Integrating Facility Delivery through Spatial Information

A geographic information system (GIS) can aid the solution of engineering problems that involve spatial and nonspatial data components. The potential of GIS for urban planning and development applications has not been realized. One such application is the use of GIS for collecting, analyzing, and presenting data used by the construction industry for urban planning and development. Implementation of a GIS can integrate the facility delivery process that involves planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Complete, accurate, and consistent information facilitates efficient design and improves decision making. The results are the abilities to plan and develop urban areas more efficiently, increase coordination of construction projects with the surrounding urban area, and reduce fragmentation in the construction industry. This paper presents an overview of the facility delivery process and describes its integration through a GIS framework that allows for sharing of construction data and urban planning information among the participants in the process. Such a GIS is comprised of complex software components that must interact through shared data. To build a GIS for facility delivery, a number of organizational, software, and hardware problems must be addressed. Implementation issues are discussed in this paper including technological, organizational, social, and economic impediments that require future research.