Glossary of Commonly Used Terms
Glossary of Terms
For Customer users and Firmatek employee users of the Firmatek Cloud
Annotation
An annotation is a type of map object, typically a graphic created by Firmatek used to identify an object in a deliverable. These are further classified into categories depending upon what type of annotation, such as the stockpile annotation used in Stockpile Volume Reports.
Comment
Comments are unofficial notes that can be written on a deliverable by both customer users and Firmatek employee users. They are unofficial. Official notes/comments on deliverables are called remarks.
Company
The corporate entity, or similar, of a customer who subscribes to Firmatek services. This is the highest level of company hierarchy represented in the Firmatek Cloud.
Correction Method
The method used to correct the GPS information in the drone photos; used in the upload information form; options include:
GCPs
AeroPoints
RTK Base Station
None
Data Capture
The term data capture is sometimes used to refer to a set of collected data, although the official term for that in the Firmatek Cloud is Survey.
Deliverable
A deliverable is a file, analysis, output, and/or report that Firmatek creates from survey data and posts on the Firmatek Cloud. A deliverable is defined by (1) its site (the location where the survey/scan took place), (2) the survey (collection of data) on which the deliverable was created, and (3) its deliverable type.
Deliverables List
A list of all deliverables in the Firmatek Cloud for which the user has access/permission. For more information, please see Overview of the Firmatek Cloud User Interface.
Deliverable Type
Every deliverable is assigned a deliverable type in order to allow a user to filter/search and find a particular deliverable among many. The different deliverable types currently present in the Firmatek Cloud include:
Stockpile Volume Report (SVR): A report that identifies stockpiles and their volumes. Material information can be added if desired. If density is entered, mass will automatically be calculated.
Orthophoto (Ortho): A 2D map created from aerial images. Sometimes referred to as an orthomosaic.
Cut/Fill Volume Report (CFVR)
Quarry Pitt Progression Report (QPPR)
Quarry Reserve Volume Report (QRVR)
Landfill Report (LFR)
Ground Control Point Report (GCPR)
Bulk Material Report (BMR)
LAS Point Cloud (LAS)
Topographic CAD (Topo)
3D Surface Model (3DSM)
As-Built Modem (ABM)
Other (Other)
Inventory Indicator
The inventory indicator checkbox is a field in a Stockpile Volume Report (SVR) Data Table. It is optional and can be used by a customer to denote which stockpiles should be on the balance sheet (checked) and which ones are scrap / contaminated and should not be on the balance sheet (unchecked). Other than that, at this time this indicator does not impact any actual business logic in the Firmatek Cloud.
Intermediate Organization (aka ?parent site? or ?region?)
An intermediate organization is a hierarchical parent of one or more sites, such as a district, division, or region (different companies use different terms), which can be used to organize and group Sites. Each site can be assigned an intermediate organization. On the site selection list, the sites are grouped by intermediate organization.
Map Canvas
The map canvas refers to the area of the Firmatek Cloud interface with a global, interactive map on which Map Objects are placed. For more information please see Overview of the Firmatek Cloud User Interface.
Map Object
A map object is the term for anything that is displayed on the map canvas. All map objects must have proper geographic location information (coordinate system / state plane) so they display in the correct place on the map. Each map object is categorized with a map object type.
Map Object Type
Map objects are assigned a map object type. In future enhancements, users will be able to use layer controls to determine which map objects display on their map canvas. Different map object types include:
Site marker: represents the location of a site on the map canvas.
Annotation: A graphic created by Firmatek used to identify an object in a deliverable. These are further classified into categories depending upon what type of annotation, such as the stockpile annotation used in Stockpile Volume Reports.
Orthophoto: A 2D map created from aerial images. Sometimes referred to as an orthomosaic.
Drone photo marker: these markers represent the location of each photo from a drone flight. For more information, please see Upload Drone Photos and Request Deliverables.
Additional map object types, such as contour lines, digital surface maps, and customer reference marks, will be added to the Firmatek Cloud in the future.
Markup
Markup refers to the process when a customer provides information to Firmatek that allows us to conduct the analysis and create a deliverable. There can be both (1) visual and (2) written information components in a markup. A common type of markup is that required for a stockpile volume report. In this case, the customer provides the visual markup by identifying the stockpile locations on an orthophoto. The customer provides the written information markup by entering the Pile ID and material information for each stockpile.
Markup can also be a noun referring to the information provided by the customer conducting this process.
Material
In the Firmatek Cloud, a material has the following attributes:
Product Code
Material Name
Density
Material Notes
In the future, additional fields, such as active timeframe and source location, will be available for materials.
Each site has its own specific list of materials. Please see site material list for more information.
Material List / Library
See site material list.
Message Center
The Firmatek Cloud Message Center is an expandable panel where a user receives notifications and other information.
Notification
A notification is an official message sent to users in the Firmatek Cloud with important information. Examples include:
Stockpile markup required
New deliverable posted and ready to view
A notification is sent via both email and as a message in the Message Center. In future enhancements, additional notifications will be created such as alerts of edits to deliverables.
Orthophoto
An orthophoto is one of many deliverable types. It is a 2D map created from aerial images. Sometimes referred to as an orthomosaic.
Remark
A remark is an official note made (by Firmatek employees only) on a deliverable to provide critical information regarding the deliverable. Only Firmatek users can create or edit remarks. If non-Firmatek users want one added or edited, they must submit a request for Firmatek to do so.
Report
See deliverable.
Scan
The term scan is sometimes used to refer to a set of collected data, although the official term for that in the Firmatek Cloud is survey.
Site
A site is a geographic location such as a quarry or a yard. A site can be defined any way the customer prefers and multiple Sites can exist at the same physical location / address, although they should have unique names. For example, a customer may want three separate Sites for reporting purposes - such as Smithtown Recycle, Smithtown Asphalt, and Smithtown S&G instead of just one site named Smithtown - even though they are all at the same physical location.
Site Material List
Each site has a site material list in which users can store and manager all materials being used in deliverables linked to that site. For more information, please see Manage Your Materials and Site Material List.
Site Selection List
The site selection list is a list of all sites in the Firmatek Cloud for which the user has access/permission. For more information, please see Overview of the Firmatek Cloud User Interface.
Site Type
Each site can be assigned a site type, such as quarry, yard, S&G, or asphalt plant. Although it may allow users to filter sites in searches and analyses in the future, at the present time it does not impact any actual functionality in the Firmatek Cloud.
Survey
In the Firmatek Cloud, the term survey refers to a unique data capture event that resulted in a set of raw data. A survey is sometimes referred to as a scan or data capture. Firmatek uses this data to create one or more deliverables. A survey is defined by (1) a site (the location where the data was collected), (2) a survey date, (3) the survey start date-time and end date-time, (4) the data capture source / party (Firmatek, client, or third party), and (5) the primary survey equipment (e.g., ground LiDAR or drone photogrammetry).
As a set of data, a survey / scan can consist of data from a single piece of equipment or from multiple pieces of different types - such as a data set built from both LiDAR and drone photogrammetry.
Survey Date
The survey date is the date that a survey was conducted (also known as the Job Date, scan date, and/or Flight Date). In the rare instance that data was collected over multiple days, the survey date is defined as the most recent date. It is always in the site?s local time zone.