Gaining geospatial insight for asset management

Mott MacDonald’s Helen Pickard and Magda Wilczek answer questions regarding the new Ciria guidance on geographical information systems for infrastructure asset management (C803).

Q. Could you give some background on the development of the guidance?

Helen Pickard: Geographic information system (GIS) and geospatial, or location, data are increasingly common and are often used alongside detailed design software packages to support major infrastructure projects. These projects place a high value on innovation and improving efficiency through digital processes. The guide was commissioned in order to support improved adoption of GIS technology and data-driven approaches for smaller scale infrastructure projects and asset maintenance workflows which have been had a more limited uptake.

The new document showcases how GIS and location data can be used to support infrastructure asset management across a range of sectors and scales of deployment with outline guidance and case studies. It provides a strategic context, key concepts, considerations and benefits of using GIS for infrastructure asset management illustrated by 26 real world and practical case studies with lessons learnt across various scales and infrastructure asset types, such as roads, rail, water, energy and more. We also provide an outlook on how it may evolve in the future, including key drivers and areas of further development.

Q. How has the use of GIS in geotechnics and engineering evolved over the last 15 years?

Helen Pickard: GIS has been widely used by environmental, scientific, geotechnical, survey and government planning communities, but less so in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) until about the last 15 years. This change in use within the AEC sectors has evolved with greater demand for digital workflows and delivery brought about through government digital and construction sector policies and the need for greater efficiency and better design, build, operate and maintenance decisions.

A well-informed design should lead to improved construction methods and materials and a better operated asset. A good decision starts with having the right information available to the right people at the right time. This is where GIS, working as part of a Building information modelling (BIM) and digital workflows, has been adding increased value to infrastructure asset owners.

A typical GIS implementation has grown from single user desktop applications to include mobile device apps for collecting data and web server systems hosting large amounts of data centrally. There are many providers of software from both commercial suppliers and open source options, which one best suits an organisation will depend on several factors such as the objectives of the GIS implementation, budget, size and skill of the user and support base. As well as general GIS that has a wide applicability across organisations there are focused software applications aimed at providing analytical insights for specific scientific areas, particularly in the geotechnical sphere, these may supplement and add value to a wider system that provides users with access data.

GIS has become a powerful tool for managing big data, integrating field survey information to the central database and visualising above and subsurface 3D information, and hence its use by geotechnical engineers and design of infrastructure assets has increased. It is now playing a useful role as a user friendly tool to surface data across an organisation that used to be locked away in siloed databases, or even in documents stored in cabinets. GIS has enabled multi criteria analysis for land investigation considering multiple data layers, such as geology, soil, meteorological, ground cover and so on, far beyond maps. It allows for integrated information and analytics that highlight ground stability, reveal hotspots, and provide intelligence on geotechnical assets and data-driven evidence on why things may be happening, all in a geographic context.

The diverse case studies shared across the guide showcase how the use of GIS evolved, from static maps through data-driven analytics, sharing data on web GIS interfaces to unlock value for multiple stakeholders and providing tools for the end-to-end digital workflows in engineering. One of the case studies refers specifically to an online GIS asset management platform developed for geotechnical and drainage assets for integrating asset information, visualise in 3D and connect asset stakeholders. The use of geospatial technologies showcased in other case studies throughout the guide are transferrable between asset scales, types, and asset lifecycle.

Q. How do you expect the new guidance to be used?

Helen Pickard: The guide is directed at everyone who is interested and those new to GIS or with intermediate knowledge, infrastructure asset owners, their operators and advisers of all infrastructure scales, decision makers, asset data team managers and functional teams, and the supply chain for infrastructure owners who may need to capture, manage or analyse data for the owner.

The reader is not expected to read the chapters in sequential order, but to explore chapters most relevant to their current stage of engagement with GIS tools and processes. It can be grouped into five parts:

Part 1: GIS for infrastructure setting
Part 2: Working with data
Part 3: Communication and planning
Part 4: Case studies
Appendices – that include more advanced detail on topics within the guide for those interested in exploring further.

Q. How does GIS fit into the wider digital ecosystem in engineering?

Magda Wilczek: Digital transformation has been accelerating within AEC due to advances in technology centred around data and connected systems as well as due to an increasing awareness of the benefits of end-to-end digital workflows in engineering.

GIS is constantly evolving and has become a key part of the digital ecosystem in engineering with high demand for GIS technology and skills across different engineering sectors such as energy, water, environment, transport, and built environment infrastructures at different stages of an asset’s life cycle.

With its capability to extract meaningful insights from data, GIS can aid in the decision-making process. It also enables interconnection of workflows – leveraging technology to interconnect and integrate information through interoperability between data, software, and systems. It has been included as one of the information management components within the Institute of Asset Management anatomy. It is also a part of the BIM software ecosystem used alongside CAD packages to aid improved visualisation of the wider geographic context of asset models and to extract information about their location or condition.

The power of visualisation, information sharing, and data management through GIS helps stakeholders to better understand often complex asset information. It can be a valuable tool in collaborating and engaging with wider audiences. A GIS can be part of the ecosystem of tools used to help manage data and share a common view of the project across a distributed team with different backgrounds and information needs. There may also be the need to engage with external stakeholder groups, existing customers or the public. Web-based GIS can be a user-friendly and interactive tool that, when coupled with other web authoring packages, can provide a clear picture of the infrastructure design or maintenance plans, with the existing environment to help convey potential impacts of developments.

The relationship between BIM, GIS and asset management has been explored further in Chapter 9 of the guide, including developments in data integration and interoperability. We also make references to the emergence of connected digital twins and how GIS plays its role and may further evolve in the future.

Q. Could you summarise some of the key issues and areas for improvement with the use of GIS?

Magda Wilczek: Data is being generated at increasing rates, and a large proportion has a geospatial component. This provides great opportunities for infrastructure asset owners to gain data-driven and location-based insights for optimising the design, build, operation, and maintenance of assets – and therefore make better investment decisions. One of the challenges lies in efficient and effective usage and sharing of data or data-driven insights. To realise business impact and benefits with ever-increasing volumes of data collected by multiple stakeholders and sensors, it is vital to treat data as a strategic asset and invest in data management, security, implementation of standards, the right technology, and innovation.

GIS has a crucial role in improving infrastructure asset management business alignment, ensuring people and technology stay in sync, and supporting digital transformation. Combining the power of visualisation with databases, GIS has the capability to integrate asset management life cycle activities by providing mobile, desktop, and web tools and applications to seamlessly collect location and asset information, store it in a database, analyse it, generate reports and visualise information on interactive web maps and dashboard applications. This improves collaboration and engagement, ultimately unlocking the value of data across stakeholders. Through its capability to author, publish, collaborate and share data, all in a geographic context, GIS greatly improves making the data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) which is a key component of making better decisions for infrastructure assets.

Greater awareness and adoption of GIS and geospatial science capabilities throughout the engineering disciplines would produce a positive impact and improve the overall digital delivery of infrastructure asset management.

Q. Would you like to add anything else?

Magda Wilczek: Data science, which combines data, analytics, statistics and computer science, is an emerging discipline having a significant impact on society, and it is increasingly used in the AEC industry. With accelerated volumes of data collected daily, being able to rapidly extract meaningful information will provide transformative value on how infrastructure assets are planned, constructed, maintained and operated. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that allows for a machine to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. The UK Government recognised huge benefits and opportunities in applying AI and consequently a new National AI Strategy was announced in May 2021. We also introduce the UK AI council and Alan Turing institute.

Geo AI combines the power of Geospatial with AI and can provide new levels of efficiency in infrastructure asset management. We have two excellent case studies in the guide showcasing how Geo AI provided transformative change through enabling faster insights on asset condition and driving strategic, tactical, and operational decision making for pavement assets and reporting of invasive vegetation species along the rail corridor.

Across the guide we show how GIS provides the technology and digital tools to boost innovative approaches to data collection, analysis, data-driven decisions, and digital solutions, and allows people to create, manage, and analyse information – particularly about location – and extract insights on what condition the assets are in. As such, GIS integrates data and spatial analytics, helps users understand patterns, relationships, and geographic context. The benefits include improved communication and efficiency as well as better management and decision making across the design, build, operate, and maintenance asset life cycle.

For the reader more interested in a strategic overview, we also covered standards, key business benefits, and how GIS use for infrastructure asset management may evolve in the future in the guide, making it a more comprehensive reference on the use of GIS in infrastructure asset management. We also included case studies showcasing examples on how this works in practice.

Order a copy of the Ciria guide C803. 

Authors and acknowledgements

The guide has been developed by joint lead authors Mott MacDonald group GIS leader Helen Pickard and GIS lead Magda Wilczek, as well as co-authors and GIS leads Kasia Fedyk, Eseld Imms and Sarah Davies.

The authors would like to thank Ciria, which gave the opportunity to publish this guide, and the project steering group consisting of asset owners, such as Network Rail, National Highways, Environment Agency, engineering consultancies and technology providers. They helped shape the content of this publication and their feedback throughout the development of this guide has been invaluable to ensure it covers the diversity of applications of using GIS for infrastructure asset management and a variety of asset types at different stages of the asset life cycle and owners. According to the authors, the inputs from all involved made it a more complete and comprehensive guide.

This article first appeared in Ground Engineering magazine on 28 November 2022.