Challenge
- Guyana’s geodetic infrastructure (i.e. its eight site Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) and Network Operations Centre (NOC)) was in disrepair and had fallen out of use. This meant that inefficient and expensive traditional surveying methods were being relied upon.
- The CORS network needed recomputing and connecting to the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS), specifically the Sistema de Referencia Geocéntrico para las Américas (SIRGAS) geocentric reference system. This makes the Guyana CORS network (and coordinates) directly compatible with others across the whole of South America.
- A CORS network is essential for any nation looking to capture and maintain an accurate geographical database. Through the connected technology it can allow surveyors to map features on the ground to centimetre accuracy compared to around 10 metre accuracy which standard GPS delivers.
- GLSC required all of these developments in order to progress towards achieving their long-term and Sustainable Development Goals - such as creating more efficient transport systems, secured land tenure, better government, improved economy and happier citizens.
Solution
- OS worked with GLSC to restore and update the NOC and 8-site CORS network, making multiple updates and ensuring that user needs were met.
- Both organisations worked together to upgrade Guyana's existing surveying operations and technology, including the network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) within the country. Through the project OS experts have supported GLSC in installing six new CORS stations.
- We provided training to support GLSC’s knowledge of how to use, maintain and expand Guyana’s national geodetic positioning network meaning that GLSC were able to ensure the CORS network was coordinated and connected to SIRGAS.
- Working together we produced a detailed business plan for the CORS network, with continual training and sustainability at the plans’ core. This included support with the planning and procurement of new equipment needed for the sustainable operation of the CORS network.
Result
- Restoring and updating the CORS network and training GLSC teams means that GLSC can now use, maintain and expand the CORS network efficiently, sustainably and more cost effectively
- GLSC are now in control of Guyana’s geospatial data infrastructure, helping them with key roles such as decision making – meaning they can inform the Guyana government.
- This will ultimately support a range of markets, policies and challenges, including land management and future sustainability project. The CORS network will also deliver valuable efficiencies as well as time and cost savings to GLSC.
- The project helped to develop geospatial capabilities in Guyana as well as bringing historic cadastral mapping in line with the new system, and surveyors in Guyana now have the workflow patterns and knowledge to be able to update historical land parcel records and locate them accurately on the ground.
- With the country's forests comprising about 85 per cent of the land, this project supports the government's implementation of the Sustainable Land Development and Management (SLDM) programme for land use planning and development and reclamation. Accurate and maintained maps of the nation are seen as vital tools in managing land and protecting the country's forests.
- With the benefits of accurate location data provided by the CORS network to support better land administration, resource management and infrastructure planning, GLSC are now able to work towards achieving their long-term and Sustainable Development Goals.
"With support from Ordnance Survey, this project has enabled all users, engineers and surveyors to get more precise information to help them make decisions. It provides a key foundation for surveying, mapping and land administration."