Robbinsdale’s First Geographic Information Systems Technician is Mapping the City’s Assets

A city has hundreds of physical assets to maintain, from street signs and storm drains to water mains.

To stay on top of it all, the city of Robbinsdale now has a staff member dedicated to tracking that infrastructure.

Meet Robbinsdale’s first-ever Geographic Information Systems Technician: Colin Hausladen.

Professionally, he lives in a world of data.

“I think of it as kind of being the steward of data, the custodian of it, in a way,” said Hausladen.

He tracks data like the number of fire hydrants the city has and uses a GPS-like system to tell where street signs are located with incredible precision.

“Under ideal conditions, we are looking at a third of an inch on accuracy on these,” said Hausladen.

But Robbinsdale’s first GIS Technician isn’t just gathering information for the sake of information.

There’s some real world applications.

“There’s various ways that the data becomes useful to the members of the city and that’s really what my main concern is,” said Hausladen.

Using Data to Make a Difference

Hausladen is a University of Minnesota graduate with a degree in geography.

He uses data to build highly detailed digital maps.

Hausladen shows a digital map from his computer screen.

“These are just digital representations that exist in the real world,” he said

These visual tools can give city crews a more complete picture and help them track maintenance schedules better.

“If we don’t have a complete sign collection, then how can our streets supervisor understand the conditions of all the signs and track which ones need attention,” said Hausladen.

Helping the City Move Forward

Whether he’s out in the field, or working from his three monitor work station, Hausladen said he’s constantly expanding and updating data.

But for him, it’s all to benefit Robbinsdale staff and a community he calls great.

“My job is simply to prepare it in a way that makes it as useful as possible for what they need to use it for,” said Hausladen.

Robbinsdale

Cities Stories