Ohio DOT Adopts GIS-Based EQuIS

01 July 2009, 3:13pm

Redlands, California — July 1, 2009 — The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will implement an enterprise version of EarthSoft's Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) for ArcGIS to better manage, analyze, and share geotechnical data throughout the organization. An agreement between ODOT and EarthSoft, an ESRI business partner, will see EarthSoft provide the transportation industry standard Data Interchange for Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists (DIGGS) as electronic data deliverables (EDD). The new data will then reside and be accessible through ODOT's enterprise-wide geographic information system (GIS)-supported EQuIS database.

Built on the ESRI ArcGIS software platform, which boasts key interoperability and Web computing concepts, EQuIS Enterprise combines high-volume EDD processing with integrated .NET Web applications for publishing reports and graphics to an unlimited number of users. As EDDs are received through any combination of e-mail, FTP, or Web channels, they are automatically processed by EarthSoft's EQuIS Data Processor (EDP) and, if no data errors are found, they are posted to the EQuIS database. Through its automated data upload process that can be done from the field or the office, EQuIS will allow ODOT to streamline its data management system and workflow.

ODOT estimates it has more than 1.2 million paper-based files stored in warehouses and believes that by transferring its historical data to the GIS-based EQuIS, it will reduce duplication of past field-based projects by 10 to 20 percent and save 12 to 24 million dollars per year. EQuIS will be the data warehouse to help realize these savings.

"ODOT has been working to implement a geotechnical data management system for several years," said Kirk Beach, geology program supervisor for ODOT's Office of Geotechnical Engineering, Geology and Exploration Section. "We expect our EQuIS-based geotechnical data management system not only to result in substantial savings annually but also to make critical information available to ODOT districts, our consultants, and others in the Ohio geotechnical community."

GIS for transportation allows agencies such as ODOT to manage roadway assets such as signs, pavement, and bridges and analyze data, author maps, and create models on the desktop; serve them to a GIS server; and use them through Web, desktop, and mobile clients. ESRI's ArcGIS family of products includes desktop, server, mobile, and online GIS as well as ESRI data. ArcGIS software is an important tool in managing planning, evaluating, and maintaining transportation systems.

ESRI

Geo: International