Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Our GIS business has grown rapidly over the last few years. This, together with other factors, has necessitated a restructure of our group.

Our new GIS company, MHP GeoSpace (Pty) Ltd, formed on 1 March 2001 now handles all of our GIS work. The new managing director of the company is Mr Chris Carter, formerly the GIS director in charge of the provincial GIS at the Department of Traditional and Local Government Affairs.

The business of MHP GeoSpace includes:

• Consulting to corporate organisations, municipalities and utility companies on all aspects of implementation of GIS technology.
  This includes formulation of Request For Proposal (RFP) documents, adjudicating responses to RFP's, conducting user requirement analysis surveys, designing spatial databases, modeling business activities using CASE tools, re-designing business processes to cater for GIS technology, and re-designing organisation structures to cater for GIS implementation and change management procedures;
• Using GIS technology to develop decision support systems for planning and survey projects.
  The constructs of GIS are frequently used internally by other components within MHP such as the Survey and Land Management Division or by external clients to display, plot, overlay or analyse spatial data. MHP GeoSpace uses a variety of GIS and CAD products for this purpose, including ARC/INFO, InfoMate, Auto Desk World and MicroStation;
• Offering GIS bureau services to small and medium sized Municipalities and other private and corporate industries. Recent advances in GIS software and Internet technology has enabled MHP GeoSpace to develop GIS solutions that are served over the Internet. MHP GeoSpace collects spatial data on a routine basis from clients, captures the data to our Bureau GIS facility and serves this data via the Internet to our clients.
  Users are afforded full GIS functionality using customised Graphic User Interfaces. The cost of such GIS solutions is a fraction of establishing traditional GIS capacities in smaller to medium size organisations.
• Data capture of spatial data using GPS technology and Photogrammetric techniques.

MHP GeoSpace also supplies an IT service to the rest of our company and are responsible for the establishment of computer networks, Internet connections, FTP servers, etc.

Our major clients include Umgeni Water (largest independent water service provider in KwaZulu-Natal), Durban Metro, Department of Local Government and Housing, Pietermaritzburg TLC and the Cato Manor Development Association.