Five eureka moments created from multi-dimensional thinking

In this piece Shaz Qamar at Esri UK will take a look at five businesses usinggeographic information systems to analyse a wide variety of datasets, aiding multi-dimensional thinking in order to create, spectacular discoveries that change the way they work and the way we live.

1) Jaguar Land Rover – creating the perfect car
Jaguar Land Rover use maps to model and analyse a wide variety of datasets including weather, average rainfall, temperature, humidity and altitude, at each of its 172 customer locations. Each dataset provides a different perspective and is then overlaid onto road network maps to increase the understanding of the driving conditions, optimise the design of vehicles in all terrains and finalise vital manufacturing design decisions.

2) Public Health England - improving our nation’s health
Imagine having the ability to foresee the spread of disease. Maps provide the perfect platform to visualise such data, to find patterns and trends, make predictions and most importantly in this case, prevent future outbreaks.

Public Health England uses geographic information systems to better understand health information, including: the risk from and spread of disease; the ecology of vector borne disease; radiation, chemical and environmental hazards; emergency response; accessibility of health services; and identifying, understanding and finding solutions to reduce health inequalities.

3) Avon and Somerset Constabulary keep our homes safe
Just like the spread of disease, patterns in crime can also be visualised and analysed on a map, to prevent, prepare and protect. Smart policing ensures that scarce resources are directed to the right place at the right time, helping to keep us all safe. Geographic information systems have the power to extract actionable police intelligence from terabytes of data and deliver it in an easily digestible, incisive format that works for all parties, from the chief superintendent in the command centre to the police constable in the town centre

4) Westminster City Council finds the best locations for our children’s schools
With the continued growth of the UK’s school-age population, councils need to think hard about the best ways to meet this growing demand for education. Westminster City Council has gained a much deeper understanding of the challenges by visualising patterns in pupil numbers, drawing on ward-level population growth projections from the Greater London Authority. This has helped the council approve three new primary schools and one school expansion, creating the much-needed extra capacity in its borough.

5) South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive improve public transport services
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) is responsible for driving the development of the public transportation network in South Yorkshire and making information about bus, rail and tram services available to over 1.3 million people.

By including geographic information systems at the heart of its customer relationship management SYPTE has centralised all of the organisation’s customer data, systems and processes.