Field-first utility mapping & material takeoff

Walk the route once.
Your material takeoff is already done.

Q: Does FRM replace CAD software?

No, but it expedites CAD enormously. With proper setup the export arrives with all route linework drawn, every feature placed and rotated as the fielder had it, and field notations carried through, so CAD is finish work, not a redraw from scratch.

FeatureRouteMaps turns your field walk into the draft. Conduit footage, fiber footage, and feature counts roll up automatically as you map, so your material list is finished the minute you’re back to the truck. No hand-counting. No spreadsheet.

Book a demo See it work

Field apps capture the route but never count it. Takeoff tools count off plans, back at the desk. FRM counts as you capture, in the field.

Built by a utility engineer with 18 years in outside plant, who coded it himself.

Full-access trial. No credit card. We usually reply the same business day.

Preloaded Features

Hand-Counting

Pass to Count It All

► Watch Demo

Why Different

Takeoff tools count off a plan. FRM counts off the ground.

Plenty of software does a material takeoff. None of it does the takeoff in the field, as you capture.

Field capture & locate apps

PointMan, Fulcrum, ArcGIS Field Maps, TrueContext

Capture position and assets in the field. No pathway contents, no takeoff. You still count later.

OSP design & GIS

VETRO FiberMap, IQGeo, 3-GIS, Katapult Pro

Model duct, cable, and strand contents, but as-designed inventory rebuilt back at the office, not at field time.

Takeoff & estimating software

AutoCAD & spreadsheets, by hand

Real takeoff, but manual, off plans, back at the desk, after the walk.

FeatureRouteMaps

Field-time structured capture

As-located GPS plus conduit, cable, and strand counts dropped in the pathway as you draw it, one pass. That’s the part nobody else does.

Permitting

Map the whole corridor, not just your line.

Permits ask about everyone in the corridor. FRM was built by a utility engineer with 23 years across utilities and 18 in outside plant, who permitted underground and aerial himself, so it captures the conflicts a permit requires in the same field pass.

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Every utility in the corridor

Water, sewer, gas, power, and the other telcos go in as you pass them. The conflicts a permit asks about are already on the map, not a second trip.

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Conflict data the permit requires

Capture crossings, clearances, and existing infrastructure as structured features, not loose photos to sort out later. Permit-ready the way you fielded it.

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Multi-utility by design, not sprawl

Custom feature sets and palettes let one app map every utility a permit touches. That breadth is required for permitting, not feature bloat.

Make It Yours

Your palettes. Not ours.

FRM is a full utility mapping suite, not a single-trade tool. 88 feature types ship ready to go, and you build your own Feature Palettes and Pathway Palettes in minutes, for fiber, electric, gas, water, telecom, or anything you map. No technical skill, no CAD setup. Your features, your colors, your workflow.

Product Showcase

FRM In Action

Live Utility Mapping

Utilities and surface features overlaid on satellite imagery

Feature Details & Photos

Capture coordinates, metadata, and attach photos to any feature

Flexible Base Maps

Choose satellite, street, or vector maps from multiple providers

CAD-Ready Exports

Export color-coded utility layers directly to AutoCAD

Project Management

Manage features, photos, and metadata in organized dashboards

Detailed Route Views

Map poles and utilities along roads with precise placement

Field to Finished

From FRM to CAD-Ready Output

See how field data captured in FRM translates directly to CAD designs

CAD drawing and FRM satellite capture with measurements side by side

Same area: CAD drawing and FRM satellite capture with measurements

Step 1: Capture in FRM

FRM color-coded utility mapping on satellite imagery

Step 2: CAD-Ready Output

Same intersection rendered as CAD drawing

KMZ Export in Google Earth

Clean Route Export

Clean export showing poles and routes on street map

Want to see the data yourself?

Download Sample KMZ ~190 MB file with photos. Open in Google Earth to explore real FRM export data.

Capabilities

Everything else it does.

The takeoff is the headline. This is the rest of the toolbox.

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GNSS Integration

Connect your GNSS device for survey-grade accuracy. Hand measurements work too. FRM adapts to your workflow.

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Multi-Source Imagery

Satellite imagery from Esri, Google, and more. Choose the best view for your project area.

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88 Feature Types & Fully Customizable

88 preloaded utility and surface feature types out of the box. Customize feature types, feature palettes, label types, pathway types, and build your own forms.

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CAD-Ready Export

Export to KML, ESRI shapefiles, and more. Import directly to your CAD software for final cleanup.

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Photo Documentation

Attach geotagged photos to any feature. Documentation that stays linked to exact locations.

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Mobile First

Designed for phones and tablets. As intuitive as paper, but with digital precision and instant delivery.

Testimonials

What the field says about FRM.

“FRM has and will be proven to become the industry benchmark for a mapping program in accuracy, speed and ease of use. We use FRM on all our projects, which include site surveys, project costing, easements, right of way plans, JPA permitting, and more.”

Gabriel Muffley Owner, Pre Construction Services LLC

“Geared for the field engineer to capture data in real time that will generate a very precise CAD design in very short order. Rapid CAD mapping to construction in a matter of days, instead of months.”

Ron Donnell FTTH / RUS Project Professional (HFC & FTTx)

“His mapping software is awesome. When you ask Robert for mapping for a project he completes it very fast and it’s design and permit ready. I would not want to work with anyone else.”

Edward Gregory Senior Construction Planner, Cox Communications

Built on a job site, not in a boardroom.

FRM wasn’t designed in a boardroom. Robert Ruby got his first taste of outside plant on a blind-bore crew pulling Verizon tel drops. He’d been writing code since 15; by 17 he’d engineered a gigabit network for his school and built its cable-tray pathways. He worked electrical alongside two uncles through his teens, then built inside plant from 19 to 22. Eighteen years in outside plant followed: permitting underground and aerial, performing site surveys, and mapping inside and outside plant for broadband coax, HFC as-builts, and fiber from headend to customer. Field engineer and coder the whole way, he built FRM himself on his own jobs, so it works the way the field actually works, not the way a software company guesses it does.

How It Works

Map once. The numbers follow.

Walk & Place

Walk the route and drop your pathways, conduits, and cables on satellite imagery in real time.

Counts Roll Up Live

Feature counts update as you place them. Conduit runs, cable types, span lengths, all tallied on the walk.

Footage Derives Itself

Pathway length times conduit count equals conduit footage. FRM does the math, nothing to re-key.

Export & Go

Export clean KML or Shapefile straight into AutoCAD or your GIS. Your BOM and your draft, done in one pass.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

How does FeatureRouteMaps calculate material takeoff?

As you draw a pathway in the field, FRM multiplies its measured length by the conduit and cable counts you place on it. Footage and feature counts roll up live, so your bill of materials is complete the moment you finish the walk. Nothing gets re-keyed into CAD or a spreadsheet.

Does FRM replace CAD software?

No, and it does not try to. But with proper setup it expedites your CAD workflow enormously. The export comes in with all route linework drawn, every feature placed and rotated the way the fielder had it, and field notations carried through, so CAD is finish work and final design, not redrawing from scratch.

What formats does FRM export?

FRM exports KML, KMZ, and ESRI shapefiles with color-coded utility layers ready for AutoCAD or any GIS. You can download a sample KMZ on this page to see real export data in Google Earth.

What utilities can FRM map?

Any of them. FRM is a full utility mapping suite, not a single-trade tool. It maps fiber, electric, gas, water, sewer, telecom, and any infrastructure you survey. Preset feature types get you started, and custom palettes cover the rest.

Do I need a survey-grade GNSS receiver?

No. FRM connects to a GNSS device for survey-grade accuracy when you need it, but hand measurements work too. The app adapts to how your crew already fields the route.

Can I customize the feature and pathway palettes?

Yes. 88 feature types ship ready to use, and you can build your own Feature Palettes and Pathway Palettes in minutes. No technical skill or CAD setup required.

Pricing

Pricing: billed yearly or monthly

Every plan is the full app. The bigger your team, the less per seat.

One bid that skips the office redraft pays for a full year of Solo.

Solo

1 seat

$1,800 / year

or $150 / month, same as annual, no upcharge

Walk the route once.Your material takeoff is already done.