Municipalities contract with engineering consultants to provide on-call geographic information systems (GIS) services for various reasons. Some of these reasons include the need for specialized expertise that may not be available in-house, the desire to supplement existing staff during peak workloads, and the need for flexibility in staffing levels. Additionally, working with consultants can sometimes be more cost effective than hiring additional staff, as the municipality only pays for services when they are needed. Overall, contracting with engineering consultants for on-call GIS services can help municipalities manage their resources and provide high-quality services to their communities.
At Sain Associates, our team of professionals offers a complete package of services related to GIS tools and data. We have been honored to provide on-call GIS services to numerous Alabama municipalities and in Pulaski, Tennessee. Our GIS services include:
- Project Development – Implementing GIS can be overwhelming. Sain can help evaluate your organizational needs and design a scalable GIS software implementation based on your needs, budget, and personnel.
- GIS System Setup – Need help getting started? Sain will help with Desktop and Server software installation and configuration. Setup services may include GIS data installation and organization, project file setup with maps and layouts, and online web mapping setup.
- GIS Data Conversion – GIS data can be derived from many sources. Sain can help transform these data sources into a usable GIS format from paper maps, CAD files, GIS data from online sources, and data from other organizations.
- GIS Data Development – There are times when GIS data needed by your organization has not yet been developed. Sain can help develop this data from various sources, including aerial photography, digital elevation models, and as-built engineering drawings.
- GIS Data Maintenance – If your organization does not have the system or personnel resources to implement GIS internally, Sain can provide data maintenance services to implement and keep your GIS data up to date, including data such as Zoning, Parcels, Road Centerlines, Address Locations, etc.
- ESRI Solution Implementation – ESRI offers a wide assortment of pre-packaged solutions at no additional cost to help organizations use their GIS data better. These solutions include pre-defined data models, web maps and apps, and documentation for implementing each solution. Sain can help your organization restructure its existing data and implement these different solutions.
- Database Services – The underlying platform for all GIS systems is a database, whether an enterprise database like Oracle or SQL Server or a proprietary database format such as the ESRI File GeoDatabase. Sain can assist in modeling and developing a database structure that accommodates all your different GIS layers.
- GIS Data Analysis – One of the greatest strengths of GIS is the ability to include geospatial analysis with other database information. Sain can set up processes, models, and apps that make it easier for organizations to derive critical information from the GIS data to make more informed decisions.
- Map Production – A picture is still worth a thousand words. Sain can set up map layouts and produce paper maps of all sizes for use in meetings or display public information.
- Web Map Implementation – The more people have access to your GIS data, the more valuable it can be for your organization. Sain can help set up focused web-based maps and applications to disseminate the data to all levels of your organization and the public.
- GIS Software Upgrades – GIS software, particularly the ESRI Enterprise Server software, can be very complicated to upgrade. Sain can assist you in upgrading your Desktop and Server-based GIS software.
- Custom GIS Training – To develop GIS support through internal personnel development, you may begin with basic standardized software training. Sain can provide targeted GIS software training, basic and advanced, to address the specific software usage requirements of your organization.
- Technical Support – Sain’s GIS manager has 35 years of GIS implementation and development experience. We are happy to share our years of knowledge by providing general or task-specific GIS on-call technical support services.
- Broadband Planning – Sain has provided broadband studies to counties for five years, helping evaluate existing broadband infrastructure, gathering public feedback, identifying major gaps in broadband service, and developing recommendations for prioritized broadband infrastructure projects. These plans help counties make more informed decisions related to expanding broadband service to unserved citizens and the expenditure of federal funding for relevant projects.
We are proud of our GIS services and hope to provide our team’s expertise to additional municipalities in the future. Our GIS team is committed to providing reliable and efficient service, and they enjoy meeting clients’ mapping and data needs. If you are interested in Sain’s on-call GIS services, please contact us today!