Abstract

Bringing GIS to a CAD-Based Engineering and Surveying Firm
Track: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction
Authors: John Bean

Making the transition from Associate Professor in the Geomatics department at the University of Alaska Anchorage to the GIS Manager at HDL Engineering has been exhilarating and interesting. This paper discusses the misconceptions about GIS, trials and successes for both the author and the surveyors, engineers and managers of the company. A variety of opportunities for the successful integration of GIS into the engineering workflow in transportation, water resources and environmental engineering, as well as in alternative energy development and surveying , are presented. The author also discusses the positive impact this move has had in his on-going, part-time teaching of GIS and surveying classes.