DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

As transportation, communication, and utility networks continue to grow in complexity and size, the likelihood of two or more networks occupying a common right-of-way or intersecting each other also continues to increase. Conflicts arise when one network or another decides to perform construction or maintenance on their facilities.” (Ellis, 2003, p. 5). Mulaku phrases this issue in other words by stating “there will be intense completion for the finite space that utility facilities must occupy on road and other reserves and hence precise location will become even more important” (Mulaku, 2004, p. 30). Each year departments of transpiration spend millions of dollars to deal with problems that arise due to utility conflicts. As these conflicts arise, it is vital that the owners of the various utilities be able to accurately locate their facilities in three-dimensional space. Accurate location is the beginning of conflict detection, avoidance, and resolution.

Mulaku documents that over 80 percent of all utility operations are spatial in nature (Mulaku, 2004). This information was collaborated by Hemakumara in a paper entitled Geographic Information Systems in Utilities and Utility Management. Hemakumara determined that 80 to 85 percent of a utility’s information needs is location or spatially based (Hemakumara, 2003). Utilities, needs are dependent upon spatial information for their operations, engineering, and management. The information must not only be available, it must be precise (Mulaku, 2004).

In 2003, Ellis completed a study for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) entitled Development of Improved Strategies for Avoiding Utility Related Delay During FDOT Highway Construction Projects. Ellis determined that utility relocation delays were one of the top five causes of construction delays on FDOT projects. These delays in turn caused project time delays and additional project costs. Ellis further determined that one of the major factors accounting for the delays was the fact that actual locations and types of utilities shown on the plans did accurately portray actual field conditions (Ellis, 2003). Ellis accurately describes the fundamental problem by stating “one of the fundamental problems is that there is usually no accurate data on the exact location, or sometimes even the existence of these buried features (2003, p. 7). Allred substantiated this view, in a paper entitled Underground Facilities: The Need for Accurate Records in an Expanding Society. Allred documents that there is a need for accurate as-built mapping of all underground facilities (Allred, 2004).

All types of utilities contribute to the complexity of locating underground utilities. Kelly and Nawarynsky assert that “Excavation is one the most dangerous activities in the construction industry (Kelly, Nawarynsky, 1996, p.1). Excavation is the single largest cause of gas and hazardous liquid pipeline accidents in the United States. During the 1988 to 1993 time period, 33 percent of all gas pipeline incidents were cause by excavation damage by persons other than the facilities owner or owner’s contractors. In addition, 35 deaths and 151 injuries were attributed to theses incidents as well as $42.5 million in property damage (Kelly, Nawarynsky, 1996).

Given the extent of the problem, the construction industry can gain substantial benefit from the accurate mapping of underground utilities. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is especially well adapted to provide information on utility location (Hemakumara, 2003). This view is shared by NETTWORK, 2002. They state that GIS provides the necessary computational, graphical, and information handling technology needed to record all necessary information on all buried utilities in a user friendly, accurate, three dimensional manner. While the accurate mapping of new installations is well defined in the literature, this paper is intended to investigate methods and procedures that can be used to capture the legacy utility location information in a modern GIS format.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

• To introduce students to the concepts and the techniques of handling geographical data through a particular form of information system - GIS;
• To introduce students to the skills and techniques to input, manage, analyse and display spatial information; and
• To introduce students to the concepts and techniques for spatial data analysis and modelling.

Geographical Information System (GIS) is an information system that is specially designed handling spatial (or geographical) data. It combines a set of interrelated sub-systems that create, edit, manipulate, analyse and display data both in text and graphic forms. GIS supports spatial analysis and modelling for the discipline of geography (e.g. location, proximity, and spatial distribution), so that it becomes a vital tool for modern geography. With the rapid progress of computing and Internet technology, GIS technology allows easy and fast access to important geographical information on the region, environment and society.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study was to help and give a benefit to the student, business marketers, geologists, meteorologists, school management, companies, and other places that need this system. The system would improve the monitoring capacities of those who maintain the system.

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