Recently, I was doing some research on one of the many GIS mapping programs that are available to us in this digital world we live in, and it dawned on me just how fortunate we really are to have evolved to such mapping abilities. It seems to really be a point and click world, inching every day to a think and read type scenario.
I can fondly remember just like it was yesterday, having to walk in the map and plat room at the power and phone company to search for facilities, or even something as simple as an address for service to be provided. I remember having to pull out these huge rolls of paper maps that were draped over a trolley cart, pulling them onto a large mapping table and carefully turning each of the huge pages until I could find the actual location I was in search of. I often wonder if these resources still exist, are they still in use, or do they simply take up space and collect dust? The old plats and maps serve as a fond memory for me, and simply all they have become. In today’s world, it is as simple as typing an address into a mapping software program and the info magically appears. With little effort, we can now search for facilities, roads, polygons, streets and intersections, and no longer pull these huge maps onto tables and tirelessly search for these things. We can even zoom in on these maps and see street views down to 6 inches in urban locations.
Here at Mississippi 811, these wonderful mapping abilities have led us into the era of virtual mapping and white lining, a very important part of the dig law in the state of Mississippi. GIS Mapping has become such a vital part of the excavation world, not only in the field but in our call center as well. When a person initiates a request to our call center, our agents have access to up-to-date mapping information that not only aids in the time it takes to input a ticket but also in the accuracy of the location where the marks will be placed before excavation can occur.
As I reflect on the old way and revel in the present, I can only feel excitement for the future as we learn to implement such tools as artificial intelligence into the GIS world. However far into the future that may be, I hope to be around long enough to see how this amazing world of GIS technology will grow and benefit us in the near future.