• Real property acquisition and disposal processes
• Tracking utilities relocation agreements for major projects
• Reviewing, issuing and managing long-term and temporary occupancy of the right-of-way (permits)
• Management and control of outdoor advertising
• Tracking the many forms of agreement that need to be established with third parties
• Leasing or renting right-of-way properties for alternate use.

ITIS Property Management Experience

ITIS has a detailed understanding of Property Management within the right-of-way. In particular, we have an understanding of the workflows and processes associated with business transactions that relate to right-of-way real property. This understanding is at the core of our Property Management practice. ITIS has been intimately involved in the entire process of visualizing, guiding and defining systems for integrating the activities of multiple divisions within a DOT, as well as specifying and installing the types of application software needed to handle these activities.

Historic Linear Reference System and GIS

Of particular relevance in this arena is ITIS’ ability to help build a Historical Linear Referencing System (HLRS) that allows all activities and events located along a highway (by milepost or similar linear measures) to be stored in a GIS system, irrespective of the date on which the location was specified. For instance, a permit, specified as a linear reference and issued in 1949, can be automatically determined in relation to the current highway network; this is possible even if highway names and alignments have changed in the intervening years.

The HLRS allows integration of activities and properties using spatial technology, even when a specified link is absent. For example, an encroachment permit seldom identifies the parcel(s) on which a Utility is given occupancy rights; the location is always specified independently, using highway linear references. The ITIS technique allows for rapid determination of, for example, all permits and parcels existing along a specified segment of the highway.

Integration Across Divisions

Many of the activities or events that occur along a highway result in either point or linear locations that are directly associated with those events. Agreements of many types, i.e. utility and access permits, temporary event permits, and outdoor advertising permits – all of these may be associated with linear or other geographic references. Each of these transaction types is the responsibility of a different division and/or district within the organization. As a result, spatial integration has become a real challenge. However, an additional level of integration is possible if suitable application software is chosen. For example, some off-the-shelf systems have the ability, in a single query, to retrieve all transactions of any type associated with a specific customer, vendor or contractor. Thus it is possible to return a list of all permits, agreements, or contracts in which a named entity has been involved, and then to select the individual transactions to be examined or updated. On the other hand, it should be possible to retrieve all the customers or contractors who have been associated with a segment of highway, whether they were permittees, grantors, renters, lessees, or contractors.

Tracking vs. Recording Business Transactions

ITIS has expertise and product experience with certain 3rd party application software packages that allow us to configure systems that not only record summary details of business transaction processes, but also detailed workflow tracking, to any level of complexity. For example, a client may wish to track not only the historic dates and financial commitments associated with an agreement, but may also wish to track all of the procedural steps mandated from the initiation of such an agreement to its final signature and beyond. In this way, real-time management of the process can be achieved, even when a number of different entities within the organization are involved.

Document Management Integration

Of particular interest and importance in right-of-way management is the ability to capture, store, integrate and retrieve documents pertaining to business transactions. By scanning and storing images of the original documents, or their digital originals if available, great savings in labor can be achieved. ITIS has been intimately involved in all aspects of installing and integrating Electronic Document Management Systems (EDMS), and linking those stored documents to geography, as well as to the individual business processes to which they are related.

Implementation Scenarios

ITIS has built a team of talented professionals who are fully conversant with the latest implementation technologies. Such technologies include Web Services, .NET, ASP, Java, and J2EE programming expertise, as well as a great depth of experience in creating purpose-built viewers and interfaces for GIS and mapping data. Designing and building Historic Linear Referencing Systems is a specialty. The skills our team brings to bear on projects include Project Management, needs and requirements analysis, business process tracking, traditional and web-based programming, product development, and system configuration and architecture.