GIS is fundamentally about solving real-world problems. With the spatial
domain, the goals of applied problem-solving include, but are not
restricted to :
- Rational, effective, and efficient allocation of resources, in
accordance with clearly stated criteria;
- Monitoring and understanding observed spatial distribution of
attributes, such as variation of soil nutrient concentration, or the
geography of environmental health;
- Understanding the difference that place makes, identifying which
characteristics are inherently similar between places, and what is
distinctive and possibly unique about them;
- Understanding of processes in the natural and human environments,
and understanding of changes in residential preferences or store
patronage in the social;
- Prescription of strategies for environmental maintenance and
conservation.
There are huge ranges of applications of GIS, which generally set
out to fulfill the five Ms of GIS: mapping, measurement, monitoring,
modeling, and management. This page provides some case-studies to help
further understanding the ability of GIS and its scientific ground.
GIS technologies have been
applied in the following industrial sectors (based on the information on
ESRI website):
- Business
- Communications
- Education
- Environmental management
- Government
- Health and human services
- Transportation
- Utilities
- Natural resources
- Internet Solutions
:
Business
Applications of GIS technologies to
business systems is emerging rapidly in responding to the quest for
predicting future businesses due to the fact that business systems
always exhibit spatial characteristics. GIS has been used, for example,
to formulate business strategies, evaluate insurance aspirants and
identify outlets for the retail chain. With GIS, users can perform
demographic analysis, which is the essential basis for customer
services, site analysis, marketing and many other business functions.
The Unique ability of GIS allows to explore the customer's purchasing
habits, financial behavior and needs for additional products or
services. Externally, GIS helps to locate services such as ATM or branch
for better serving customers, to visualize market situations and to
analyze competitor information. Internally, GIS can help to better
manage investment portfolios, analyze risk, and predict future
development, interpret and evaluate branch performance, etc.
Case Study:
Chase Manhattan Bank
Communications
GIS technologies have been
applied in location-based services (LBS) and telecommunications. In LBS,
GIS is integrated with easy-to-use mobile devices to provide information
wherever and whenever it is needed. In telecommunications, GIS has been
used for outside engineering planning, wireless engineering, operation
support system, marketing and sales, customer relationship management,
and networking.
Case Study
GIS/OMS Wave in Florida
Fly by Wire in Ho Chi Minh City
Education
Geography is part of our everyday
lives. It's part of the things we come in contact with
everyday--weather, traffic, the quality of our water and land, the
economy. GIS technology provides powerful tools for geographic analysis
for almost any academic discipline. A GIS allows students and
researchers to ask and answer geographic questions by designing and
analyzing maps using user-selected criteria. Libraries and museums
provide a gateway to all kinds of information. GIS manages census data,
zoning and tax assessment maps, digital aerial photographs, and
satellite images, providing public access to information that previously
was difficult to use. GIS also provides tools for exploring information
through maps and images, helping inquisitive minds to see things in a
new way. Museum exhibits about topics such as natural history and
geology come alive with dynamic maps to illustrate processes and events.
Environmental Management
Since the inception of the
technology, GIS has been an integral component in environmental
management. A GIS links geographic and attribute data, such as lab and
field data, allowing the user to monitor and simulate on-site situation,
to predict future changes for planning and compliance purposes. It has
been used for vegetation mapping, site remediation, waste management,
groundwater modeling, environmental impact assessments and policy
assessments.
Government
GIS databases
have been used for decades to help institutions and businesses at the
local, state, and federal levels collect and analyze information to make
better decisions. It is mission critical in emergency management, public
safety and protection of property and infrastructure. Especially, GIS
can help to assess risks to community and infrastructure, establish
specific mitigation/protection plans, identify and evacuate at-risk
population and provide accurate damage assessment. GIS can also support
department-specific applications from a shared enterprise database.
Health and Human Services
GIS helps health organizations
conduct a wide range of important functions that support sales and
marketing activities. These functions range from the identification of
existing trade or service areas to the assignment of marketing and sales
territories to specific sales personnel. GIS integrates key data
components based on geographic elements by tracking, routing,
documenting, and mapping the location of people, places, and things to
support research and resource planning activities.
Transportation
GIS technology
serves three distinct transportation needs: infrastructure management,
fleet and logistics management, and transit management. Transportation
professionals can use GIS to integrate mapping analysis into decision
support for network planning and analysis, vehicle tracking and routing,
asset management, inventory tracking, route planning and analysis, etc.
Utilities
GIS can be used
to map the water distribution systems and define each element, including
reservoirs, pipe segments, services, and system appurtenances, thus it
automats equipment inventory and flow analysis. GIS can also be used to
closely model utility networks and integrate other, related types of
data, such as raster images and CAD drawings. GIS spatial selection and
display tools allow user to visualize scheduled work, ongoing
activities, recurring maintenance problems and historical information.
In addition, budget forecasting, facility inventory analysis, customer
billing, and other key administrative functions can be enhanced through
the implementation of an integrated, enterprisewide GIS solution.
Natural Resources
GIS applications
in natural resources are mainly focusing on agriculture, forestry,
marine and coast, mining and earth sciences and petroleum management.
Internet Solutions
GIS technologies contribute to
develop web-based services to promote geospatial information
interchanging and sharing, and to provide public access to spatial
analysis tools.
|