Using GIS to manage record growth

By Chen Liang

All activities on Earth have one common component – geographic location. These geographic locations establish reliable data links to help organise and manage business data. Geographic information systems (GIS) bring together business data from different sources through a spatial component, revealing relationships and patterns. For example, with geographic locations embedded inside sewage and water pipelines, GIS users can easily locate the types and sizes of pipelines and also determine how those pipelines relate to each other geographically.

A new series of key performance indicators (KPIs) can be introduced from a spatial dimension. Space-aware KPIs complement traditional KPIs and provide more meaningful measurements for urban planning and improved quality of life. For example, gas pipelines must be at a certain distance away from utility lines for safety reasons. The safety distance can be captured by a buffer radius that can be analysed with other attributes or spatial data.

GIS software and web-based portals can display a large amount of heterogeneous data from multiple sources on one map. These portals can present a comprehensive view of a current situation or a future vision at a specific geographic location and allow users to perform sophisticated data searches, measurements, spatial analysis and map reporting. In addition, GIS web portals enable users to access spatial data through web browsers without any specialised GIS software, therefore dramatically improving the accessibility and availability of data.

With GIS server technologies and web 2.0, GIS web portal users can view an area at a variety of scales and perform analysis that was previously available only on desktop GIS. GIS web portals can integrate with enterprise security policies and protect sensitive data. With single sign-on and multi-level security control, a single GIS web portal can be customised to serve multiple user groups, release specific information to the public, present a sophisticated map view to internal users, or provide a reporting tool to executives. A service-oriented architecture (SOA) GIS web portal provides maximum functional extensibility and reusability and allows the web services to be directly utilised by other parties.

Because spatial components are such an important part of business data for a number of organizations, GIS teams become practical custodians of enterprise business data. For example, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) in the UAE, the agency responsible for the future of Abu Dhabi's urban environment, has implemented this model to provide enterprise level GIS support and outline a strategy to integrate geospatial technologies into the UPC's urban planning initiatives.  

The UPC has employed the services of GeoDecisions, Gannett Fleming's geospatial and information technology division. GeoDecisions is on-site at the UPC to provide enterprise-level GIS support and outline a strategy to integrate geospatial technologies into the UPC's urban planning initiatives. Since 2009, the UPC's GIS team has ensured data accuracy and prompt maintenance for tracking rapid change and growth by dividing data maintenance responsibilities - the spatial component for the GIS team and the attribute component for the business team. Each team is responsible for keeping data up-to-date in the geographic database. Both parties share the data maintenance load and exert their expertise on maintaining the right data components.

UPC's GIS team successfully supports the daily business operations of more than 150 planners on more than 300 development projects and nine master plans. The team also maintains the planning database, two web portals, and a 3D visualisation system for urban planning. For its efforts, the UPC was awarded the 2010 Excellence in GIS Award at GISWORX 2010 and, along with the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre, was awarded the Making a Difference Award at the 2010 ESRI International User Conference.

Chen Liang serves as a technical architect with GeoDecisions, a division of Gannett Fleming. Since February 2009, he has been working on-site as a Senior GIS consultant at the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council in Abu Dhabi, applying state-of-the-art GIS technologies to support and improve the planning practice for massive development projects in Abu Dhabi and facilitate collaboration across multiple agencies.