A Study on Geographic Information System (GIS) for Civil Engineering

This report examines the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in civil engineering, focusing on a case study of Hazim Consulting, a Saudi-based consulting firm. The report details Hazim Consulting's use of GIS software for various civil engineering projects, particularly road construction, highlighting its benefits in improved decision-making, cost reduction, efficiency, geographic management, and record-keeping. The analysis covers the technology currently used, its contribution to the organization, and the positive impact of GIS on urban planning, natural resource management, and sustainable solutions. Furthermore, the report explores potential expansion areas for GIS technology within the organization, such as accident analysis and transportation planning, and discusses the future impact of GIS in reducing costs and supporting sustainable practices. References cited include studies on GIS applications in renewable energy, culvert design, and waste management, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject.

Running head: GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
Geographic Information System
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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A Research on GIS Software from Business Perspective
Organization Description
In this aspect, the selected organization is the Hazim Consulting which is a Saudi
based consulting firm. The main business of Hazim consulting is providing sustainable
solution for the clients within the engineering sector. The Hazim consulting has the aim of
achieving highest level of international standards for their projects. Hazim consulting has
completed near about 600 projects of high quality and with having over 2000 employees they
are currently an engineering power house (Hazim Consulting, 2020). This organization is
private organization has a good reputation in the civil engineering sector.
Technology used by the Organization
Currently for their organizational operations, Hazim consulting uses the Geographic
Information System software or the GIS solutions. The GIS solutions includes a broad range
of applications. These applications use a combination of georeferenced data and digital maps.
For the GIS software there are different type of categories. The GIS software is mainly
designed for retrieving, storing, displaying, managing and analyzing all types of spatial and
the geographical data (Greer et al., 2018). Through the GIS software mainly maps are
produced. The GIS software applications are also capable of producing other types of graphic
displays of the geographic information and these are mainly produced for the presentation
and the analysis purposes.
Business Unit utilizes the Technology
In this aspect, the construction unit of the Hazim consulting uses this technology. The
construction unit of the organization mainly uses this technology for the designing purposes.
It has been assessed that the GIS solution is very much useful for the Hazim consulting for

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the road construction projects (Hazim Consulting, 2020) as this system effectively produces
the graphic displays of the available geographic information.
Contribution of the Technology to the Organization
The current geographic information system technology is very much useful for the
Hazim consulting. The GIS solution helps the Hazim consulting for studying the geological
features. In this aspect the GIS is important for successful analysis of the strata and soil
(Chang, 2016). It also perfect assess the any type of information regarding seismic and finally
creates a three-dimensional display of the geographic features. Additionally, the geographic
information system can be also used for the analysis of rock information characteristics
which is very much useful for the road construction projects.
While the Hazim consulting is using the GIS solutions, there are several of benefits
provided by the organization. The first benefit of using the GIS software system is the
improved decision making. By the use of GIS solutions, the Hazim consulting is capable of
taking more better decisions as more detailed and specific information is gathered about one
or multiple locations. The second benefit of using the GIS solution is cost reduction and
improved efficiency (Pinheiro & Davis, 2018). Utilization of this solution, helps the
organization regarding fleet movements and maintenance schedules. Also, communication is
also improved while this GIS solution improvised between any of involved departments or
organizations as the others can understand the visual format easily, represented by the GIS
software. One very crucial benefit that is achieved by using the GIS solution is the
geographic management. While geographic analysis is done using this software, it become
well known that what is going to occur within a geographic space regarding a specific project
or a course of action. Lastly, another important benefit provided by the GIS solution for the
Hazim consulting is the easy recordkeeping. Any type of geographical changes can be

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recorded by the GIS software systems easily (Mohamad, Yunus & Harith, 2019). In this way
the geographical changes can be recorded easily which can be useful for the future use.
Present and Future Impact of GIS
From the business perspective, GIS solution does have a positive impact on the
organization. In the present scenario, the GIS solution has already made the organization
quite efficient. For Hazim consulting the GIS solution has played an important role regarding
the urban planning. Proper application of the GIS solution has helped the organization to
discover the new sites which can be used for the further development purposes (Lu et al.,
2018). The GIS solutions also consider several of important factors that are important for the
successful construction purpose. In this way, the GIS solution has developed a positive
influence over the Hazim consulting in the present context. Natural resource management is
also important and GIS solutions is also helping the Hazim consulting to ensure this. In this
way, the GIS is ensuring another positive impact over the business.
It has been also assessed that the GIS solutions can help the organizations from the
future perspective also. In this aspect, the GIS solutions is capable of reducing the overall
cost associated with the organization (Cavazzi & Dutton, 2016). This will lead to better
profitability for the organization which is important for the organization from the future
perspective. Most of the construction related organization are currently looking to provide
sustainable solutions to their customer as this will make the organization future ready. In this
case, the Hazim consulting is also getting benefit by using the GIS solutions as this is helping
to perform an environmental impact analysis, through which sustainable solutions can be
prepared. Thus, from an overall business perspective, the GIS solution is ensuring a positive
future impact over the organization.

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Expansion Area for using the Technology
While the Hazim consulting is using the GIS solution for some specific purpose
within their organization, they can also expand the use of this technology which will benefit
the organization more. As the Hazim consulting handles the road construction projects, they
can expand the use of GIS technology in this area. In this case, Hazim consulting can use the
GIS data for the accident analysis. The GIS data can help the Hazim consulting for
identifying the accident locations and it will also help the organization to optimize the road
networks which can be done by data intelligence (Wu et al., 2016). This intelligence of the
GIS system will help Hazim consulting to ensure better management of the traffic and
improved road safety measures. Also, Hazim consulting can use the GIS data for the
transportation planning which will help to mitigate any type of transportation related issues.
With environmental and the tropical data, Hazim consulting can easily prepare an optimized
road. In this way, Hazim consulting can expand their use of GIS solutions for achieving the
above discussed benefits.

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References
Cavazzi, S., & Dutton, A. G. (2016). An Offshore Wind Energy Geographic Information
System (OWE-GIS) for assessment of the UK's offshore wind energy
potential. Renewable Energy, 87, 212-228.
Chang, K. T. (2016). Geographic information system. International Encyclopedia of
Geography: People, the Earth, Environment and Technology, 1-10.
Greer, A. D., Wilbanks, Z. B., Clifton, L. D., Wilson, B., & Graettinger, A. J.
(2018). Geographic Information System Enabled Culvert Design: A Case Study in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama (No. 18-02985).
Hazim Consulting, (2020). Hazim Consulting - International Expertise, Local Experience.
Retrieved from http://www.hazimconsulting.com/
Lu, B., Stocks, M., Blakers, A., & Anderson, K. (2018). Geographic information system
algorithms to locate prospective sites for pumped hydro energy storage. Applied
energy, 222, 300-312.
Mohamad, I. I., Yunus, M. M., & Harith, N. S. H. (2019, May). Assessment of building
vulnerability by integrating rapid visual screening and geographic information
system: A case study of Ranau township. In IOP Conference Series: Materials
Science and Engineering (Vol. 527, No. 1, p. 012042). IOP Publishing.
Pinheiro, M. B., & Davis, C. A. (2018). ThemeRise: a theme-oriented framework for
volunteered geographic information applications. Open Geospatial Data, Software
and Standards, 3(1), 9.

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Wu, H., Wang, J., Duan, H., Ouyang, L., Huang, W., & Zuo, J. (2016). An innovative
approach to managing demolition waste via GIS (geographic information system): a
case study in Shenzhen city, China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 494-503.