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Infrastructure Management Series: ArcGIS Server and Predesign Analysis
Design and analysis are synergistic processes that feed one another to improve a project until the final design is fully visualized and understood. To properly design infrastructure, you need to have a complete inventory of existing assets and their exact locations at your fingertips. You need to be able to pour that information onto the landscape and study its effects. GIS provides the tools to effectively analyze how every facet of your design relates to its environment. For example, use GIS to figure out how future population growth of a community will likely affect the pattern of streets or how services, such as police and fire, will use those streets most effectively; or study and predict traffic patterns and plan areas that are especially suitable for pedestrian use. You can also model lighting in parking lots and identify danger zones where crime might flourish without the proper attention to detail. Then, as your designs become more viable, use ESRI ArcGIS Server software to publish them and make them available over the Internet for your colleagues, business partners, or the public to view. ESRI’s server GIS helps others get involved in making your projects successful. GIS helps you solve construction layout problems and provides a new way of thinking about predesign analysis. When planning new projects, an important step in estimating costs and impacts is a thorough site investigation. GIS makes it possible for you to visualize all the components of a project from every conceivable angle, above ground and below. Spatial analysis helps you take into account the conditions that will affect a project's costs and scheduling. With a geographic database (geodatabase) you can store the project in its entirety including site photos, CAD drawings, and survey measurements. Regardless of the format, you can incorporate your data into ESRI software. ESRI ArcGIS Server technology gives you the ability to blend data from many different sources and file formats, integrate it into a single application, and apply that new information to your engineering workflows. You can create new data easily, in the office or in the field, using GPS or survey grade equipment. Every measurement you collect is stored precisely and securely in the geodatabase, making the GIS and all its data layers more accurate and better attuned to your work. Forecasting community needs and designing accordingly contributes to our quality of life. Maps and geography are what tie our designs to the community. ESRI GIS solutions provide the tools to improve accuracy and efficiency and ultimately help you successfully accomplish your missions. Government Engineering, July-August 2007 |
