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Custom GIS in Eastern Region

GIS to the Rescue!

The Structural Section of MTO's Eastern Region is enhancing their ability to use data by creating a customized Geographic Information System (GIS). Steve Reid (Senior Structural Drafter), and Al Roud (Engineering Systems Officer) of the Structural Section initiated this project because of the difficulty they had doing culvert inspections. Their project has provided Eastern Region with thematic mapping capability specifically tailored to the needs of the Structural Section. Moreover, their project has demonstrated how any office can use GIS to improve operations.

The story of Eastern Region's GIS initiative began with the difficulties that the region had when trying to find culverts at the side of highways. Before the GIS were implemented, engineers would have to drive slowly along the shoulder of a highway trying to find a culvert visually. To deal with this issue, Eastern Region's staff began using a handheld Global Positions System (GPS) to record the exact position of culverts.

Unfortunately, the time intensive activity of gathering GPS coordinates provided a major challenge to collecting data. This prompted Reid and Roud to develop more efficient research techniques in their search for the location of culverts. Some co-ordinates were found using an existing pool of data. Others were found using aerial photography. This research amassed a complete database in a fraction of the time it would have taken if done in the field manually.

More recently, Steve Reid and Al Roud received GIS training. This gave them the ability to take their GPS data and organize it into the practical format of a map. Using ArcGIS, an integrated collection of GIS software, they created a GIS that combined maps with databases containing information regarding bridges and culverts.

Eastern Region now has a culvert and bridge database that is compatible with GIS. Using either one of these databases, users can create any number of thematic maps and display specific features on them as defined by a simple query. For example, a user may choose to view only culverts, and classify them by size or condition into different colors.

Eastern Region's engineers find that this GIS is a valuable addition to field work. Now, as Steve Reid describes, "Having our map loaded onto a laptop computer with a GPS connected allows us to drive and monitor our movement." This takes the guesswork out of finding culverts and bridges. "This [also] provides a much safer and efficient way to do culvert inspections," said Reid.

Moreover, Harold Kleywegt, also of Eastern Region's Structural Section, noted that the training one goes through to begin using this software is fairly light. It took Reid and Roud a mere four months, through an on-line course, to pick up the necessary skills.

"The sky's the limit," says Kleywegt, who has nothing but praise for Al, Steve, and GIS. He hopes this technology continues to develop and be adopted in all parts of Eastern Region and other jurisdictions over the next few years.