CASE STUDY

The challenge

For the uninitiated, we asked Karl just how necessary of a role GIS plays in the LDNPA. “Well, one of our main duties is to manage and maintain the Public Rights of Way network, and so our ‘Right of Way Management System’ is a key system, and GIS is heavily integrated into that. This system contains mapped routes, furniture, benches, drains, plus many other feature types. We have to survey and maintain all of those, so GIS is used to generate accurate survey sheets, work details, diversion orders, for example.
We have all of our planning applications mapped, as well, so we have to do constraints checks on those and our own property ownership, as well, so GIS is managing those constraints, checked against our own data.”

“We work a great deal in partnership with other organisations” Karl adds. “A good example of this is the ‘Fix the Fells’ teams, where we work with the National Trust. They use GIS in the field to identify and specify essential repair work to paths beyond the fell wall.”

With all of this essential work being dependent on GIS,the LDNPA’s necessary works; ranging from managing the Right of Way Network, to aiding nature recovery, conservation and heritage, Karl and the team were stuck relying on unreliable hardware.

“We had a single high-accuracy GPS receiver, with an integrated operating system,” Karl tells us. “It was very dated, and it was getting more difficult to support internally. It was quite a strain on the limited GIS resources that we’ve got. So, it was time to refresh that.
As part of that contract, we had access to cloud-based software to handle the synchronisation of data — and that’s where most of the pain occurred. It wasn’t clear if all of your data was being synchronised in the software we were using on our own servers, and it took quite a bit of time delving into the guts of the files and getting information out. I was only able to do that because of my previous experience with GIS. If it was anyone else on the team without that experience, it would have been impossible to do. We felt we should be able to synchronise the data to the cloud, download it, and put it into our systems.”

Outdated technology can cause ‘data missingness’ through signal loss, battery issues, non-compliance and more. Fieldwork errors caused by organisations relying on legacy systems result in misaligned infrastructure data, costly rework, and compliance issues—problems that teams such as Karl and his colleagues at the LDNPA simply can’t afford when managing critical assets.

Karl and his team had faced similar issues in the past. “Out in the field, it was again, not clear. You can see on the map what you’ve collected, but if you wanted to get into the attributes of what you’d done, it wasn’t clear if you’ve got information you need to capture alongside, so we needed to improve that.”

The solution

So Karl went looking for a solution. “We didn’t previously have a relationship with MGISS. I did send emails to several suppliers to get some quotes, but surprisingly found it very difficult to get much response from that.
I was actually happening to have a meeting with our account manager at Esri, and he put me on to you guys, who were very quick to respond, actually, which was a nice change!”

As a trusted Esri partner, MGISS works closely with organisations like the LDNPA to enhance their GIS capabilities with cutting-edge hardware and expert support. This partnership ensures that GIS users can seamlessly integrate high-accuracy positioning technology into their existing Esri workflows—just as Karl and his team needed.

“Because we had a fully integrated device that did everything, I was looking at something similar to at first, but because I’d already been doing a piece of work with a GIS app on an Android tablet, I thought we could also look at other hardware which might give the accuracy and let you work in an app you’re more familiar with. So, when we met with Martin, he recommended the Arrow 100. Our only hard specification was sub-metre accuracy and it was very clear that was on offer and it could work for us. We knew what we were getting, we had access to online support and the device was very straightforward to configure and use, so the experience was painless really!”

The Arrow 100 is a high-accuracy GNSS receiver designed to provide sub-metre precision, even in challenging environments like dense tree cover or rugged terrain. Unlike outdated or less precise GPS units, it seamlessly integrates with existing GIS applications.

“It was a straight replacement was for our previous device and primarily used by the staff who manage the public Right of Way Network. We’ve got a lot of tourists walking, hiking, running, cycling, all that sort of thing, so it’s important that we manage those efficiently, particularly ensuring there is high accuracy when mapping any potential creations or diversions of those routes. Sometimes we have routes that deviate from the ‘definitive map’, which is the legally binding version, but what’s on the route doesn’t always match what’s on this map — so quite often our staff would actually have to walk the definitive line, (which isn’t necessarily where the path actually goes) to correct that.”

Having the right technology makes all the difference—without it, teams face inefficiencies, data inconsistencies, and unnecessary workflow disruptions. With the Arrow 100, LDNPA could eliminate these obstacles, allowing their team to focus on getting the job done efficiently, confidently, and with trusted data.

Updating their equipment has opened doors for the LDNPA to tackle use cases that were out of reach before. With high accuracy now in hand, difficult mapping conditions such as wooded areas or blockages on rights of way paths have been overcome. On using the Arrow 100 to identify diseased trees that need treating, Karl says “it worked surprisingly really well under the tree canopy”.

The result

Now the headache of dealing with difficult issues such as accurately capturing the extent of Enforcement Cases is eased, Karl and the team can focus on enhancing their team capabilities. “It certainly has sped things up,” Karl explains. “It’s easier to use — we got to a point with the old hardware where we weren’t really promoting it to staff that it was an option, we just had our regular users, because it was just getting too difficult to use and train people up on it. But now we’ve got this new Arrow 100, we’ve got a calendar to book it out and we offer training within our team to people who haven’t used it before.
What’s been interesting to me, is that more use cases have come forward that we weren’t previously aware of in the GIS team, so we are exploring the use of this device in areas we wouldn’t have before. It has greater use than we had previously, and our data is more trusted as a result. What’s more, the experience with MGISS was easy, it was efficient and quick and very friendly and so much appreciated.”

With fit- to- purpose hardware, organisations like the Lake District National Park Authority are working more efficiently and with greater confidence in their data. No longer hindered by outdated systems, tree canopies, or unreliable mapping, the LDNPA can focus on embracing new capabilities, not just solved existing challenges but also uncovering new ways to better operational work. Making smarter, faster decisions, the LDNPA can ensure their team continue protecting and preserving the landscape for years to come.