Welcome to our June FME Community User Spotlight! Every month, we’ll be spotlighting a user in the community whose active participation and helpful contributions have been invaluable to the community. We’re excited to highlight their experiences and insights!
User Spotlight: Liam Ferraby @liamfez
What company do you currently work for?
Charter Communications
What’s your current job role and title?
GIS Analyst
Tell us more about what you do and how you use FME?
I work in the telecom industry and deal with large databases and data from various sources, some of which are spatial and plenty of which are not.
FME has been a crucial tool for integrating data from all of the various sources and outputting files for engineers, other GIS users, and executives. I also rely on FME Server (we are not yet using FME Flow) to automate various export tasks and create scheduled reports.
Why did you join the FME Community?
I joined to both increase my knowledge of FME and to connect with other FME users. When I first started using FME, I engaged with the community as a learning tool - not specifically to ask questions or answer questions but to search for topics/questions and read the solutions. In doing so, I was able to learn various techniques, see cool tips and tricks, and learn more about how FME works.
What tips do you have for users on how to get the most out of the FME Community?
You can use old and new community posts like educational challenges. If you see a question you are interested in, try to find the solution yourself (even if it is already answered or you think someone will beat you to the answer).
Do not be afraid to ask your own questions, even if it seems simple. If it is simple, you may get a really quick response.
Tell us about some of the exciting use cases you’ve built using FME.
With FME Server/Flow, I have created a lot of apps that allow other teams to pull data they need on demand. This has reduced the workload on my team and also increased turnaround time for the users. I have also been able to schedule some of my tasks to run on off-hours. It is rewarding to come into work and see all the things your computer did overnight (assuming the tasks succeeded, if not I go get a cup of tea).
With FME Desktop/Form, I have set up some pretty large processes that help the company identify serviceable and profitable addresses enterprise wide. It is now a multi-year task and only getting more complex - lots of data.
What’s one of your favourite tips or tricks for using FME?
You can close a bookmark to avoid caching whatever is inside it when using Feature Caching.
If you were stranded on an island and could only bring three things with you, what would they be?
I try to give different answers to these types of questions each time I see them, so this time I will go with a large metal water bottle (full of water of course), a large tarp, and a lighter.
If you could work from anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A remote cabin on the edge of the woods.
