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Section 4

Section 4

Video: Benefits of spatial analysis

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0:00 ♪ [music] ♪

0:13 Hi, everyone, and welcome to this week's session of our MOOC.

0:16 In this session, we're going to be building on the previous work that

0:19 you've been doing in the other sessions and starting to really empower
you

0:22 to make more value out of the data that you've been combining together.

0:25 After you've done all this amazing work of collecting, combining,

0:28 and analyzing spatial information, it's now about putting this all together

0:32 into combined products that really have

0:34 great value to your broader project teams.

0:37 And that's really where we're going to get into.

0:39 And so I'm going to talk about the really big value that spatial analysis

0:42 brings to AEC projects and AEC firms as a whole.

0:46 So what do we mean by spatial analysis?

0:49 Spatial analysis is the process of bringing together geometries

0:53 and geographies, location, attributes, and relationships

0:56 between different features, using analysis functions,

1:00 like overlay and intersect, among many others, to help people

1:03 draw out insights from the information that they've got.

1:06 Now, the range of spatial analysis available to you is as broad as

1:10 the array of AEC projects that firms actually work on,

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1:12 everything from sewer systems, roads and freeways,

1:15 new environmental impact studies, all the way down to plan modeling,

1:18 and really about helping our cities be better.

1:21 All of these project types involve gathering, collecting, managing,

1:25 and analyzing information to really help people make better decisions,

1:29 and that really is what spatial analysis to an AEC firm is all about.

1:33 It's about helping people make better decisions

1:35 and being confident in what they're doing.

1:38 Throughout the life cycle of any AEC project,

1:41 team members often need to see beyond the raw data.

1:44 They need to interrogate it. They need to play with it.

1:46 They need to really touch the data and understand

1:48 and draw out the insights for them.

1:50 And that's what this session is going to get into,

1:52 looking at tools to help people make these better decisions.

1:56 Now, spatial analysis doesn't always need to be

1:59 really high-end, complex geospatial processes.

2:02 Often it's about really just bringing together information,

2:05 allowing people to start to get a feel for the data,

2:08 have a bit of play with it, like quite literally get a sense

2:11 of the lay of the land, really seeing what that site

2:13 is actually like before they go out onto the ground.

2:15 And really, that's what it's all about for spatial analysis in AEC firms.

2:19 It's about empowering the broader project teams, getting the data off

2:23 the computers into the people that need to see this information.

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2:27 Where they're going to is really about answering questions

2:30 that without the use of location intelligence,

2:32 these are questions that could never be answered.

2:34 And that's, for me, the big thing for AEC firms using spatial analysis.

2:38 To help your teams do this, we're going to be walking through

2:41 a few of the really key tools that are commonly used

2:44 across a broad array of AEC projects.

2:46 Now, all of these tools are going to be using Esri's ArcGIS Online
environment

2:50 and also using the ArcGIS Experience Builder.

2:53 Now, Experience Builder, if you're not familiar with it,

2:56 it's really an environment for building web applications that you can then

2:59 put into the hands of your broader project teams.

3:02 ArcGIS Experience Builder enables you to deliver a responsive

3:05 web experience without the need for writing any code.

3:08 You can create apps or pages that can contain

3:11 2D or 3D maps, text, or other multimedia.

3:14 Experiences can focus on one type of content or combine and link

3:18 many types of content, creating a complete experience

3:21 and a destination for your entire project team.

3:24 To create an experience, simply drag, position, and configure the

widgets,

3:28 such as maps, images, text, and tools.

3:31 Then take it further by adding triggers and actions, helping the widgets
work

3:35 together within a single app across multiple pages.

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3:38 And you can begin building an experience using an existing template,

3:41 or you can create one from scratch yourself.

3:45 The particular tools that we're going to be looking at in today's session

3:49 are querying and filtering, elevation sections,

3:53 three-dimensional data intersections, and also starting to look at

3:57 the Suitability Modeler, which is a really interesting tool when you

4:00 start to get into asking these location-based questions

4:02 to support the decision- making within an AEC firm.

4:06 Okay, so let's take a look at these tools.

4:10 Querying and filtering� look, large datasets

4:13 can become unwieldy and, to be honest, hard to digest,

4:16 both in a geographic presentation when they're mapped

4:19 but also when looking at the tabular attributes.

4:22 Project team members often want to consume these datasets

4:25 using predefined or user-defined queries and filters.

4:30 Now, the dashboard that Daniel shared with you in week one of the
MOOC,

4:32 now that was a really good example of enabling

4:35 your teams to interrogate and analyze data.

4:38 You can also do this, though, by using queries and filter widgets in

4:41 the Experience Builder, configuring them in different ways to help

4:44 your team derive the insights that they need to know.

4:50 Now, a profile of elevation is a really common ask

4:53 for almost every project I've ever worked on.

4:55 Team members are seeking to get,

4:57 again, quite literally the lay of the land.

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4:59 They want to understand things like:

5:01 Which way will the water flow across the site?

5:03 Is the area too steep to build or use or access?

5:08 In here, we're using the Elevation Profile widget

5:10 through the Experience Builder, where you can configure a number

5:13 of the settings for display, as well as being able to set up

5:16 and add your own local elevation models,

5:19 particularly handy if you've got very detailed or often changing surfaces.

5:23 Now, let's take this Elevation Profile one step further.

5:27 What we can also do is start to calculate

5:30 the line of sight or the vision analysis.

5:33 These are particularly important during the planning and design stages

5:36 of every project, when you are assessing

5:38 the potential impacts or looking at potential options.

5:44 We're going to be asking questions like:

5:46 Will this cause a visual obstruction?

5:49 Does it fit into the city planning controls?

5:52 These tools enable project teams to make quick assessments,

5:56 coming to a decision so that they can move on to the next task,

5:58 but also be confident and comfortable with

6:00 the decisions that they've been making.

6:03 Now, this is a simple yet really powerful interrogation tool for

6:08 project teams to get inside of a project by using the 3D slicer.

6:14 Setting the size, the depth, and the orientation of the Slice box

6:17 enables staff to interactively analyze the designs.

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6:20 This helps them expose and review the relationships

6:23 between different entities in ways that a standard two-dimensional map

6:27 or a table just can't possibly provide.

6:30 In this example, we're looking at being able to see how the different
floors

6:33 interact with each other and where we may have issues.

6:36 Better to pick this up before we build the thing.

6:40 Lastly, let's take a look at the Suitability Analysis widget,

6:43 sometimes also called multicriteria analysis.

6:47 Now, this is an exceptionally powerful analytical methodology

6:50 that has been used the world over on many

6:53 of the largest and most complex of AEC projects.

6:57 Suitably analysis brings together the relevant information that guides

7:00 and informs the decision-making process for identifying appropriate

locations

7:04 or routes for all types of infrastructure,

7:06 from major airports to rail lines,

7:09 from housing developments to wind farm developments.

7:15 The Suitability Analysis tool within the Experience Builder

7:17 includes a number of pre-built models that enable staff to test

7:20 different combinations or permutations of layers

7:23 and the way that those attributes are rated within those layers.

7:26 Staff can look at combinations of layers to identify key points

7:31 that are driving the preferable sites.

7:34 Just as importantly, it can also rule out areas that are not suitable due to

7:37 any number of social, environmental, or engineering constraints.

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7:42 Now, as you configure the Suitability tool, you'll see you can also create

7:46 your very own models with layers, with attributes and parameters that

7:49 meet the specific needs of your project's requirements.

7:53 So today, we've touched on just a few of the key

7:56 spatial analysis functions that are available to you

7:59 when you're working with AEC firms on their projects.

8:02 But keep in mind, the array of spatial analysis tools that

8:05 are available to you are as broad and varied

8:08 as the types of projects that AEC firms already work on.

8:11 All of these analysis tools, the ones we've seen today and the ones that

8:14 you'll explore in the days and weeks and years to come, all serve a single

8:18 purpose, and they're all about enabling staff to make better decisions,

8:22 be comfortable with those decisions, and ensure that people are being

8:25 successful at what they're trying to do.

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