# Municipal infrastructure quickstart

> Set up AssetLab for linear assets - model your networks, bring in GIS data from Esri, and stand up level-of-service tracking.

Source: https://app.assetlab.ca/docs/start/municipal-quickstart

This guide is for municipalities and utilities managing **linear infrastructure** - roads, water, sanitary and storm sewers, sidewalks, streetlights. It uses the [Infrastructure module](/docs/infrastructure); the [facilities quickstart](/docs/start/facilities-quickstart) covers vertical assets like arenas and fire halls, and both can run side by side in one organization.

## 1. Model your networks

Open **Infrastructure → Networks** and create one network per service area of responsibility:

- Roads
- Water distribution
- Sanitary sewer
- Storm sewer

A network is the container for everything below it - its feature classes, features, and map layers.

## 2. Define feature classes

Within each network, define **feature classes** - the kinds of things you manage. For a water network that might be:

| Feature class | Geometry | Example unit rate |
|---|---|---|
| Watermain | Line | $ per metre |
| Hydrant | Point | $ each |
| Valve | Point | $ each |
| Service connection | Line | $ per metre |

Feature classes carry the defaults that make valuation work: expected useful life, unit replacement rate, and the attribute schema for their features. Details: [Networks & feature classes](/docs/infrastructure/networks-and-classes).

## 3. Bring in your GIS data

If your data lives in ArcGIS, don't re-enter it. **Infrastructure → Import** connects to an Esri feature service, maps its layers and fields onto your feature classes, and keeps AssetLab in sync on a schedule - geometry included. See [Esri & GIS sync](/docs/infrastructure/esri-sync).

No GIS? Import from spreadsheets with the [import wizard](/docs/start/importing-data), or digitize directly on the map.

> [!note] Sync is one-way: Esri remains the system of record for geometry and attributes you map, while AssetLab owns condition, costs, inspections, and work history.

## 4. Verify on the map

Open **Infrastructure → Map**. Your features render on the basemap, colored by condition or class. Spot-check a few segments: click one, confirm the attributes, length, and replacement value look right. Valuation errors are cheapest to catch now, before reports go out.

## 5. Organize with zones, routes, and corridors

Three optional overlays make a large network manageable:

- **Zones** - geographic areas (wards, pressure zones, plow districts).
- **Routes** - ordered sequences of road segments for programmed work.
- **Corridors** - cross-network bundles (the road, the watermain under it, the sewer beside it) so you can plan one dig instead of three.

See [Zones, routes & corridors](/docs/infrastructure/zones-routes-corridors).

## 6. Stand up level of service

**Level of Service** turns council-facing commitments into measurable targets: create a **service area** (e.g. "Winter Roads"), add **measures** ("% of priority routes cleared within 8h"), set targets, and record measurements over time. See [Level of service](/docs/infrastructure/level-of-service).

## 7. Run operations

From here the CMMS loop is identical to facilities: inspections and [work orders](/docs/cmms/work-orders) against features, [PM schedules](/docs/cmms/preventive-maintenance) for recurring programs (flushing, sweeping, CCTV), and costs accruing to each feature's history.

## Where to go next

- [Features](/docs/infrastructure/features) - the linear-asset record in full.
- [Risk & FCI](/docs/asset-management/risk-and-fci) - condition-driven planning across the whole portfolio.
- [Replacement planner](/docs/projects/replacement-planner) - turn aging segments into funded capital programs.