Australia Post has completed an implementation of enterprise GIS across the organisation.

The two and a half year project involved streamlining and centralising data, software and technical staff, so that all parts of the 35,000 strong organisation were able to share and use GIS in the same way.

Amongst other things Australia Post uses GIS for routing and navigation, understanding how to reach rural areas, placing retail locations, and election planning.

But Australia Post’s Andrea Hughes told the Victoria Surveying and Spatial Summit that the aim was to enable users across the organisation to use GIS however they pleased.

“The goal is people solving business problems without even knowing they are using location technology,” she said.

The project involved setting up a web-mapping interface using a base set of data that could be used across the organisation.

Then a ‘GIS day’ was organised where people from different parts of the organisation could come and talk about how the use location technology. The opportunity for training days was also improved, with basic training on data and licensing, and the establishment of GIS forums.

And an enterprise GIS unit was set up so that users can log issues with a central helpdesk, and see how their claim is progressing.

The unit will also monitor and improve the related desktop software, the web-mapping platform, databases and governance.