Author: Akshay Upadhyay

Owner and Director of a Private Limited company which serves individual to large scale industries in the field of Maps and GIS. He is a Gold Medalist in M.Tech(Spatial Information Technology) and owns some famous Technology blogs and website... Know more

Convert GeoJSON to TopoJSON – GIS

Convert GeoJSON to TopoJSON. GeoJSON is an open standard format designed for representing simple geographical features, along with their non-spatial attributes, based on JavaScript Object Notation. The need of conversion is to reduce the size of data, so that rendering of data on browser can be made faster. TopoJSON (topological geospatial data) is an extension of GeoJSON that encodes topology. Here we have explored two methods for conversion of GeoJSON to TopoJSON (i.e. online and offline).

Use Online Converter Tool – Geojson to TopoJSON MapOG

Offline Method to Convert GeoJSON to TopoJSON:

You can directly convert GeoJSON to TopoJSON with the help of topojoson-server node package manager. For using this package you need to first install node js in your system (can be installed in windows, linux based operating system or Mac).

If you have Shapefile or KML file, then you can refere this articles i.e convert kml to shapefile, convert shapefile to GeoJSON and converting shapefile to kml, so that you can generate new GeoJSON file out of other GIS format files.

Convert GeoJSON to TopoJSON – NPM method

NPM (Node Package Manager) is a command-line utility that aids in package installation, version management, and dependency management or can be considered npm as a tool that helps to install another tools like topojson-server.

For this method you need to download node.js which is available https://nodejs.org/en/ here. After successful installation you need to check npm availability using command

  • npm –check.

If not available use

  • npm install -g npm-check
convert geojson to topojson
convert geojson to topojson

After this you need to install topojson-server for conversion of data that can be done by using

  • npm install -g topojson-server

Now all setup is ready

Use geo2topo command to convert geojson data to topojson data

  • geo2topo –o geo.json topo.json

Where geo.json is the geojson file i.e input file and topo.json is the file we are creating with the name topo as topo.json file i.e output file.

Here –o is output. If command doesn’t run and gives error as no such file or directory. Then specify full path for file for both input and output. It is recommended that you run this command from the same directory where geo.json file is stored.

If you don’t have any input files ready or any geojson or shapefile then you can download free GIS data fromat for testing this article.

Online method: Convert GeoJson to TopoJson

This is the simple and fast method. For the conversion you just need to drag the geojson file in http://mapshaper.org/ site. Then use export option to convert this data into topojson format. Map shaper website render and convert the file in the browser itself, but it you might face problem while converting a big geojson file. 

I hope that this methods listed above to convert geojson to topojson would have helped you in achieving result. If you find any problem or know any other method to perform this operation and want to share with us, then do let us know by commenting below, in the box provided.

Geographic Information System (GIS) for Telecom Sector Industry

Earlier the basic necessities were limited to food, clothes and Shelter. As we all know , that, everything changes with the time, so has had happened with the basic necessities of an individual. Basic necessities of an Individual has also changed over a period of time. Telecom is an add on to the basic necessities of an Individual. Unlike, the earlier basic necessities, telecom has so much to do with technology. Of those technologies, GIS is the one playing major role for telecom Industry. Lets see, how GIS for Telecom is useful, reasons to use GIS for telecom.

Use IGIS Map Tool in Telecommunication

What is Telecom Industry ?

Telecom Industry is one of the Vast and the Vital industry, serving its customers with varied number of players. Telecom Industry has enormous number of companies making it an Industry. It is a service providing industry, Consisting of telecom companies like IDEA, Airtel, Vodafone and many more are there.

GIS - Telecom Industry
GIS – Telecom Industry

Telecom industry makes us communicate over networks. It helps us to connect with our friends, family, relatives. Now here the question popping in our mind is how do they provide these services in every corner of the country, what might be the problems faced by them , how do they solve these problems?

Problems Faced by Telecom Industry :

Every Success is the result of Hardships and hardships can be done only by facing challenges. So, telecom industry too faces so many problems for satisfying its customers. The major Problems faced by telecom Industry are :

  • Capacity planning
  • Personnel management
  • market Segmentation
  • Real-Time knowledge of  Network structure.
  • Demand Forecasting

Now, lets discuss what these problems stand for.

  • Capacity Planning :  Capacity planning is related to the planning of providing the network to the each and every area of the country. Capacity planning is required to know the areas or locations where we need to focus for providing the services.
  • Personnel Management : The success of the company lies in its management. Management is responsible for managing the resources of the company. While, the management of personnel is a very crucial task. One needs to be very clear while allocating resources to the location according to the requirement.
  • Market Segmentation: Market Segmentation is the need of every business. No business can succeed without proper market segmentation. Segmentation of the market refers to the division of customers or consumers in different groups. One needs to be very careful while segmenting the market. As segmentation is one of the vital and major attribute of the Business.
  • Real-Time knowledge of network structure : Every Telecom company has to have the proper know how of network structure for any particular region at the given point or period of time .
  • Demand Forecasting : Demand forecasting again depends on the various attributes one of them is market segmentation and the previous data also helps in forecasting the demand.

These are all the problems faced by telecom industry, but the question is how do they deal with it. As it is not possible to evaluate everything regarding the area and the region on the basis of previous data or the printed maps. So now lets see what is the solution of these problems.

Check out Video – How to use IGIS Map in Telecom Sector Industry

Geographic Information System (GIS) for Telecom Sector Industry

The solution to all the above mentioned problems is GIS.

How GIS is the solution ?

GIS stands for geographic information system. It helps Telecom companies in solving their problems in the  following ways :

GIS  for Capacity management : As we know that capacity management is about the planning of providing the services to whom they have not reached yet. So GIS can help in locating the regions and areas on their Map, where they have not reached yet, or where they need to improve.

GIS for Personnel Management : GIS is very useful for allocating resources according to the requirements. GIS helps telecom company in identifying the areas where there is the requirement of the personnel. It also helps in identifying the number of personnel required, for which post they are required. All these can be done on the Maps with the help of GIS.

GIS for Market Segmentation : Market Segmentation can be done more efficiently on the maps with the help of GIS. One can easily divide the customers according to their groups, and then it becomes easy for them to allocate the towers for their network , where do they need to implant more towers, according to the complaints and grievances of the customer from different region.

GIS for Real Time Knowledge of Network Structure : Telecom industries can easily access their network points and signals, where are the signals reachable and where not, whether the signal is weak or good. It helps them in analysing the network status and structure as well for a particular region at particular point of time.

GIS for Demand Forecasting : Telecom Companies can use GIS for forecasting the demand of their products along with the help of the previous data and the market segmentation. With market segmentation company can  know what is their target Market. It makes easy on the company’s perspective if they know well about their target Market.

These are the problems faced by telecom industry, and the ways in which GIS helps in solving these problems.

Do pen Down your experience with GIS in telecom, in the comment section provided below.

Geographic Information System (GIS) for Hospital Industry – How, When and Uses

GIS (Geographic Information System) for Hospital Industry. ‘Health is wealth’, this quote is the truth. One can have everything with wealth but not health. One has to do so much to keep the health with them. But at some point of time everyone need an additional support to keep the health on track. That support we get from the Medical industry. Medical science has reached so up that now they have solution of every disease. There are many factors for a disease to occur. Medical Industry is one of the rapidly growing industry, for it is the must for every individual.

Though medical industry is a rapidly growing industry, but it also face some major problems. As we know that to reach to the top we face many hurdles in between. Although the medical industry is doing good but there is something, which helps or can help the medical industry to be better everyday. GIS helps Medical Industry to stay ahead with efficiency.

How GIS helps Medical or Hospital Industry ?

GIS is helping or can help the medical industry in enormous ways. Below mentioned are the major benefits that Medical Industry receive from GIS. GIS helps medical industry in following ways :

Now, lets understand these benefits and the GIS implementation for it .

GIS IN HOSPITAL INDUSTRY
GIS IN HOSPITAL INDUSTRY

Identifying Health Trends

Health trends varies from one region to another. A coastal region may not have some of the disease which are found in desert region. So this way the health trends varies from one region to another on the basis of various factors like – air, water, sunlight, food crops, food habits and many more. So, concerning all these factors one can identify the health trends, but to identify the regions one will surely need the GIS maps. With the help of GIS maps one can easily mark up the regions on the basis of these factors and can accumulate the health trends of that particular region.

Tracking the disease spread

While GIS helps in identifying the health trends, it is also capable of giving information regarding the spread of a disease. The spread of a disease refers to the communicable disease. How much communicable a disease is and where it is likely to spread next. So with the help of GIS this can be tracked. Tracking of a disease spread is important as this allows the doctors to take the preventive actions in prior, which can limit the spread of the disease.

Improved Services

Those who can satisfy their customers/consumers/clients with their services, are the one to achieve lots and lots of success. As far as Medical or hospital industry is concerned the better the service the happier the clients. With the help of GIS maps one can easily find out the disease spread regions, health trends, climate trends that prepares them in advance. The knowledge of health trends and disease spread in prior can limit the effect of the disease. Which eventually come up with the Improved services.

These are the benefits of using GIS in medical or hospital industry. If you know any more do let us know by commenting in the comment box provided below

GIS for Agriculture – When and Why

Agriculture plays a very vital role in everyone’s life. For few agriculture is not the only way of having food in their plate, rather a source of income. We get food from agriculture, one can not imagine his life without agriculture. Agriculture brings food in our plate, hence the agriculture needs to be proper care taken of. Care of Agriculture depicts the farming according to the nature of the soil, land and water.

Say for an example, some staples are grown in the plateau regions, but can not be grown in plain area. There are various kind of agriculture activities, but the main part of agriculture is to decide where to do farming, and what to grow. Deciding on this is really a very crucial task. So, we have something which can assist you with this decision taking. That is GIS. GIS is helping people in every field, then why not agriculture. Yes, You read it right, GIS can assist in agriculture also. Lets see how GIS is helpful in Agriculture?

Benefits of GIS Maps  in agriculture

GIS is beneficial to every one in every segment. Hence, it is beneficial for agriculture also. It provides agriculture with below mentioned benefits :

Lets see how GIS Maps provides with above mentioned benefits in agriculture.

GIS FOR AGRICULTURE
GIS FOR AGRICULTURE

Climate Conditions

Climate is a variable that varies from region to region and sometimes within a region. As we know that Climate plays a vital role in agriculture sector, hence it is a necessity to give a proper and required focus on climate while planning for any farming or agricultural activity. Hence one can not easily find out the climate of a particular reason, as climate is made up of few factors like water,air sunlight. So, in such cases GIS maps can help in forecasting the climate of any region for farming anything. It would also help to let us know whether that crop can be grown in that particular region or not, with the help of GIS maps.

Know land type

No agriculture is possible without land, and no successful agriculture is possible without knowing the land type. Yes, As we know that land is an essential resource for agriculture but it is of no use if one does not know the land type of a region, as one can not grow a crop in deserted regions, which is mean to be grown in plateau regions. So, to identify a land type GIS maps are a must. GIS maps will help a person in finding out the Land type of a region for better results, One can easily mark those regions on GIS maps.

Water Supply

For growing the crops it is necessary to have water. We can not imagine our life without water, neither Can agriculture. So, to find out the water supply in a region we need to know the source of water of that region. That source can easily be find out With the help of GIS maps. GIS maps are the main source of information, of the factors of agriculture. You can easily identify the water bodies located near to a region and can accumulate the supply of water in that region.

Drought

Drought occurs because of the lack of water or rain. When there is no rain there will be no crops and food. Hence it is very important to know the drought prone  regions, as to secure yourself from investing in such place where you might face some loss. So, GIS maps can help you find out those drought prone regions, on the basis of the previous data and GIS maps. With GIS maps you can get the details of the region which are drought prone.

These are the benefits one can receive from GIS maps for Agriculture. Use GIS maps for Telecom, BCP, Logistics, Medical industry and last  but not the east Agriculture. If you know any more benefits of GIS For agriculture, do let us know by commenting below in the comment box of GIS For agriculture article.

GIS for Travels And Tourism

We all love to travel, some travel for peace, some travel for business, some travel for a break from regular schedule and then some travel for experience. As they say ‘Don’t tell me how much educated you are, tell me how much you have traveled’. Traveling gives enormous experience, it fills up  your soul, gives you a change, provides you with the peace of mind. Do you think to travel is an easy task ? Of course, travelling is very tempting, but to plan a trip is surely not a tempting thing, for it takes a lot of efforts and proper knowledge of the routes and the place. So, for keep the planning thing easy we have GIS maps. GIS maps offers some major benefits to Travels and tourism sector.

Benefits of GIS for Travels and Tourism

  1. Visualization of tourist Spot
  2. tourist location
  3. Route Planning
  4. Accommodation
  5. Cultural events and special attractions.
GIS for Travels And Tourism
GIS for Travels And Tourism

Lets see how these benefits are offered by GIS to travels and tourism sector .

Visualization Of Tourist Spot

Travels and Tourism is one of the wide and important industry, which is spread over all corner of the world. When you are travelling to a new place it is the responsibility of the travels and tourism business holder, to welcome their guests by making them visit every tourist spot. But for that we need to know the tourist spot of that place. So, in such cases GIS maps are very Useful. GIS maps helps in marking and finding out the tourist place, and through GIS ,customers can visualize those spots they are planning to visit.

Tourist Location

GIS helps in finding the tourist location to the travels and tourism business holders and their customers. With the help of GIS they can easily visualize the location while sitting at home and can also plan a tour to it, with the proper planning of your tour.

Route Planning

So, if you are planning a tour to a new state, then how would you be travelling there? how are you going to reach there ? So, for that we need not only navigation but a proper and efficient route. In such cases GIS maps are very useful, as they can help you in making the proper route for your tour. With the help of GIS you can plan your route by making the best efficient routes and can choose one of them that is more feasible to you.

Accommodation

Travelling to a new place, that is so exciting, but you get stuck when it comes to the food and stay, that means about your accommodation. GIS maps can help you out with this major problem. As we know, now we can look for the hotels and restaurants of any area very easily over Maps. Hence, You do not need to worry about the accommodation facility. All you need to do is just use GIS maps and get the best accommodation facility to stay according to your preferences, which is nearby to the tourist spots you are going to visit.

Cultural Events and Special attraction

We travel to explore new places and the culture and special attraction of that place. So, for finalizing your tour you can use GIS maps. GIS maps is mostly used by the travelers and tourist to finalize their place to visit on the basis of the special attraction of that place and its culture. With GIS one can easily look for the cultural events and special attraction, moreover the business holders can also update such locations in the map.

These are the Some major benefits which GIS provides to Tour and travels industry. If you know any other such benefits of the GIS for tours and travels industry, do let us know by commenting below in the comment box of GIS for travels and Tourism industry.

5 Helpful GIS Mobile Applications – Free GIS App

GIS Stands for Geographic Information System. GIS is helping everyone in every field.  Be it Telecom industry, Medical industry, Agriculture Sector, and there are many more industries which are using GIS on a regular basis.

So, to provide an ease of GIS, so many mobile applications are now available. So, here we are to introduce you with the best GIS applications for Android And IOS. In case if you have not visited our Previous article use of GIS – 16 different industries covered. Here is the link.

5 Helpful GIS Mobile Applications
5 Helpful GIS Mobile Applications

5 Helpful GIS Mobile Applications – Free GIS App

  1. MapIt
  2. SW Maps 
  3. Map With Us 
  4. MapPt 
  5. Locus GIS

These are the best 5 GIS applications for android and IOS. Lets Check what are the specialty of each of these GIS applications for Android and IOS.

1. MapIt – GIS Mobile application

5 Best GIS Applications for Android and IOS

MapIt is the another GIS application for android users. Mapit is widely used and one of the popular mobile application which is used for several purpose like environmental surveys,woodland surveys, road constructions, land surveying ,tree surveys, site surveys and soil samples gathering.

These are the sectors using MapIt GIS application, for Performing following functions –

  • Direct export to Dropbox or FTP location.
  • It has possibility to record multiple points ,lines and polygons on one layer.
  • Import/export attributes from file and much more to discover.
  • Address and location search .
  • You can also create new polygon or line features measurement details like area or length are also available.
  • possibility to group data into several layers.
  • it also allows you to local export or remote export.
  • It has Clusters for point map markers, efficient way of having large number of points on the map without performance issues.
  • support for WMS and ArcGIS .
  • it has possibility to create and maintain sets of attributes .
  • It provides base Map : Google Map, Bing Maps, Open street Maps, Mapbox.

Download MapIt from Here 

2. SW Maps – GIS Mobile application

5 Best GIS Applications for Android and IOS

SW maps is a free GIS application which helps you in collecting, sharing and representing Geographic information. No matter whether you are conducting full scale GNSS survey with high precision instruments,need to collect large amount of  location based data using nothng but your phone,or just need to view a few shapefiles with labels over a background map on the go, SW Maps has it all covered.

SW Maps is one of the useful GIS application having following features :

  • Conduct high accuracy GPS surveys using external RTK capable receivers over blue tooth.
  • Draw features on the map by adding markers and measure distance and area.
  • online base maps are also available : Google Maps or open street view.
  • Support for mbtiles and KML over lays
  • it provides shape files layers, with categorized styling.
  • It also allows you to connect with external GPS.
  • draw point,line and polygons.
  • You can also label features based on attribute values.
  • you can also share and export the data in KMZ files

These are all about the SW Maps GIS application. you can download the SW Maps from here 

3. Map with Us – GIS Mobile application

5 Best GIS Applications for Android and IOS

Map With us is one of the GIS application which is freely available on the google play store.Which provides following benefits to you :

  • Geolocate and upload photos,videos and audio
  • you can collect and edit the data in the field using custom data collection templates
  • Useful for business professionals
  • You will be able to easily export the collected data to KML files or shape files.
  • You can also import your KML or shape files to MapWithUs system.

These are the functions you can perform with Map with us GIS application. You can also download Map with us from here .

You can also check its iOS application here.

4. MapPt – GIS Mobile application

5 Best GIS Applications for Android and IOS

MapPt is one of the useful application which is available in 130 countries and in industries spanning from education and agriculture. This app is widely used by the people from below sectors :

  • Field mapping
  • Land surveying
  • Vegetation  Management
  • Forestry Planning
  • Environmental management
  • incident reporting
  • Farm Mapping
  • Mine management
  • Government Planning

People are using Map with us because of the below functions that they can perform with it :

  • It allows you to create,edit,store and share all types of geospatial information.
  • You can geotagged photos and gridding.
  • Create points,polygons.polylines.
  • Import and export popular GIS formats such as shapefiles, JP2,  and kml/kmz.
  • You can drop down forms for faster data collection.
  • Geofencing capabilities make sure you never breach a  boundary.
  • you can also share the data between popular cloud storage like Google drive.

Download MapPt Application from here

5.Locus GIS – Mobile Application

Locus GIS is a newly built app for the GIS professionals and enthusiasts. It is one of the GIS application for android and IOS users. This GIS application allows you to do following functions :

  • you can create your projects
  • you can also export the collected data to SHP file is fully compatible with ArcGIS Software
  • Select premium online and offline maps
  • It also provides advanced map tools like – map overlays,offsets,WMS sources support.
  • It also forecast the worldwide weather 24*7.

“Locus GIS application in beta version, which is valid till the end of 2017.”

5 Best GIS Applications for Android and IOS

  • Download Locus GIS from here 

These are all the 5 Helpful GIS Mobile Applications – Free GIS Apps available free of cost. If you know about any other such app do let us know by commenting below in the comment section of the 5 GIS applications for mobile which are helpful.

GIS In Insurance Industry

Humans are so clever that they easily secure their insecurity. We are afraid of loss. Be it our favorite bike, our expensive phone, our newly bought car, or our life. But we also want to secure our these insecurities and the solution for all of them is Insurance. Here we are going to discuss about the use of GIS in Insurance Industry. The insurance involves the insured or people  assuming a guaranteed and known relatively small loss in the form of payment to their  insurer or insurance company in exchange for the insurer’s promise to compensate the insured people in the event of a covered loss. In this modern society, you can get insurance of almost anything you want, it can be a phone or an island.Using GIS in Insurance
Industry is one of the highly profitable industries initiative in today’s time.

GIS In Insurance Industry

GIS can provides Insurance companies every location-based insight they need and It can also be used as Risk Manager as It uses smart maps, data analysis and all of the features for controlling risks and managing business strategies of Insurance companies.

Insurance companies also uses tools like Insurance Management GIS Web/App Development – Cost, Time – Map Tool. Visit the link for more information about the tool. lets get back to ask what is the major pillar of the Insurance company business and i think the answer is Location Information.

Location Information, like knowing about where your assets are located
and their closeness to hazards, is essential when developing risk
profiles for the Insurance Industries. GIS dispense tools that allow users to combine location-based data, such as road entry, and traffic
flow patterns, to make more informed decisions. This kinds of
information helps insurers to fulfill the requirements of their customers.

Benefits of GIS in Insurance Industry

GIS in Insurance Industry has the range of functions which allows the use of policyholders data and spatial analysis to effectively serve customers and monitor fraudulent activities by embracing location-based intelligence. Over the years, Insurance companies are getting really good at calculating risk because they hold a lot of risk.

GIS helps Insurance companies offer such low premiums for the high value insurances because with the help of GIS one Insurance company can divide a state into thousands of territory, which also divides the premium amount one has to pay.

GIS provides Geo-fencing, which is a virtual barrier in the real world. Geo-fencing is used in ca-rental or car-share to understand the limits of speed or drinking .

Uses of GIS in Insurance Industry

  • Insurance Risk Assessment : GIS understands the disaster proximity to improve the Insurance risk assessment. GIS helps location analytics provides an easy way for insurance companies to discover unknown problems, model situations, and implement the best solutions to minimize  risk. Insurance risk assessment uses GIS to predict the risk. the level of risk decides the premium value. Higher risk extends higher premiums and  lower premiums are for areas with less risk.

Risk assessment - GIS Insurance Industry

  • Claims Management : Insurance companies get the understanding about the Risk location and customers location from GIS. which helps in processing claims with respect to compensation, restoration, and repayment in response to the damage of the customers. This is the proactive approach to responding to customers with their claims rapidly and in an organized-way.

Claims - GIS Insurance Industry

  • Territory Management: GIS helps Insurance companies in their territory management and the analysis shows how geography interacts with hazards and assets to help companies limit risk. GIS helps in implanting and deploying the networks necessary to operate efficiently in your territory.

territory - GIS Insurance Industry

  • Comparing Business Measures : You can easily map business measures and compare them with the help of GIS In Insurance Industry. It can validate various locations and  visualize loss patterns on an interactive and beautiful maps.

The insurance industry expects to see more growth in Geo-spatial information in insurance as major players are getting involved in the technology. And this is why they have major needs of Insurance management tools. Do let us know how this Article is helpful for you, by commenting below in the comment box.

GIS in Logistics

Logistics is the only one business which is the basic requirement of all the other businesses. Today every business has a need of transportation. Every business needs their products to come in the reach of general public. As it is known that the transportation basically relies on the routes. So in that case GIS and logistics are the counterparts of one coin. GIS would be the most optimum tool for the efficient logistics services.  So, lets check how can we use GIS in Logistics.

What is logistics ?

Logistics is a service providing industry, which provides services to the other business and to the individuals as well. The main service provided by the Logistics is Transportation. We need transportation every now and then. But these logistics services are highly used by the product based industries.

Lets see how helpful is GIS in logistics :

GIS is one of the major player of the logistics industry. GIS helps the Logistics for following aspects :

  • Pre-Planning
    1.  Allocating the resources
    2. Transportation routing
  • Navigation
  • Fleet Management
    1. GPS tracking
    2. Vehicle Finance
  • Cost Reduction.

The help provided by GIS in Logistics is performing all these tasks efficiently. Lets move further with the briefing of these tasks and the help that GIS provides.

GIS in Logistics

GIS for Pre Planning:

Pre planning refers to the making plans prior to the time of  providing services. For pre planning we have two major constraints they are :

  • Allocating the resources
  • Transportation Routing

lets discuss these two in a brief that how We use GIS for these two tasks of pre planning.

Allocation of the Resources : The First and the Foremost function of the Pre planning is to allocate the resources efficiently. But how? So, whenever we receive a new order we can look for our resources which are close to the location and can reach there to load the stuffs with the optimum efficiency. So, you can do this by using any GIS application like Google maps or any other Customized apps created for the Logistics service provider.

Transportation Routing : Providing a service and providing effective and efficient service both are far different having a slim line difference. That is the service is on time , without making any defects to the products. So we can route the resources with the help of GIS applications like maps. So maps will show you the best route, the shortest routes from loading  Location to the Delivery  Location.

Transportation Routing - GIS in Logistics

Navigation :

Navigation is again the way to get the routes which we have planned before leaving for the delivery of the products to the respective location. So GIS would be helping the Driver on route to get the navigation according to the planned route.

Navigation - GIS in Logistics

Fleet Management :

Fleet Management refers to the Management of the vehicle. In logistics Fleet management refers to the Management of the commercial vehicles. Such as – Trucks, Cars, Van, aircraft.  So management of these Vehicles includes vast functions like financing, investing , insurance, maintenance. Driver management, speed management, health and safety management and last but not the least is fuel Management.

Under Fleet management we have following constraints :

  • GPS tracking
  • Vehicle Finance

GPS Tracking : GPS Tracking is a useful tool for the admin and the customers. Gone are the days when the admin used to call the driver for getting their locations updates, but now there is no need of calling to the driver and getting the updates. As GIS would do that for Admin and customers, they can easily get the location of the Vehicle in real time with the help of GPS devices wich are inbuilt in the vehicle. So this decreases the chances of be fooling the admin or customers.

Vehicle finance : Vehicle finance refers to the monetary aspect of the logistics. This includes the amount of investment in a vehicle in the form of its maintenance, insurance, fuel etc.  All these factors make a budget for the individual trips of the vehicle. As according to the budget they cost their customers. So Budget has to be very specific and accurate. For making the accurate budget GIS can help you. As you can locate your resources and can send them according to the locations, such that you can calculate the cost  by calculating the distance and the estimated time of all the options Available and can send the vehicle according to your preference, that is the one which costs least.

Cost Reduction/Efficiency :

GIS leads to the cost efficiency of the company as they can decide the routes according to their choice of either having or not having the tolls in the route, by choosing the shortest route for the transportation. Shortest route will save time, so the another trip can be arranged in the remaining time, fuel would be less consumed for the shortest routes.

 

Now that we have discussed every feature in which we can use GIS in Logistics. So, we would  like you to share your views and experience with us by commenting below in the comment box. Suggestions are welcome.

 

GIS in Disaster Management

GIS stands for geographical information system. It helps in navigating the directions,locating the places,measuring the distance. In respect of the Locations,Directions one can make every possible use of GIS. GIS is useful for various sectors like Government, Travels and tourism, and many more. Disaster management system also uses the GIS as to make us aware about any kind of natural disaster like flood, earthquake, cyclone etc. So let us check the usage of GIS in Disaster Management.

GIS in Disaster Management:

Before knowing The importance of GIS in Disaster management, lets  understand what disaster management is and how it is useful for the society.

What is Disaster management ?

Disaster Management is a sector which serves the society by making them aware of the possibilities  of  any natural calamities . They make a proper plan of rescue and evacuation.

How GIS is useful in disaster management :

Now That we had a brief of disaster management, lets discuss how would they make use of GIS in their working. GIS is helping every sector and so does it with the Disaster management. So lets first see the primary work of the Disaster management sector. Then later on we will  discuss how GIS helps them to fulfill their primary duties.

Primary Responsibilities of Disaster management :

following are the primary responsibilities of disaster management :

  • Know about the disaster prone area.
  • Planning safety measures.
  • Planning rescue and evacuation.
  • Rehabilitation And post disaster management

These are the main functions of the Disaster management. Now lets learn more about them in a brief .

Disaster Prone Area :

The first and the foremost task of Disaster management is to identify the disaster prone areas of a country.

With the help of GIS, Managers can Identify the areas which are likely to be affected by any disaster, this can be based on the previous data .

Disaster Prone Area - GIS in Disaster management

Planning safety measures :

The another responsibility of the Disaster management is to take the safety measures and making people aware of these measures. Disaster management department plans the safety measures with the help of maps or any GIS tool in the following way :

  • Creation of the maps for different disasters : As we know we can create the personalized maps, so you can use any GIS tool to create different maps for the different regions according to the nature of the disaster.
  • Planning the pre disaster things : Pre disaster thing like identifying number of construction site and the safety measures are identified on the basis of the past data by locating on the maps, and by researching the areas where adversity is highly likely to happen.
  • Identifying the medicals and hospitals for treatment nearby : One can identify the nearby hospitals for the treatment of the victims.

planning - GIS in Disaster management

Planning rescue and evacuation :

Disaster management plans the rescue and evacuation of the people, who get stuck in the calamity. GIS helps in planning the evacuation and rescue route, whether it should be by road, by water or by air whichever will be the safest.

GIS will help to Find out the alternate ways to shelters,camps  one can easily look for the nearby places where shelters and camps can be organized with the help of map.

rescue - GIS in Disaster management

Rehabilitation and post disaster management :

Disaster  management sector make plans for the rehabilitation of the place and people post the occurrence of the disaster.

GIS will help Identifying the safe location for rehabilitation that are locations as well as zones for the rehabilitation of the victims nearby the affected place. for getting the mapping of the whole affected area we will be using GIS in Disaster Management.

How GIS helps in performing the primary functions :-

GIS is a geographical information system which gives the geographical information to the consumers. so now that we have been through the primary functions of the disaster management sector, and how they use GIS in Disaster Management for performing their function.

So GIS helps them to identify the areas which are disaster prone, How they can plan the rescue and evacuation of the affected people in any area. How to rehabilitate the area and region and managing the post disaster conditions. Thereafter, they also take the safety measures in order to prevent the highly effected  area and people. As we know that ‘Precaution is always better than cure’.

So, This is how Disaster Management is using GIS for performing their tasks more efficiently. Using GIS in Disaster Management is one of the best method to have some control over the calamities.  Do let us know how this Article is helpful for you, by commenting below in the comment box.

 

Business Continuity Planning – GIS Solutions

In this post we are going to discuss about Business Continuity Planning and GIS solutions in it. GIS stands for geographic information system. GIS is more than just providing locations and navigation. Though these are the basic functions of the GIS, but these basic functions has more user than just an individual. There are many entities which now are using the GIS for their business purpose. One of them is Business Continuity Planning (BCP). BCP is one of the planning part performed by the industries. BCP is the abbreviation for the  term business continuity plan. So lets discuss what is BCP? and how it is useful for the industries? and how do they plan it with the help of GIS?

What Business Continuity Planning is  ?

Basically, the main function of Business Continuity Planning is to make sure that the business is functioning in every adverse condition. As the name implies BCP is a plan made for the continuation of the business workings even when it is not possible to continue with the working. Sometimes it so happens that the conditions are not favorable because of any natural calamity has had happened like flood,earthquake, cyclone or maybe some terrorist activities has been noticed, so in these situation no industry can do the efficient working or least to continue the workings. So in these cases BCP plays a major for the industries.

How Business Continuity Planning Works?

Now that we know the functions of the Business Continuity Planning, lets check how it works. So Basically, The main parts of the BCP are :

  • Planning the alternative site for office.
  • Plan the resources for working there.
  • Making a plan with feasibility.

So BCP is not only about the alternative site, but there is more to it. For Business Continuity Planning we need to analyze the kind of calamities or any such adverse situations which may occur in the region where main office is located. so to find out those regions GIS will help industries.

How GIS can help ?

GIS helps industries to evaluate the factors determining the Business Continuity Planning location. These factors are :

  1. Disaster prone areas
  2. Transportation
  3. Telecommunication
  4. Resources
  5.  Basic necessities

Disaster Prone Area :

With the help of GIS Industry can know the disaster prone area by using maps for the following purpose –

  • To know the flood prone area : Through GIS one can know the flood prone area as on map we can easily identify the blue region area. So we can know that what else calamities are likely to happen here in these regions.
  • To forecast the calamities on the basis of past data : one can forecast the calamities which are probable to occur on the basis of the past data of that region.
  • Know the landscape area : One can easily  know the areas where landscapes are likely to occur like hilly areas.

Disaster - Business Continuity Planning -GIS solutions

 

 

Transportation :

Every Business needs a Good transportation service. Specially when it is a logistics business or the product based business. So while looking for the BCP location of your business, you should take care of the transportation factor also. As far as Transportation is concerned GIS can help you in finding the best routes and can help you in navigating through the route. By using GIS tool or maps you can easily evaluate this factor.

Transport - Business Continuity Planning -GIS solutions

 

Telecommunication :

Without communication no business can sustain in the market. A business needs to communicate in the market with its vendors. So, While planning the Business Continuity Planning the company needs to check the Network availability and the ways in which communications can be done. So, using the GIS they can find locate the areas where there are chances of having the good networks even if any adversity has occur.

Telecom - Business Continuity Planning -GIS solutions

 

Resources:

Availability of the resources should be an ease. So while looking for the BCP location of your business you need to research the places where you can have the easy access to the resources and then you can locate that in a map.

Basic Necessities :

Basic necessities may include hospitals, shopping marts, etc all should be in access such that it would motivate employees to work on the Business Continuity Planning locations. GIS or Maps would be a great help in this.

 

 

Necessities - Business Continuity Planning -GIS solutions

Instead of all these ways, one can also take the past data which shows when and where such situations had occurred and can locate them easily on the map, which will help them to plan their BCP accordingly.

So, this is how GIS helps in Business Continuity Planning of the company. Do plan BCP for your company and do let us know how this article helped you in making the BCP of your company, by commenting below in the comment box.