Esri Ireland revolutionises sustainable public transport projects for DBFL Consulting Engineers

Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), is today announcing that it is transforming the delivery of more sustainable public transport projects for DBFL Consulting Engineers, one of Ireland’s leading consultancies for civil, structural and transportation engineering.

DBFL needed the ability to view, analyse, and share geospatial data and maps more extensively across both transportation and civil engineering projects. Esri designed a tailored solution based on its ArcGIS technology which is enhancing DBFL’s approach to complex project assessments. DBFL is extending its use of ArcGIS to gain insight into key issues such as sustainable transport.

For example, the technology has been used to visualise the proportion of people using private, public, and active transport for work trips in County Wicklow. The system is also enabling DBFL to analyse catchment areas and evaluate walking times to bus stops and train stations. It easily identifies barriers to public transport use and proposes new access routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

In addition, Esri’s ArcGIS is being used to conduct route, transport, and site audits in the field, including a recent audit of a proposed new cycle route in Dublin. Engineers can collect and upload data and images in real time from their mobile devices while walking these routes, and the information is uploaded directly to ArcGIS Online, a central system which can be accessed by all team members. DBFL is increasingly using the platform for communicating and sharing data with its clients.

Esri’s system is underpinning growth for DBFL, as the enhanced service offering is enabling the company to tender for an increasing number of projects. It’s more cost efficient as it accelerates the delivery of projects and reduces the need for written reports. Esri’s technology has also streamlined workflows for DBFL’s employees with increased collaboration and improved data sharing. DBFL anticipates that as many as 80 engineers, working on both transportation and civil engineering projects across the business, will use the technology as a vital part of their day-to-day work.

Danny Pio Murphy, Associate (Transportation), DBFL Consulting Engineers: “There is high demand for GIS analysis and digital mapping. Since expanding our use of ArcGIS, we have begun to attract more private and public sector clients who want GIS analysis and reports. ArcGIS Online is particularly effective for presenting our results in a non-technical way. Now that the technology is accessible to more engineers at DBFL, we can use it to add value to a larger number of projects, both in transportation and civil engineering. We are really pleased with the direction we are heading in; we are passionate about what we do and are happy that we can now make more use of ArcGIS to make cities safer and create a more sustainable world.”

 Jack Ffrench, Account Manager, Esri Ireland, said: “We are delighted to build on our valued partnership with DBFL Consulting Engineers. As one of Ireland’s leading engineering consultancies, the use of accurate and up-to-date geospatial data is crucial as its existing and prospective customers increasingly require geospatial data and analysis as part of new project specifications. By using ArcGIS, DBFL has been able to improve insights into complex engineering projects, lower costs, and scale its business. We look forward to continuing to build on this relationship and support the team in providing these important and innovative services.”

Esri Ireland’s digital mapping transforms the delivery of public services for Wicklow County Council

Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), is today announcing that it has helped Wicklow County Council to migrate their geospatial data and GIS services to the cloud, improving internal processes and transforming the delivery of public services.

For more than 25 years, Wicklow County Council has used Esri’s ArcGIS solutions in areas ranging from local development planning to highways maintenance. Now, with its ArcGIS Online system, Wicklow County Council’s data can be accessed in one central and secure cloud-based location and up-to-date data can be made available to the public faster than before.

The scalable system is underpinning the rollout of services to 142,000 citizens in Wicklow and enabled the council to build a new Residential Zoned Land Tax app in just half a day. User experience is improved as data from planning applications is now updated daily and receives thousands of views per day, while planning queries now load in a matter of seconds. In addition, Wicklow County Council can publish its County Development Plan immediately, as soon as it is formally adopted.

Esri’s technology is saving time for Wicklow County Council’s 850 employees as it eliminates the need for software updates and server upgrades with additional storage. Without the time-consuming burden of server management, the council’s GIS team can focus on creating new web apps to improve public services.

ArcGIS Online also simplifies data management, making it easier for the council to keep its 450 data sets current and availablesuch as information on vacant development sites. The migration has resulted in a six-fold increase in the performance of the council’s web-based GIS apps for both employees and members of the public who engage with these services. The system can handle peaks in traffic without any disruptions and returns search results rapidly.

Paddy O’Flaherty, GIS Officer, Wicklow County Council said: Managing data and maintaining our GIS platform is so much easier than before. Things that were a chore can now be done with the click of a button. Users can select a thousand features, and ArcGIS Online will still return the results straight away.

“Not only did we migrate data to ArcGIS Online; we also did a thorough data quality review, to make sure that the data we were sharing online was the primary and most accurate data set available. ArcGIS Online has freed up time to develop more GIS services to improve our delivery of public services.”

Ted Taylor, Technical Account Manager, Esri Ireland: “We are delighted to be working once again with Wicklow County Council. It’s fantastic to see them embrace new technologies which will ensure resilience for the future. ArcGIS Online provides quick and reliable access to information, streamlines workflows, and improves programme performance, meaning the council can continue to provide vital resources to the public quickly and efficiently. We look forward to continuing to work with them to enhance these services for the residents of County Wicklow.”