The City of Hamilton has undertaken an initiative to establish a single authoritative (“Common”) property address and street centreline database. All city wide systems and services requiring address data or address validation are able to access this common database as a trusted source for addresses and street centrelines. A single authoritative database works in principle where systems and users are able to access the database directly. In many cases, address and street data must be transferred to other systems that cannot directly access the address database due to limitations of security access, limitations of ability to consume data services or require special reformatting of address data to meet the their respective systems data formats. This presentation will outline the City’s business needs for utilizing address and street data and our experiences of how FME was used to meet these needs.

1. Keeping a Common
Address Database
‘Common’ using FME
John Bacon, Senior Project Manager, City of Hamilton
Heather Howe, GIS Coordinator, City of Hamilton

2. PRESENTATION AGENDA
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Business Context and Problem
Database Overview
Technical Challenges
Lessons Learned

3. AIMS Overall Business Problem
Problem
• The City had no single authoritative (common)
address and street centreline database
Solution Objectives
• Address management solution √
• Single authoritative database √
• Governance protocols √
• Access single authoritative address database
• Sustainability

4. Where does FME fit in?
● Pushes address data to key business
databases in a timely manner
● Ensures “sole authoritative database”
remains “sole” and “authoritative” by
providing timely access and data
integrity
● Ensures data integrity via the data
transfer process

5. What was done
Developed 15+ FME scripts which:
● Extract property owner info from tax
system
● Push address data to:
○ Hansen – asset tracking and work
order system
○ Lagan – call handling
○ ArcGIS spatial data warehouse
○ Open Data database

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Database Overview
GISEDIT
AIMS GEODBAFME
Desktop Users
HansenLagan Amanda
GISPUB
OPEN
DATA
GEODBA
Open Data Portal Web Mapping
Other
Systems
Vailtech

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Lagan
Amanda Open DataHansen
AIMS
Addresses
&
Streets
Technical Challenges

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Technical Challenges

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Technical Challenges

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Technical Challenges
Comparison by street name,
street type, street direction
and city.
Poor Data Quality
Technical Challenges
10th CON RD E CONCESSION 10 E
ARTFRANK DR, HAMILTON ARTFRANK DR, STONEY CREEK
DARCY CRT D’ARCY CRT
HENDERSHOTT RD HENDERSHOT RD

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Poor Data Quality
Comparison by street name, street type, street
direction, city, street number and unit number.
Address Action
000 ACADIA DR Mark as historic
128 AVONDALE ST, ½ The ½ should be part of the
address, not a unit.
165 BOLD ST, U401 Remove the ‘U’ from the unit
number.
Technical Challenges

12. Lessons Learned
• Keep your data clean!
• Have data standards across the
board.
• Optimize your FME scripts.
• Number of FME engines is
important.
• Should FME always be used?

13. THANK YOU!
GISServices@hamilton.ca