Custom Site Conditions & Extended Data

Workflow Manager maintains site condition data for a design and the various components of the design (work locations, CUs). Site conditions contribute to the cost of a CU by applying a multiplier to its cost calculation.

Workflow Manager sends the site condition data to Designer via the Design XML so that it can be managed by Designer’s Extended Data Manager (EDM). New site conditions can be added to Workflow Manager. When assigned to a design, work location or CU, the custom site conditions will be included in the Design XML and sent to Designer.

When you add a custom site condition, you will need to add a column to the Extended Data Definition (EDD) table in the Designer geodatabase. This allows your site condition to be shown in Designer’s EDM editor.

Workflow Manager is pre-configured with four types of site conditions: traffic condition, labor type, soil condition, and network status. Each type has one or more site conditions (or cost factors). For example, the traffic condition type has the following cost factors: no traffic, light traffic, medium traffic, high traffic.

Each cost factor carries a multiplier that can increase (or decrease) the cost of a CU. For example, a certain CU is installed in an area of high traffic (with a multiplier of 1.5). The the CUs cost of installation will be 50 percent more than the same CU installed in an area of no traffic (with a multiplier of 1).

Custom site conditions may be added to Workflow Manager by adding rows to the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE and MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR tables. There is a logical relationship between these tables whereby Workflow Manager relates the various rows in the MM_WMS_COST FACTOR table (site conditions) to rows in the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table (site condition types).

To add a new set of site conditions, first you will need to add a row into the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table. (The fields in this table are defined earlier in this chapter.) When you add a new site condition type to Workflow Manager, you can tie it in with Designer by configuring the appropriate EDD table in the geodatabase. The NAME value that you specified in the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table should match the name of the new field that you will add in the EDD table. For more information about configuring Designer’s EDM, see the Configuring ArcFM Solution online help in ArcCatalog.

After you’ve added a row to the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table, you can start adding rows to the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR table to represent the various site condition values. Rows in the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR table can be thought of as entries into a coded value domain of an ArcGIS geodatabase: there is a code, a value and, a multiplier. In fact, when you are configuring Designer’s EDM to accept this new site condition type, you will probably want to create a domain in the geodatabase that is consistent with the new rows that you’ve added here so that the EDM editor will be more user-friendly.

Workflow Manager will relate each row this table to a row in the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table by using the TYPE_ID value. When adding rows to the cost factor table, make sure you specify a valid TYPE_ID value. The TYPE_ID value should be the ID value of the new row you added to the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table.

For example, you may want to add a site condition type called "Canine." You would first add a row to the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table to indicate the site condition type of Canine.

Figure 1, MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR_TYPE table. The Default ID of 13 corresponds with the ID field in the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR table.

Then you would add the site condition values to the MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR table.

Figure 2, MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR table. The Mult field displays the multiplier for the cost factor.

Your new site condition and its values will be available on the Site Conditions tab in Workflow Manager when you have a design, CU, or work location selected.

Figure 3, MM_WMS_COST_FACTOR table

For information about integrating your custom site conditions with Designer, refer to the Implementing Designer section.