A georeferenced inventory is an asset database where each element (whether an inverter, a valve, or a utility box) has its exact spatial position associated through geographic coordinates (Latitude, Longitude, and sometimes Altitude).
Unlike an accounting inventory, which is a simple list ("we have 500 luminaires"), the georeferenced inventory answers the key question: "Where exactly are they?". It is the foundation for planning the maintenance of assets spread across a territory.
Precision Levels
Not all inventories are the same. Depending on the capture technology, we can talk about:
- Zone Level: You know which zone the asset is in, but not its exact point. (Insufficient for maintenance).
- Street Level: Associated with a postal address (e.g., 4 Main Street). Problematic in solar plants, irrigation networks, or long roads.
- Metric/Sub-metric Level: GPS coordinates with a margin of error less than 1 meter. This is the necessary standard to locate buried utility boxes or distinguish between two nearby luminaires.
Operational Benefits
- Route Optimization: By seeing assets on the map, algorithms can calculate the shortest route for an inspection or meter-reading round, saving fuel and man-hours.
- Unique Identification: No more confusion like "I checked the wrong inverter." The GPS position acts as a unique ID for the asset.
- Spatial Analysis: Allows detecting "shadow zones" (areas without service) or zones with high concentration of incidents.
How Maptainer Does It
Maptainer starts from what already exists and completes it in the field:
- Initial load: the inventory is imported from GeoPackage, Shapefile, GeoJSON, DXF or CSV, in the background, without retyping it.
- Real geometry: each asset is stored as a point, line or polygon, with its composition hierarchy (an electrical panel contains breakers; a pumping station, pumps).
- Field survey: from the app, even without coverage, the technician registers the assets found with their geometry, photos and technical data, and proposes corrections to position or properties.
- Quality control: what comes from the field enters as a change request and does not modify the inventory until a manager approves it. Every position change is kept in the asset's history.
Geometry can be adjusted over the PNOA orthophoto, also available offline, so the digital point matches the physical reality. The inventory belongs to the customer and comes out complete in the export.