Learning Objectives

After completing this lesson, you'll be able to:

• Recognize when you should automate your FME workflows.
• Understand how automating workflows with FME Flow benefits organizations. 

Introduction

Have you ever run the same workspace three times in one day? Or do you spend your morning waiting for a file to arrive so you can start processing it?

In a world of ever-growing data and limited time, manually running your FME workflows doesn't scale. Automation reduces human error, increases efficiency, and ensures your data processes run exactly when and how they need to, without manual intervention.

Whether you're notifying stakeholders of a change, processing incoming files, or synchronizing databases on a schedule, FME Flow Automations help you focus on what matters most by letting FME do the repetitive work.

In this course, you'll learn when and how to build automated workflows and gradually advance to complex Automations using FME Flow. 

When to Automate?

Here are common scenarios where automating your workflows can make a significant impact:

• Tasks are repetitive and time-consuming. Automation can save hours of manual effort if you regularly perform the same data processing tasks.
• Situations require immediate response. Automations can immediately trigger workflows to respond to events such as incoming emails, file uploads, or data changes.
• Error reduction is critical. Automating workflows minimizes the risk of human error, ensuring consistent and reliable data processing.
• Your workflow must be scalable and flexible. Automated workflows can handle increased loads as data volumes grow without additional manual effort.
• You need to integrate with other systems. FME Flow Automations can interact with various applications and services, facilitating seamless data integration across platforms.

Automation Use-Cases

Let's explore how organizations benefit from automating their workflows with FME Flow. 

T. Baker Smith (TBS) uses FME for a company-wide data store to make data collection more accessible for field staff. To do this, TBS built automated workflows to centralize data, integrate CAD and Esri products, perform quality assurance checks, and update the data store regularly. These automations optimize internal workflows and significantly enhance service delivery to clients. By automating and streamlining tedious processes, TBS can deliver actionable insights and achieve substantial cost savings. 

HOK created a central management platform called Trajectory to simplify administration tasks. Trajectory harnesses the power of FME Flow to integrate seamlessly with multiple REST services, such as ProjectSight, Trimble Connect, dRofus, and Smartsheet, with additional integrations on the horizon. FME facilitates simplified communication between these services. HOK's FME Flow Automations use webhook triggers, which determine which databases to connect to and run workspaces that orchestrate jobs — all in just a few minutes. Using FME, they transformed hours of manual work into just a few minutes of automated processes, freeing up valuable staff time. 

AI Clearing, a first-of-its-kind solution leveraging AI to track construction progress and enable real-time quality control, uses FME to convert and analyze data from various sources seamlessly. AI Clearing Core™ integrates drone-based data, 3D project information, and construction schedules to deliver near real-time objective analyses covering the entire construction site. FME minimizes the risk of errors through robust data transformation and validation capabilities. Automating AI Clearing's data validation process allows the team to promptly notify clients about any data discrepancies, such as object duplicates that could skew analysis results. This proactive approach ensures data integrity and enhances the reliability of AI Clearing's platform.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) uses FME to solve critical challenges in managing system data standards. For example, they faced the challenge of rectifying thousands of data inaccuracies during the map load process for dispatching. AHS uses FME Flow Automations to automatically verify data standards daily and fix any errors before they impact the map loading process. By automating data validation, AHS ensures it supports every 911 call with the most reliable and up-to-date information, reducing response times and enhancing lifesaving efforts across the province.

Check out FME Customer Stories for more information on these use-cases and explore more stories from thousands of FME customers. 

Whether your data challenges are time-consuming, repetitive tasks, integrating across multiple systems, or ensuring instant access to accurate information, FME Flow Automations help you and your organization conquer the challenge quickly and easily. 

Now that you understand when to automate, you're ready to explore how FME Flow can automate workflows.