Lower Costs and Higher Quality Data Through Maintenance
Robert Kelley
Serion International, 1965 N. 57’1’Court, Suite 202
Boulder, CO 80301
Abstract
The importance of a coherent maintenance process is frequently underestimated. These
procedures must form part of the overall GIS design and be put into practice during the
implementation phase--before start-up. Yet maintenance all too often remains a second priority
even after GIS implementation as new users and applications proliferate and resources stretch to
the breaking point. If new data is not consistently integrated into the system, the enormous
investment in a high quality GIS can quickly be undermined or lost. Hiring restrictions,
insufficient trained staff, lack of adequate equipment and many other factors can prevent the
establishment of a consistent maintenance program. However, the maintenance process actually
represents an excellent opportunity to improve the quality of the information generated by a GIS,
Using the same techniques employed during the conversion process to design a maintenance
process helps guarantee that the same specifications and the same level of quality are maintained
throughout the life of the GIS. The use of Total Quality Management (TQM) keeps costs down
by focusing on the development of processes which prevent errors from occurring rather than
relying on end-stage quality control steps to find and correct them. The results are lower costs,
better data and shorter maintenance cycles.
Lower costs and higher quality data through maintenance
Data maintenance is not new. Spatial data had to be maintained when it was stored on linen,
paper and mylar in flat files. Data management and products have changed dramatically,
however, as manual spatial data has evolved into digital data and been used as the building
blocks of geographic information systems. So, too, must maintenance processes.
It is much faster and easier to update a screen image than it is to redraw an entire paper map.
Ironically, this very fact may be part of the problem. It is so easy that it is tempting to assign
maintenance to a technician with little or no training and to apply few guidelines or standards. In
fact, GIS maintenance seems so easy that it is often overlooked during the design of a GIS and,
more importantly, during the allocation of resources, as well.
There are three excellent reasons to pay very close attention to spatial database maintenance:
- As one of the greatest expenses over the life of a GIS and one which requires continuous
funding, maintenance represents one of the most logical areas in which to cut costs,
especially because there are ways this can be done without sacrificing quality.
- The maintenance process offers excellent opportunities to improve the accuracy and quality
of the data in an incremental and cost-effective manner.
- It is possible to lose the entire investment in data if maintenance is neglected.
A GIS and the many services it provides simply accelerates and intensifies the need to maintain
the database in a systematic and efficient manner. Merely mimicking manual data maintenance
methods is inefficient and expensive. A good analogy for this common practice is the initial use
of computers to do the same tasks in the same ways as adding machines and typewriters had
always done them. It soon became apparent to some Bill Gates-types that the tool at hand was far
more powerfil than the old manual devices once used to perform these fi.mctions. New processes
-- even new paradigms -- were in order.
A paradigm shift in the design of the maintenance processes used to keep spatial databases
current is also needed. Maintenance should not merely keep data current, but also provide an
opportunity to continuously improve the quality and the accuracy of the database. And it should
do so at a cost lower than the GIS is currently experiencing.
The Conversion--Maintenance Connection
The GIS processes which most closely parallel the maintenance process -- and it is a process, not
just an onerous task -- are conversion and integration. Most data does not initially exist in
electronic form; it starts out as a work order, a survey report, a diagram, a legal document--a
piece of paper. If the data is not digital, it must be put into electronic form. Digital data then must
be integrated into the GIS. This is essentially conversion and integration on a small scale,
happening in an incremental manner throughout the life of the GIS.
When a GIS manager contracts for conversion or integration work, specifications are written, QA
steps are put into place, accuracy standards are established, and so on. This occurs because it is
recognized that the quality and the accuracy of the data are two of the most important factors
which determine the overall quality of a GIS. Conversion and integration are thus seen as critical
steps in the GIS creation process. Moreover, the creation of a high quality spatial database can
constitute the single most expensive aspect of the GIS, often costing more than hardware and
software combined.
This is equally true of the maintenance process. Streamlining this process can save many, many
dollars, and if done properly, can simultaneously lead to quality that improves, rather than
deteriorates. Process engineering techniques provide the keys to achieving both cost savings and
quality improvements.
