GIS & Facilities - NJAPPA Talk - April 26 2012

Facilities & GIS

Who are we?

Rowan University GeoLab• John Reiser

Campus GIS Specialist• Michael King

GIS Associate• Christopher Nagy

GIS Associate

• The Geospatial Research Lab is housed in the Department of Geography & Environment.

• We support the department through research projects, computer lab & GIS infrastructure management.

• Some of the best students in our department are paid interns for the GeoLab gaining experience on myriad projects.

Our relationship with Facilities

• Introduced to Facilities by a former administrator. • Began producing updates to campus maps.• Evolved into on-demand map production

services.• MOU between G&E and Facilities outlining

deliverables, compensation, access to data, etc.

So what exactly is GIS?

Maps.

More than just maps.

Geographic Information Systems

• GIS is a system that can “transform map data into a structured, non-graphic format amenable to computer processing” and back. – As defined by Roger Tomlinson in 1973.

• GIS can perform local & global analyses on data from a variety of sources.

• Data must be tied to locations near the surface of the Earth.

GIS Instruction at Rowan

• Recently approved Bachelors of Science in GIS.• GIS part of Geography curriculum since 1980s.• Full curriculum dealing with cartography, data

management, visualization practices, 3D modeling, spatial analysis, remote sensing and web mapping.

• Students are well prepared for the workforce or for graduate studies.

Student Involvement

• Without reliable data, GIS is not very powerful.• Our GIS database began with a CAD document

produced by a consultant.• Student efforts have made our DB grow to

include new features and updates to existing data.

• Students participate in all facets of our work, from data collection to project management.

GIS STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

Chris Nagy & Mike King

GPS Projects

Outdoor Lighting – 869 points collected

Storm Drains – 261 points collected

Emergency Poles – 94 points collected

Campus Assets Outdoor Seating - 146 Trash Receptacles -

140 Signage - 352 Bicycle Facilities - 73

Campus Assets

GeoLab Equipment and Software Trimble

GeoExplorer XH External Antenna Trupulse 360B GPS enabled

camera Plotter Ipad

Pathfinder Terra Sync Microsoft Office ArcGIS Adobe Illustrator AutoCAD

GIS Projects

Planning Block and Lot maps West Campus

Development Campus

Interior Spaces Parking Lots Parking Re-

pavement Plan Contour Map Smoking Buffer

West Campus Development

Smoking Buffer Map

Benefits of Student GIS Workers Do not need to

outsource work Availability of student

workers Cost effective Hands on work

experience for students

Flexible work schedule for students

Exposure to working environments

Benefits of Student GIS Workers

Paid internship Supports our

school Networking Connectivity to

Campus Administrators

Student Involvement

• Student involvement is key to the success of the GeoLab and our relationship with Facilities.

• Bright minds looking to create an impact.

• Look internally to the greater university community.

More than static maps.

• GIS is a great tool to have for map production, but it is far more valuable than that.

• GPS is great for data collection, but with thousands of GPS-enabled mobile devices on campus every day, we need to begin thinking about GPS as more than just an engineering tool.

• GIS, coupled with near-ubiquitous Internet connections, can provide constant updates and immediate feedback.

-Cyclonebiskit

-MTA

-Hurricanehink

-Mel Evans, AP

Campus Viewer

• Web map was pulled together the day before Irene made landfall in New Jersey.

• Contour data was generated from public LIDAR data sources & overlaid on campus facilities data, such as locations of storm drains.

• Links were sent out to Facilities and Public Safety.

Common Operating Picture

• The DoD and the National Guard are moving towards sharing situational information internally via intranet using a web map interface.

• New Hampshire has made great strides towards a networked COP.

• Coupled to the E911 system, they can visualize both the need for emergency response throughout the State and where resources are currently allocated.

NH’s COP

Making Facilities Visible

• Students rely on Facilities every day they are on campus, but often have no idea about Facilities.

• We are working with Facilities Administration on some projects to help improve the visibility of Facilities to the students & greater community.

Disseminating Campus Information

• Using GIS through a web interface allows for many potential projects that would benefit and interest the greater community:– Campus virtual tours for potential students– Public tours of available art and scupture– Smartphone-based walking tour of an arboretum– Graffiti and vandalism reporting– General campus wayfinding: getting there from here!

Space Finder!http://gis.rowan.edu/projects/finder

It’s interactive!http://gis.rowan.edu/projects/finder

Geolocation: will bring up your current locationin relation to the selected room.

Loads today’s events for the selectedspace from 25Live.

Geolocation: will bring up your current locationin relation to the selected room.

Brings up 25Live in a new window.

Quick peek at the room capacity.

Loads today’s events for the selectedspace from 25Live.

Improving the Space Finder

• Interior photos of every space.• Using OpenStreetMap/MapQuest, incorporate

walking directions to spaces on campus.• User authentication:– Students can have their course schedule visualized on

a campus map, with walking directions.– Event Services staff will be able to reserve & monitor– Public Safety can have a COP that will depict an

estimated amount of students in a given building, based on enrollment data

Software Services

• Portions of the Space Finder application will be made available through the GPL on GitHub.(In plain English, parts of the software will be free for anyone’s use.)

Power of GIS

• The capabilities of GIS are clear.• Many potential uses for facilities managers.• Used by many in a variety of academic

departments and an internal collaboration like the one at Rowan is likely at your institution.

• Students are a great resource and are capable of assisting you on great projects.

Thank you!

Rowan UniversityGeospatial Research Labhttp://gis.rowan.edu/856-256-4861@rowangeolab

John ReiserCampus GIS [email protected]@johnjreiser