Transforming Data to Knowledge on Malta

GIS was put at the centre of the Water Services Corporation operations to manage, control and plan internal projects. The system has enabled the corporation to build up very comprehensive geo-referenced points of every single water meter, valve, tap, pipe, and other data all over Malta and Gozo

Geographic Information System-based applications contribute to the improvement of the service provided by the Water Services Corporation. Adopting this spatial strategy has enabled WSC employees to improve decision-making, reduce risks and optimise operations by exploiting data location. GIS was put at the centre of its operations to manage, control and plan internal projects. The system has enabled the corporation to build up very comprehensive geo-referenced points of every single water meter, valve, tap, pipe, and other data all over Malta and Gozo. The same applies to the drainage system in terms of sewer main slope angle, elevation data and other data.

The corporation’s assets extend up to and sometimes even beyond the country’s shore line. All are digitally connected to communication devices and data is collated to a centralised hub. This means that digital information floods in every hour – this can overwhelm rather than help operations if not handled correctly.

The strategic information directorate identified this challenge and embarked on a strategy to determine how WSC could exploit this data in conjunction with location data to improve decision-making, reduce risks and optimise operations. Innovative solutions based on a GIS integration platform to represent this rich but overwhelming data were implemented.

The information is intelligently selected and processed to depict trends and key performance indicators that assist both operators and strategists to decide on the best way forward. What was hitherto overwhelming information was strategically transformed into knowledge to give meaning and show trends which assist both the day-to-day running as well as long-term planning.

With real-time data building up continuous trends, it has also become easier to close the loop when it comes to decision-making. Simplified and more meaningful data allows for feedback to check the worth of decisions made. Results emanating from strategic changes can be viewed in real time, thus allowing strategists to evaluate tactical changes and accept or rectify accordingly to ensure original goals are met.

This highly innovative GIS integration platform was designed, developed and implemented by WSC’s Strategic Information Directorate software engineering arm, using the latest technologies and concepts. These strategic solutions form the backbone of the corporation’s operations.

Source: Times of Malta

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Taxonomy

• IT
• Data Management
• Geospatial Information Systems
• GIS for network
• Strategic Information Management