APDM
The APDM committees, composed of volunteers from the pipeline industry, were initiated in 2002 by the ESRI Pipeline Interest Group steering and technical committees with the support of ESRI. The primary purpose of the APDM committees is to build an open geodatabase model template for ESRI users that is flexible to suit various business cases and available to anyone in the industry who chooses to adopt the APDM core classes. The core elements of the APDM were derived from the ISAT, PODS, and ISPDM models. Visit APDM at www.apdm.net.