Expert GIS Training and Services
Expert GIS Training and Services
CASESTUDIES
Salford GIS Limited have been involved in many projects, ranging from single day consultancy exercises, to long term project management.
Initially contracted in 2007, Salford GIS assisted Sport Wales to prepare a technical specification, manage a tender process, and appoint a contractor for the development of the Active Places Wales web application to promote sports activity throughout the country.
The successful implementation of this system led to further requirements for spatial data and analysis in a number of areas within the organisation and Salford GIS have been called upon to assist on a number of subsequent occasions right up to the present day.
These projects have included; training, the development of workflows, data analysis, volume map production and most recently assistance in the early stages of specifying a complex management information system which will facilitate the interrogation of data from many sources.
The involvement of Salford GIS has enabled Sport Wales to meet tight deadlines and overcome peaks in workload when limited internal resources and skills would have struggled to cope.
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SPORT WALES
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WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND
In November 2008, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council appointed Salford GIS Limited as project managers to oversee the specification, procurement and implementation of a replacement corporate GIS and associated back-office systems. Working alongside the Council’s ICT Manager and GIS Manager, the independent GIS Consultant from Salford GIS provided additional resource to complement the existing internal skills.
The Council is a keen advocate of GIS and over the past 15 years has benefited from the practical application of GIS-based systems across numerous business areas including Planning, Building Control, Highways and Engineering, Waste Management and Electoral Services. In addition to providing desktop, intranet and Internet-based functionality, the current system also incorporates back-office applications to serve the needs of Local Land Charges, Land Terrier, Leases and Licensing, and Environmental Health users. Senior Managers and Elected Members recognise the strategic importance of Geographic Information and acknowledge that the Authority could not now function effectively without this core technology.
The first phase of the project entailed a comprehensive review into the use and management of the current systems and data. Based on a thorough understanding of the existing situation and a clear statement of future requirements, the independent consultant was able to assist in the detailed specification of the medium to long term requirements for the replacement systems.
Key elements of the specification included the need for replacement systems for Local Land Charges and Estates Management. Both systems are required to integrate with the replacement corporate GIS to allow for the sharing and dissemination of data. In addition it is essential that the new corporate GIS integrates with other relevant back-office systems and GIS software in use throughout the Council, the County Council, neighbouring local authorities and strategic partners.
A business case was prepared and presented to the Senior Management Team. In addition all Elected Members were invited to attend a GIS Project Briefing. This helped to raise awareness of GIS and served to emphasise the significant benefits that the Council were already receiving as a result of embracing the technology as a core business tool.
A formal EU procurement process was adopted during which Salford GIS were able to guide the Council through the short-listing and tendering processes culminating in the detailed evaluation of proposals from potential suppliers. Preferred suppliers have been appointed and formal contracts are in the process of being drawn up.
Salford GIS Limited will continue to oversee the implementation and integration of the various systems and will also provide advice and guidance on data cleansing, data migration and the establishment of an ongoing system and data management framework.
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SALFORD CITY COUNCIL
Walking off a client site for the final time is not usually a newsworthy event, but in the case of our work with Salford City Council it is cause for celebration.
Way back in 2004 we were asked to prepare a Corporate GIS Strategy for Salford City Council. Amongst other recommendations this strategy proposed an approach which would enable them to develop a system which would allow access to maps and mapping data across the whole council, as well as developing a map based interface for the public.
Despite their best efforts to recruit a GIS Manager the authority failed and once again turned to Salford GIS to assist in implementing the adopted strategy, initially on a six month secondment, working two days a week.
A provider was selected, and corporate GIS implemented, initially providing a shared spatial data warehouse and intranet and internet mapping, along with the tools to develop further applications.
The implementation was well received by staff, elected members, and the public and as a result we were asked to stay on to further the development of this important corporate resource.
Over the last six years we have; helped Salford Council have developed their centralised corporate data store, implemented over a dozen map based services for internal, external and partner use, and played a key role in the winning of five national awards.
David Hunter, Assistant Director ICT stated;
'Salford GIS Limited have been invaluable in specifying, implementing, and over recent years, managing our corporate mapping. As their direct involvement draws to an end they have spent time transferring their expert knowledge to our in-house staff to enable them to build on the excellent platform which they have established.
‘We are now in a position where mapping is fundamental to many of our processes both in dealing with the public and internally within the Council. The movement towards map-based self-service means that we are more efficient in dealing with enquiries, can provide the public with direct access to the information that they require, and enable third parties to access and use our map-based information in other innovative ways. Salford GIS Limited have partnered Salford City Council as we have entered the mapping age.'
Salford City Council are now convinced of the fundamental role which GIS can play within their organisation and have recruited a full-time Corporate GIS Manager to build upon the excellent foundations laid by Salford GIS Ltd.
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SPORT WALES
Salford GIS has had a long-term relationship with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland (DARDNI) stretching back as far as 2005.
A number of interesting projects have been completed during this time. Initial work included; the research and documentation of a GIS position statement for the whole organisation, the development of a corporate GIS Strategy, and a post-implementation review of Forest GIS.
More recently projects have included the preparation of a detailed technical specification for; the procurement of corporate GIS and associated development services, a full spatial data audit, and an evaluation and position statement on the fitness-for-purpose of the current Forest GIS implementation.
On all these projects the consultants from Salford GIS worked alongside DARDs own staff and with partner organisations to deliver reports and specifications which, while technically complex, were also written to be understandable to the non-technical spatial data user.
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NTA
In 2011 Salford GIS were commissioned by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in Dublin to help with the development of a Geospatial Information Strategy.
The NTA is a newly established state body with a remit to provide better and more sustainable ways for people to travel. This is achieved through a planning, co-ordination and monitoring role with other statutory agencies over the provision of public bus, tram, rail, taxi and ferry services at a national level. The NTA is currently consulting with partner organisations, stakeholders and customers on a Draft Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area to cover the period up to 2030. The proposed Geospatial Information Strategy will underpin the Transport Strategy and enable NTA to adopt an appropriate co-ordinated approach to the collection, storage, management and use of spatial data.
Salford GIS examined many of the business processes and data flows and helped evaluate the range and provenance of relevant datasets. Salford GIS have made recommendations regarding the ongoing management of these datasets and the standards that should be adopted based around the use of appropriate national standards for public transport and network data. As a result we were able to propose a means of building and maintaining an Enterprise Geodatabase for use by both internal users and external stakeholders that would form the basis of a National Public Transport database.