The global engineering, management and development consultancy Mott MacDonald undertakes a vast array of projects all around the world, ranging from assessing the risk of climate change impacts, designing critical infrastructure across Central Asia and improving flood defences in the UK, to safeguarding turtles' nesting beaches in Cyprus. Common to all these projects is the company’s goal to operate as efficiently as possible and use leading-edge technology to create value for clients.

The organisation had used geographic information system (GIS) solutions for many years, in some teams and some offices. However, this silo-based approach meant that GIS services and data were limited to a small number of users. There was no standard central GIS system across the company where everyone could view the same project GIS data, and this inhibited employees’ ability to share data effectively, collaborate with colleagues in different offices and work efficiently.

Mott MacDonald’s GIS transformation began in 2015 when it signed an Enterprise Agreement with Esri UK and started to create a range of centralised GIS services for all UK employees, using Esri’s ArcGIS. Such was the success of this enterprise GIS strategy that the company signed a Global Enterprise Agreement just three years later, enabling it to extend its GIS services out to all of the company’s 16,000 global employees working on projects in as many as 150 countries.

Mott MacDonald now has ArcGIS, accessible to all global employees, that provides a centralised repository for all of the organisation’s geospatial reference data including open government data from organisations such as the Environment Agency. This enterprise GIS gives everyone access to the same, up-to-date data and provides teams with a better understanding of the geographic context of their projects.

In tandem, Mott MacDonald has created a series of project-based ArcGIS Online applications, containing maps, data sets, documents and models that relate to specific clients. These portals can only be accessed by project team members and are integrated with Microsoft SharePoint, providing teams with a single location for all their project-related reports, documents, models and maps.

Through its Enterprise Agreements, Mott MacDonald can access the full suite of ArcGIS solutions, and the organisation is making increasing use of a wide range of ArcGIS tools, including, in particular, mobile solutions for data collection, such as Esri’s Collector App and Survey123 for ArcGIS. Mott MacDonald uses advanced ArcGIS functionality for geospatial analysis, 3D modelling and city planning, depending on the requirements of individual projects. It also uses ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Story Maps to help it share data effectively with clients and the general public.

More efficient project delivery

By adopting ArcGIS enterprise-wide, Mott MacDonald has been able to give all employees access to the data, maps and tools they need to enable them to work more efficiently. For example, some tasks that were historically undertaken using computer-aided design (CAD), such as habitat mapping, can now be completed much more quickly using ArcGIS, saving many hours of effort when revisions are made, or areas calculated. Similarly, field-based asset surveys that were previously undertaken using paper-based forms and maps, can now be completed faster using mobile ArcGIS tools. “One of the real advantages of our enterprise ArcGIS is that we have been able to extend GIS to users who were unable to benefit from GIS in their job roles before,” says Helen Pickard, GIS Practice Leader at Mott MacDonald.

Improved collaboration in global teams

ArcGIS has significantly improved collaboration in global teams, by providing a more effective way for employees to share information with their colleagues. Employees no longer waste time looking for the latest environmental data, putting in requests for printed maps or emailing colleagues to check they have the most up-to-date site plan. Pickard says, “Everyone in a project team can see the same relevant, up-to-date information spatially, in one place, which really improves collaboration, particularly in large multidisciplinary teams, with people working in different offices and countries.”

Added value for clients

ArcGIS also enables Mott MacDonald to deliver added value for clients, by providing new ways to collect data and share it visually. In one recent assignment, the company used Survey123 for ArcGIS to help it build up an accurate picture of early childhood care and educational facilities in Uganda as part of a policy review for the government. Surveyors were able to gather detailed information at 143 sites across the country, share it promptly with the wider project team back in the UK and then subsequently share the data with the client on a highly visual and meaningful map.

Effective engagement with the public

Increasingly, Mott MacDonald is using ArcGIS to share data with the general public as part of public consultations on behalf of its clients. For example, the organisation recently created an ArcGIS Story Map to present information clearly during a public consultation process as part of a Digital Environmental Scoping exercise for the Mott MacDonald, Temple, ERM and WSP (MTEW) Joint Venture. This particular initiative won the Transport for London Suppliers Award 2018 for Best Environmental Initiative and it subsequently also received the internal global Mott MacDonald Milne Award for Innovation 2019.

Covering an area of 1,051 km2 from Hadrian’s Wall to the Scottish border, Northumberland National Park combines natural habitats and biodiversity with fascinating archaeology and stunning scenery. The Park Authority’s role is not only to conserve and enhance this precious environment, but also to help people understand and enjoy it.

When the organisation began to plan a major exhibition, it started looking for inventive new ways to help it engage more successfully with visiting members of the public. It decided to showcase the technology that it uses every day in the management of the park and took the bold decision to make its geospatial data and tools available for members of the public to explore for themselves.

The Northumberland National Park Authority has been using geographic information system (GIS) solutions from Esri UK for a number of years. Field-based employees including park rangers, archaeologists, ecologists and farming officers have ArcGIS apps on their mobile phones, including Collector for ArcGIS and Survey123 for ArcGIS, which they use to collect a variety of GIS data while in the park. Back at the Park Authority’s head office, employees manage geospatial data from field-based teams, GPS devices and drones, using ArcGIS Online web apps and dashboards, to gain insight into trends and evidence to inform conservation and park protection schemes.

Ed Hudspeth, GIS Officer, Northumberland National Park, says: “Rather than just telling members of the public about our use of ArcGIS tools to manage conservation projects, we decided to give them the opportunity to use it themselves. Esri’s data visualisation tools are very easy to use, providing us with an ideal way to share our geospatial data with visitors.”

Taking place at The Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre in June 2018, the Digital Landscapes exhibition showcased:

Collecting data

Visitors could use an Esri Dashboard to explore data collected in the field by park rangers on their mobile phones using Collector for ArcGIS, including live data on the maintenance of almost 800 miles of paths including the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail.

Analysing data

Everyone could view GPS data from the collars of hefted (free-roaming) sheep and see how this data is combined with land cover maps to help the Park Authority identify patterns and risks to vulnerable habitats.

Interpreting data

An ArcGIS Story Map gave visitors the opportunity to explore drone imagery and 3D terrain models to help them interpret archaeological features on the ground in an area where archaeology was previously unrecorded.

Heightened public engagement during exhibition

The innovative use of ArcGIS at the Digital Landscapes exhibition contributed to a highly successful event. “Visitor numbers exceeded the targets and the dwell time in the exhibition was, in many cases, an hour longer than previous exhibitions in the same venue,” says Hudspeth. “The whole event gained a 94% customer satisfaction rating from visitors.”

Greater appreciation of the park’s characteristics

Visitors to the exhibition were able to interact with Esri Dashboards to gain an improved appreciation of the park’s biodiversity and cultural heritage. Using the touchscreens, visitors could, for example, investigate the distribution of seventeen different bumblebee species or explore newly identified archaeological features in the landscape. “By giving people unprecedented access to our geospatial data and tools and allowing them to explore the park digitally, we have improved their understanding of the area and inspired them to get out into the landscape,” Hudspeth says.

Improved understanding of the work of the authority

By showcasing its geospatial data and tools, Northumberland National Park Authority was able to demonstrate how it uses GIS analysis to inform its decisions about park conservation. In particular, the display showing the movements of hefted sheep clearly illustrated why the park authority is working with farmers to encourage the sheep away from vulnerable moorland habitats. “By showing how we use ArcGIS to gather and analyse data, we were able to reassure the public and show that the Park Authority makes decisions based on evidence,” Hudspeth recalls.

Recognition for innovation on a budget

The trail-blazing digital exhibition welcomed numerous high profile visitors including the Minister of the Environment, the Minister for Digital and the Chief Executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund. “Our high profiled guests acknowledged the value of what we had achieved on a small budget,” Hudspeth says. “Giving people a behind-the-scenes look at how and why park staff collect and use data was one of the most popular elements of the exhibition.”

Inspiration for future GIS projects

As ArcGIS was so successful in engaging members of the public at the exhibition, the Park Authority has been inspired to develop new public-facing GIS apps to expand the number of ways in which it involves local people in its work. “As an organisation, we learned a lot from the exhibition, especially using spatial data and tools to engage with the public,” Hudspeth explains. “Since then we have started extending our data collection apps out to volunteers and exploring ways to allow the public to contribute to our spatial data in a meaningful way by crowdsourcing conservation data.”

As Peterborough City Council’s appointed supplier for outsourced ICT services, Serco is constantly implementing new initiatives to improve the quality and cost efficiency of the council’s services for citizens. Many of these initiatives are focused on improving single business processes or introducing new services. However, when Serco decided to upgrade the council’s legacy geographic information system (GIS) technology, it quickly recognised that this particular IT project could deliver significant business improvements across the whole council.

At the time, Peterborough City Council used GIS in several departments, both for operational management and for strategic data analysis, but its existing GIS system didn’t have the flexibility to adapt easily to new requirements and could not be used on mobile devices. Notably, the legacy system could not be tailored to meet the needs of specific groups of users, so council employees often found it too complex and needed frequent support from the GIS team.

Working with Peterborough City Council’s GIS users, Serco drew up an extensive list of requirements and selected Esri’s ArcGIS platform following a detailed evaluation of competitive products. Then, Serco appointed Esri UK’s Professional Services team to undertake the implementation of ArcGIS, including setting up servers and integrating ArcGIS with property gazetteers. “Esri UK took on responsibility for getting the ArcGIS platform up and running, which gave us complete peace of mind,” says Tim Newcombe, GIS Business Manager at Serco. “With something as ubiquitous as GIS, everything has to be put together in the right order, in the right way, and this can take a considerable amount of time. Esri UK knows how to set it up in an optimum way and how to do it quickly.”

Serco subsequently also engaged two of Esri UK’s Embedded Product Specialists to provide hands-on assistance with building web apps and solution templates. “Working with Esri UK’s Professional Services team put us a step ahead on our learning curve and enabled us to roll out a wide range of cost-saving applications for Peterborough City Council very quickly,” Newcombe says. “Even when they weren’t on site, I could email the Embedded Product Specialists and they came back to us quickly with answers.”

Using the knowledge and skills it acquired from working alongside the Embedded Product Specialists, Serco delivered thirteen ArcGIS apps for Peterborough City Council in just twelve months. These apps included ArcGIS mobile, desktop and web-based solutions, which transformed processes in multiple council areas, ranging from managing demand for health services to recording drainage assets and analysing archaeological finds.

£15,000 cost saving from just one app

The ArcGIS web apps that Serco has developed have automated manual tasks and streamlined processes to create significant cost savings for Peterborough City Council, estimated at tens of thousands of pounds. In one pivotal project, Serco has delivered an ArcGIS web app to improve the exchange of information between the land charges team and highways team. This ArcGIS-led process alone has removed over 15 hours of manual paperwork per week and is, as a consequence, expected to deliver annual savings of £15,000.

More efficient data collection in the field

Several of Serco’s ArcGIS apps have created tangible time savings for council employees working out and about in the city. For example, one app, based on Collector for ArcGIS, enables planners to gather detailed property information for the council’s Local Development Plan far more quickly, in the field, improving the efficiency of the local planning process. Another mobile ArcGIS app allows the council’s drainage team to check and edit the locations of culverts in the field, improving the accuracy of council data and removing the requirement for information to be transferred manually from paper to screen.

Improved collaboration with partners

The flexibility of ArcGIS allows Serco to create web apps to support specific projects and improve collaboration with partners. For example, it has created a web app that enables Peterborough City Council to share information about mineral and waste sites with the local county council, parish councils, landfill owners and waste services suppliers. Serco has also produced an Esri Story Map that presents opportunities to regenerate Peterborough, create a circular economy and improve sustainability. This Story Map will be shared with local businesses and citizens to help build a shared a vision for the future of the city.

Enhanced employee productivity

Most significantly, Serco has been able to improve the productivity of specific teams, by giving them access to web apps that are tailored precisely to their needs. “The ability to construct an app for a specific group of users, and roll it out quickly, is a real benefit of ArcGIS,” says Newcombe. “Before, there was one GIS system that did everything for everyone, but it was overwhelmingly difficult for most council employees to use. Now we can give teams, and even individual employees, exactly the functionality they need to do their jobs, so they can work more productively. We also have fewer support calls to the GIS team as a result, saving us as much as half a day a week.”

Every year, Highways England manages hundreds of separate projects along 4,300 miles of motorways and A-roads, ranging from day-to-day maintenance to major road widening, bridge strengthening and tunnelling schemes. These projects are managed and undertaken by different specialist teams across multiple directorates.

Employees typically had no visual overview of the road projects that teams in other directorates were planning and no easy way of discovering where and when these projects would take place. As a result, it was difficult for them to coordinate their activities and schedule roadworks optimally to take advantage of potential cost efficiencies, as well as minimise inconvenience for road users.

To address this challenge, Highways England decided to develop a map-based app to display all current and planned roadwork projects, from all directorates and all six regions of England. Starting in the South East Region, the organisation used Esri’s ArcGIS Desktop solution to plot the locations of roadworks on interactive maps and include relevant project details. It also used ArcGIS Desktop to draw in roadworks along the actual curved shape of roads and added a time-slider function to allow users to view projects by date.

After developing this prototype solution, Highways England seconded one member of staff to the project from each of its six regions, for just one month, and the app was expanded to include all current and planned roadworks across all directorates for the whole of England. At the end of the month, the solution was published on ArcGIS Online using ArcGIS Web AppBuilder and made available to key teams in all regions. A simplified version of the app was also produced, with reduced functionality, and published on Highways England’s intranet using ArcGIS Enterprise where it can be viewed by all of the organisation’s 4,700 employees. The launch of the solution received very positive feedback, with one user commenting that, “It is probably the most useful thing I have received in eleven years at Highways England.”

Critically, the development of this solution was entirely cost neutral, as it was built in-house by Highways England’s own staff using the organisation’s existing ArcGIS license. “All the tools we needed for our solution were provided out-of-the-box as part of ArcGIS,” says Chris Spencer, South East Lead for Intelligence and Performance Analysis at Highways England. “We built the solution, by ourselves, without needing any expensive or time-consuming software development, and that is something that we are very proud of.”

Multimillion pound cost savings

The ArcGIS web app gives Highways England a clear oversight of all current and proposed projects, across all directorates, for the first time, which enables teams to better understand the wider implications of different schemes. Using the solution, employees identified that planned works to improve technology on an A-road in Berkshire would be rendered unnecessary by other traffic management initiatives that were being introduced on other neighbouring roads by different teams. As a result, Highways England was able to cancel the technology project, making an internally-verified cost saving of £13 million.

Ongoing operational efficiencies

Highways England now expects to be able to make ongoing operational efficiencies by using the ArcGIS web app to schedule programmes of work much more effectively. For example, in one recent initiative, Highways England saved £250,000 by rescheduling line-painting on a section of the M4 so that it could take place when it was due to be resurfaced later that year. “ArcGIS is transforming the way that Highways England shares information internally and creating opportunities for significant cost efficiencies,” Spencer says.

Reduced disruption for road users

Use of the new ArcGIS web app is also proving instrumental in helping Highways England to minimise unnecessary disruption for road users. In the example above, the decision to reschedule line-painting on the M4 avoided the need for two sets of road works on the same stretch of motorway and therefore reduced inconvenience for customers. Spencer comments, “Many factors influence people’s experience on the roads, but I believe our use of this ArcGIS web app will contribute to improvements in the experience had by road users and, in time, improve Highways England’s KPIs for customer satisfaction.”

Effective collaboration with third parties

Highways England can now work more transparently and effectively with partners, by giving them access to its ArcGIS web solution. For instance, in the South East Region, Highways England is using the ArcGIS web app to share information with the Kent Corridor Coordination Group, a partnership with Kent County Council, Medway District Council and other local organisations. The partners use the app to take into account Highways England’s plans when scheduling smaller roadworks on nearby B roads or in urban areas and planning diversion routes to improve traffic flow around the local area.

Improved health and safety on the roads

Over time, Highways England expects its use of the ArcGIS web app to contribute to improvements in employee health and safety from fewer roadworks. “Safety is a number one priority for Highways England,” Spencer explains. “When we avoid the need for works or combine works together, we reduce the number of days when workers are exposed to danger on the road. When we reduce time on roads, we reduce risks.”

Dublin Airport is the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland. Operated by daa, it welcomed 31.5 million passengers in 2018, and handled more than 2,300 flights every week. To provide a safe and positive experience for passengers, the airport’s employees need to work together to manage and maintain 35,000 assets, with a replacement value of €4 billion, as well as collect, share and analyse a vast amount of operational data.

Dublin Airport decided to introduce geospatial information system (GIS) solutions and selected Esri’s ArcGIS following a successful pilot. It then began to roll out a succession of mobile, desktop and web-based GIS applications to transform processes and build incremental business value. “Our aim was to think big, start small and work fast,” says Neil Moran, Dublin Airport Head of Digital Asset Management & Transformation. “ArcGIS gave us the platform we needed to connect systems, give all our employees a single view of the truth and empower them to work more efficiently and flexibly all around the airport.”

Now, field-based employees use a range of ArcGIS mobile solutions to access, collect and upload information and photographs from mobile devices. Airfield inspectors use Collector for ArcGIS to check the condition of 1,700,000 m2 of airfield, while maintenance teams use ArcGIS Portal to access asset information and download repair manuals in the field, to help them rectify faults more quickly. Other airport workers use Survey 123 for ArcGIS to record safety incidents, such injuries to baggage handlers, and collect all pertinent details in real-time, on their mobile devices.

Dublin Airport also makes extensive use of Esri Dashboards to provide managers with a clear overview of the status of activities, in real-time. For example, pavement managers use an Esri Dashboard on which completed, scheduled and outstanding repairs are all displayed ‘live’ on a single screen, coloured coded in green, amber and red. “Esri Dashboards put real-time information into managers’ hands and provide valuable insight into the airport’s operations, risks and performance, which we can use to make faster, well-informed decisions,” says Morgan Crumlish, Dublin Airport Spatial Data Manager.

In addition, Dublin Airport uses Insight for ArcGIS and ArcPro to analyse data and gain deeper understanding of critical issues, including runway and taxiway usage and timings. These tools play a key role in supporting decision making on everything from the future expansion of the airfield to contingency planning. For example, ArcPro has recently been used to analyse ways to transport key members of staff to work following heavy snowfall, to improve the airport’s ability to remain operational during winter conditions.

Increased operational efficiency

The use of ArcGIS at Dublin Airport has created significant time savings, by making it easier for teams to collect, share, understand and act upon new information. When asset faults are identified on the airfield, detailed information and images can be collected swiftly using ArcGIS on mobile devices. The data is transferred instantly and digitally to the maintenance team, where jobs are prioritised and scheduled. Managers can then monitor outstanding and completed jobs on their Esri Dashboard, in what is an integrated and highly efficient end-to-end process.

Improved health and safety

Dublin Airport can now record safety incidents very promptly and utilise this information to drive health and safety improvements. For example, if an incident occurs on an escalator, employees can capture the relevant environment conditions and, where appropriate, add witness statements using Survey 123 for ArcGIS. This data can be analysed in ArcGIS, alongside historical data about previous incidents, to identify high risk areas, inform safety improvement opportunities and protect the company against erroneous claims.

Reduced risks in the airfield environment

Using ArcGIS, Dublin Airport is able to reduce risks on the airfield through better monitoring of potential hazards, like laser activity and wildlife incursions. For example, the airport is starting to track all wildlife incidents airside following learnings from colleagues using Esri technology for similar solutions across Europe. With this new insight, airport employees have been able to employ bird management techniques, such as hawk kites and eagle soundtracks, in precisely the right locations to improve safety for passengers.

Effective compliance with industry regulations

In a new initiative, Dublin Airport and third parties are using ArcGIS to develop solutions to assist in the monitoring of runway, taxiway and apron loading at the airport to ensure and demonstrate compliance with aviation industry regulations. When fully implemented, an ArcGIS Dashboard will display live data, indicating where sections of the airfield have been subjected to excessive loading, and alert managers when thresholds are reached, so that inspections can be prioritised.

Meaningful insight for future business planning

Using Insights for ArcGIS, managers can now undertake analysis of large volumes of data and gain accurate information with which to make better decisions about the future of Dublin Airport. Following passenger growth of 51% from 2013 to 2018, Dublin Airport plans to use ArcGIS to enhance passenger wayfinding, maximise route efficiency and present commercial opportunities, while minimising bottlenecks and improving the overall customer experience.

The new approach has not only transformed the way mobile teams operate but is also creating more efficient ways of working for office staff too.

A prime example of how it makes life easier for field personnel is when they perform road surveys, prior to any maintenance or resurfacing work. Teams now simply record the highway condition using the ArcGIS app on an iPad, in real-time. This streamlined data collection process has also significantly improved data accuracy, due to fewer steps being involved compared to the previous use of paper maps. Digital photographs are also simply attached to the map at specific locations to help explain any defects.

The Colas teams that respond to road accidents have also had their work practices upgraded by ArcGIS Online. Real-time access to mapping on Windows 7 smartphones means they can instantly see what falls under Colas’ responsibility when assessing highway damage at an incident. Now they have the added confidence they are working with accurate data on boundaries, utilities and other features, which might have an impact on their course of action.

ArcGIS Online also allows office staff to work with GIS in other ways, freeing them from their desktops. Now they can collaborate and share map data on iPads instead, which also eliminates the need to print out paper maps. “ArcGIS Online helps fulfil all of our nonstandard requests for mapping – when a map is needed out on site, for remote working at home, in a depot or at a supplier meeting, for example,” said David.

This has made office-based staff realise GIS is not just about a paper or desktop map but rather a dynamic and interactive resource, as David continued: “Shifting people’s perception of GIS is key to ensuring its true benefits are realised and this is happening through ArcGIS Online. By using tablets or smartphones, boundaries are removed and staff are having their eyes opened to new ways in which GIS can support the business and help them make better decisions.”

Future plans at Colas include using ArcGIS Online to roll-out GIS to every member of its 400 office staff across 22 UK locations, plus the integration of ArcGIS Online into the organisation’s asset management system for enhanced reporting.

“Introducing ArcGIS Online was a natural evolution within our overall GIS strategy,” concluded David. “It’s simultaneously helping to create a raft of more efficient ways of working and innovative highway maintenance services, which help win new contracts.”

One role of the Royal Engineers (RE) is to assist land based forces achieve their mission objectives, by maximising their mobility, survivability and sustainability using a wide range of specialist support services such as bridge building, mine clearing and demolition.

For many years, geographic information system (GIS) technology was little used at Costain. The company had a single licence for Esri’s ArcGIS Desktop application and, from time to time, it used subcontractors to create stand-alone GIS applications for specific projects. “We had different approaches for different contracts, with GIS services being commissioned for some and not others,” says Orla McManus, Head of GIS for New Business, at Costain.

As demand for GIS solutions increased, the use of subcontractors became a significant cost for the business. Furthermore, as each GIS application developed had a limited scope, defined by the needs of a specific project, the benefits of using GIS were constrained. Costain therefore decided to expand its use of Esri’s ArcGIS platform internally and use it as a strategic tool to help it deliver industry-leading, technology-driven engineering solutions.

Costain deployed ArcGIS Enterprise to create a single portal for geospatial information, for the entire organisation, hosted in its UK datacentres. It then developed a series of ArcGIS mobile apps and ArcGIS web apps to provide specific groups of employees with the capabilities they need to access data pertinent to their contracts and perform their jobs.

ArcGIS is currently used by groups of Costain employees including:
– Roads inspectors for managing 150,000 assets on a seven year highways and road maintenance contract
– Environmental teams for carrying out ecology, tree and archaeology surveys along a transportation route
– Contact centre staff for responding to telephone queries, noting asset defects and passing on information to maintenance teams

Costain has also created a ‘Costain on a map’ app to provide all employees with a gateway to the company’s growing reservoirs of geospatial data, as well as other systems, such as HR and Building Information Modelling (BIM). “Today, GIS has overtaken BIM in terms of uptake within the business and has very much become our go-to tool for information,” says Sophie Stouki, Head of GIS for Operations, at Costain.

“The ability of ArcGIS to collate data from many internal and third party sources and make it available to lots of people via a web browser is really powerful,” Stouki adds. “Employees don’t need advanced data skills or training to be able to access and use a wealth of open source and live operational data. We currently have around 1200 ArcGIS users, but this figure is going to explode into the thousands. GIS is going to be a part of pretty much every project going forwards.”

Effective data sharing and collaboration
Costain’s enterprise GIS platform has significantly improved data sharing within the organisation and made it possible for employees to access a wide range of data sources on demand, from any location, via interactive web maps. As a result, employees now collaborate more effectively and save time across a wide range of activities. For instance, a team of ten environmental specialists has saved as many as 18 hours a week by using an ArcGIS web portal to gain rapid access to environmental data, reducing both the cost and duration of a key client project.

Increased productivity in the field
The roll-out of mobile ArcGIS apps in the field has led to significant productivity improvements, as employees no longer have to travel back to the office to find out information, print out maps or type up reports. For example, road inspectors working on one of the company’s largest highways management contracts now complete 60% more surveys in a week and provide live asset updates to the control room, rather than submitting reports three days later.

More efficient delivery of services
ArcGIS helps Costain to deliver more efficient services to its clients by making it far easier for employees to identify individual street assets and record information about their condition. Contact centre operatives, for example, have the information they need at their fingertips to identify faulty street lights accurately and can pass on a more precise location to the maintenance teams. Costain can, therefore, affect repairs more promptly and deliver a responsive service for its local authority clients and citizens.

Improved management of large contracts
On long-term highways maintenance contracts the use of ArcGIS helps managers to better understand the extent of required works. They can see, at a glance, which areas of grass and vegetation they are responsible for cutting and ensure verges and hedges covered by the contract are not missed. Equally, they can easily see adopted and private land, as well as third party apparatus, and avoid unnecessary interventions and associated costs.

A commercial advantage in tenders for new business
In a highly competitive marketplace, Costain is now better able to tender for high value new contracts as it uses ArcGIS to help demonstrate its ability to deliver advanced, technology-driven engineering solutions. “Prospective clients increasingly see GIS not as a nice-to-have, but as a definite requirement,” explains McManus. “Our extended use of ArcGIS puts us in a stronger position to win new business and deliver exceptional service for our clients in some of the UK’s biggest engineering projects.”

In October 2017, Storm Ophelia propelled hurricane-strength winds across Ireland, taking the lives of three people and causing substantial damage. Yet extreme weather like this can no longer be assumed to be a rare occurrence. According to some estimates, the frequency of storms and severe rainfall events in winter and autumn in Ireland could increase by up to 30 per cent.

Recognising the risk to its local communities, Cork County Council wanted to improve its ability to monitor and communicate the impact of extreme weather events on its road network. It sought to collate information about roads blocked by flood, fallen trees and heavy snowfall and provide this information in near real-time to council teams, in an easily understood format, so that they could respond more effectively, learn from past events and improve communication to the public.

The council already used Esri’s ArcGIS web geographic information system (GIS) technology within its organisation and had access to Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform. It also subscribed to a geographic public alert service called MapAlerter, which it used to inform the public on severe weather events and scheduled road closures via text messages to subscribers of the system, as well as posting the information on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. The council decided to leverage its existing investment in both of these services to create a bespoke solution that assists with emergency management.

Now, when field-based council employees observe an issue on a road during exceptional weather, they report it to MapAlerter via text, using road segment codes and message templates. This information is then not only used to generate MapAlerter posts, but is also automatically passed to the ArcGIS Online platform, where it is displayed on an interactive map in near real-time. During storms, teams in the council’s Emergency Incident Room, roads department and other service areas can all view this Severe Weather Map to see a clear picture of the extent of road disruption right across the county. The map refreshes automatically every minute, highlighting new issues as they are reported.

Cork County Council has two views of this information. The first, the ArcGIS Online Severe Weather Map, displays the current situation and can be made available to not only council employees, but also the general public and emergency responders, via Twitter, Facebook, MapAlerter and other news channels. The second version is an ArcGIS Server Portal Map for internal use only, where all the historical data from past events is displayed and can be viewed using the time slider function, so that the council’s staff can look back in time to identify hot spots where the same issues have occurred in sequential extreme weather events.

As ArcGIS Online is a hosted solution, it offers high availability, even in the worst of storms, which is a significant advantage for Cork County Council. “If our offices in Cork are flooded and our in-house IT systems go down, or if senior managers cannot travel into work, we can view the ArcGIS Online map from a temporary emergency centre or from home,” says Judith Vonhof, IS Project Leader at Cork County Council. “In crisis situations, it’s reassuring to know that Esri Ireland has the resources to keep our Severe Weather Map available 24/7.”

Fast, effective responses during extreme weather events
ArcGIS Online provides a single point of reference, where all council employees can see the same, accurate, up-to-date view of an emergency situation, in a clear visual format, as incidents unfold. As a result, council managers can make faster decisions about how best to allocate resources to clear fallen trees at the earliest opportunity following the storm. Similarly, if managers can see that both major roads to West Cork are flooded, for example, the council’s emergency team can direct field-based teams to the area as a priority to erect signs to warn the public of the potential danger.

Improved long term emergency planning
Cork County Council can use the historical maps and time slider functionality of ArcGIS Server to better understand the impacts of past events and use this insight to prioritise road improvements that could help minimise disruption in the future. “You can never know for certain what the next storm will bring,” says Mr Tim Lucey, Chief Executive of Cork County Council. “But, this historic information enables us to look back at previous severe weather events and learn from the past.”

Better information for the public and emergency services
During major storms, Cork County Council can now play an important role in helping to keep members of the public aware of potential hazards and obstructions on the roads. By directing local citizens to the map with all the latest information, the council can help them make better choices about whether to make non-essential journeys and which routes to take. Emergency responders, such as the fire and ambulance service, can also refer to the map to see the latest status and make better decisions about the best routes to reach people in dire need.

Summing up, Mr Lucey adds, “With the frequency and severity of storms increasing, councils need to be prepared for dealing with them. This system has certainly assisted with this.”