9th September 2020

Digital capabilities, specifically geospatial, are growing across the infrastructure industry with new innovations that improve decision making, efficiency and sustainability. Within GIS we see more and more complex technology integration and applications with improved hardware, updated software, efficient processes, and skilled analysts across more networks. While this progress is positive, we sometimes forget the backbone of our innovations, and the final component of GIS… data!

As an industry we are becoming very good at collecting, analysing, and visualising data, but what about data management? Data administration and management is key in the efficient integration of geospatial technology, ensuring that our applications run smoothly whilst hosting data in various formats from various sources. These processes are simple in theory, and can be implemented practically in an internal environment, however complications can arise when data is to be shared externally with delivery partners. Implementing best practice techniques such as consistent naming conventions, archiving and cataloguing datasets are vital to an effective and efficient data exchange between contractors. Bad practice and mismanagement of data can easily result in data being mislabelled, in an incompatible format, or in the incorrect geospatial reference. It takes time to correct these errors, increasing time and cost to the project.

In the worst scenario, bad practice in data management leads to the disappearance of data. This happens more frequently than it should. Accountability in these cases is not always clear and it is ultimately the client that must pay for the man hours required to recapture and reformat data. If the data that has disappeared has already been visualised in a pdf map, then data can be recaptured through geo-referencing and digitising, however the data may not contain as detailed or accurate attributes as the original. If no references are available, then data will need to be collected in the field by an appropriate surveyor.

Recapturing, verifying, and formatting data can take weeks and can cost thousands in man hours.

If everyone can spend an extra 10 minutes a week to ensure they are following best practice for data management, we could improve data handover between contractors, save the cost of further data cleansing, and avoid the headache of data disappearances.