165 Organizations use GIS for infrastructure management to model, connect, and enable relationships of the built, social, and natural worlds with advanced visualizations and analytics across the entire infrastructure life cycle. Vodafone created a high-resolution digital twin of its network coverage in the UK using GIS technology. Originally aimed at producing a better map, it has evolved into a more effective planning tool for engineers and the company as a whole. “Initially, it was purely a question of producing a better map,” said Boris Pitchforth, lead architect at Vodafone. “Now it has become a much smarter way for us to plan.” Rebecca King, GIS lead at Vodafone, shared that the digital twin not only allows for better signal propagation modeling across coverage areas but also helps mitigate issues caused by physical obstructions such as tree growth. Vodafone’s digital twin allows the company to plan for future expansions such as new housing, shopping centers, and sports venues. The Vodafone digital twin for Britain—representing 245,000 square kilometers—contains various levels of immersive 3D detail that give anyone at the carrier the ability to see the invisible signals the company creates and sells. The team responsible for designing the first underground railway in Australia’s fastest-growing city, Brisbane, created a detailed and up-to-date 3D model of the project and the city above it using GIS. This digital twin has been instrumental in visualizing the project, guiding the construction process, and facilitating stakeholder engagement. Russell Vine, Cross River’s chief innovation officer, shared the advice they received from the Crossrail project in London: “They basically said, ‘We would have built a bigger, better 3D digital model sooner.’” Consequently, Cross River implemented a federated BIM model, integrating BIM information into a single file that depicts the entire project. This digital twin has been instrumental in visualizing the project, guiding the construction process, and facilitating stakeholder engagement. The US Army Corps of Engineers has developed a digital twin to manage the complex task of maintaining the waterways of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River’s volatile water levels often cause national concern as it is the primary route for most grain exports and other key commodities. The US Army Corps of Engineers, to better manage and anticipate these changes, has developed a digital twin system known as NavPortal. This system uses GIS technology to monitor river conditions, operations, and vessel traffic. Infrastructure Ned Mitchell, a research civil engineer at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center and NavPortal product manager, said, “We’ve got hundreds of dredge locations nationwide, and we need a tool like NavPortal to be our early warning indicator. We need to see the worst trouble spots forming before they become full-blown emergencies.” The NavPortal system combines cloud computing, ship tracking, and AI to process and present huge volumes of data, providing an operations-wide digital twin. Miami International Airport (MIA), the 10th-busiest airport in the US, decided to transition to an all-digital workflow in 2022. It did this by replacing a paper-based inspection process with tablets running apps built with GIS technology. Maurice Jenkins, MIA’s division director of Information Systems and Telecommunications, emphasized the benefits of this transition. Jenkins stated, “It’s clear-cut, it’s concise. No one has to worry about deciphering an inspector’s cryptic notes or interpreting what that individual meant when they made that notation. There’s no paper to worry about—it can save hundreds of trees—and there’s no wait for someone to input the data. There are so many benefits, but mainly it’s about the processing speed and the increased accuracy that allow us to focus on what’s taking place on the airfield.” Virginia’s SMART SCALE program uses GIS technology to prioritize infrastructure projects based on factors such as safety, congestion, accessibility, land use, the environment, and economic development. The program has been instrumental in enabling Virginia to embark on one of the country’s largest transportation projects—the expansion of the Hampton Roads BridgeTunnel. “People are realizing that we need to attack transportation problems in a fundamentally different way,” said Chad Tucker, SMART SCALE project manager. “There’s a lot of great data sources that we have now that we can rely on to focus on the real problem areas and try to move the needle from a performance standpoint.” The GIS-powered SMART SCALE approach ensures continuity across project description, features, sketch, and estimate. It provides a public dashboard for stakeholders to follow progress locally or across the state. Modern infrastructure management requires holistic thinking on both micro and macro scales. A geographic approach to planning and operations helps leaders understand how infrastructure projects relate to surrounding environments. GIS is the nervous system for modern infrastructure management, connecting systems, workforces, organizations, and communities.
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