How can location data improve utility network planning?

Utility network planning depends on understanding far more than where pipes, cables and assets are located. Utilities also need to know what surrounds them, what is changing, where demand may grow, and which physical or environmental constraints could affect future infrastructure.

Location data brings those questions together.

• Detailed mapping, for example, can show how an existing network relates to buildings, roads, land and water.

• Address and property data helps identify where customers and future demand are concentrated.

• Transport information reveals access constraints, while environmental and terrain data can highlight places where flooding, gradients or other physical conditions may influence routing and investment.

The OS National Geographic Database (OS NGD) adds considerably more detail to that picture. It brings together authoritative information about buildings, land, transport, water and addresses, with richer attribution and more frequent updates than many previous OS datasets. For network planners, that creates opportunities to understand much more about a feature’s characteristics and relationship with the infrastructure around it.

That can support practical decisions throughout the planning process: identifying potential routes for new infrastructure, understanding access to assets, assessing which properties might be served by a network extension, anticipating constraints and comparing different investment options.

Currency matters too. Network planning may draw on information from several sources, and repeatedly downloading, processing and distributing new versions creates work of its own. Geospatial web services provide another approach, streaming maintained mapping or feature data into GIS and other applications. Depending on the need, WMS and WMTS delivers mapping for visualisation, while WFS provides access to individual geographic features and their attributes for analysis.

The result is a much stronger foundation for network planning. Instead of assessing infrastructure separately from the places it serves and landscape it crosses, utilities can analyse those relationships together – and we can help you to achieve that, efficiently and effectively.

Idox Geospatial helps utilities build that foundation using OS NGD and other authoritative location data, then deliver it in a way that fits existing systems and workflows. That might mean downloadable data for detailed analysis or managed web services to keep essential mapping accessible and up to date.

How Emapsite can help

If you can't find exactly what you need, we can help you choose the right mapping data solution for your project via email, chat or over the phone.

For more information, reach out to our Customer Support team.

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