Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have matured significantly over the last decade, with its applications expanding far beyond traditional cartographic mapping. Sappi Sphere provides professional spatial services that add value to business processes and enable smart decisions by encouraging spatial thinking as part of all problem solving and development.
With the establishment of Sappi Sphere, we are now offering fit-for-purpose spatial solutions to streamline business processes and inform decision-making for any enterprises that require GIS-related services. This ranges from establishing and designing suitable GIS systems, providing geospatial data storage management systems, specialised spatial analysis services, data management and modelling, and advanced remote sensing applications. Sappi’s team of GIS specialists focus on data accuracy and precision as the foundation for offering this range of professional services, which include:
Enterprise GIS
We provide services that assist with establishing and designing Enterprise Geographic Information System (GIS) solutions for medium- and large-scale deployments. This includes the implementation of GIS infrastructure, processes and tools that meet your organisation’s requirements. This is achieved by integrating systems with general IT requirements such as performance tuning, security, system integration and governance, which enables a multi-tier architecture that delivers GIS capabilities on the web, desktop, and other geospatial information platforms.
Geodatabase management
To ensure high-quality spatial data that is secure and available for distribution throughout the business, we will provide the establishment and management of a centralised storage environment for geospatial data, which supports multi-user editing, backup and recovery solutions, as well as system and user security controls.
Spatial analysis
Vegetation classification
For effective land use, resource and environmental management, it is essential to classify vegetation types accurately. A range of spatial data sources and processes like remote sensing imagery, image texture variables, canopy height models, climate and soil data are used to accurately and efficiently classify and predict this vegetation classification over a larger area.
Area needing to be classified into vegetation classes.
The resulting classification showing vegetation classes with percentages and area per management unit.
Vegetation health monitoring
Vegetation health is a crucial variable in effective crop management and can monitor crop conditions and estimate crop yield. Applications include monitoring pest and disease infestations, drought, and quantifying the effects of snow and fire damage on crops. Sappi Sphere can assist by analysing vegetation health using spatial technology. Remote sensing techniques combine various bands/images with seeing things that the human eye cannot. Vegetation/crops that look healthy infield could be under stress and reflecting less light in a spectrum that only specialised camera sensors can detect.
An image showing the visible bands (what the human eye can see).
An image using bands outside the visible spectrum showing healthy vegetation in bright red.
Drone image processing
Drone data has become increasingly popular for acquiring high-resolution imagery at any moment in time for monitoring or decision-making purposes. There are numerous benefits of having this data. However, the processing of drone data can be hardware intensive and requires specific software. Our cutting-edge drone processing software allows us to analyse and transform raw drone data into value-adding 2D and 3D products for clients.
Disaster analysis
By employing remote sensing technology, we can detect and map the extent and impact of disaster events such as fire, flooding, drought, frost, snow and more.
Damage shown after a fire incident.
Risk mapping
Remote sensing allows analysts to predict potential risks over a large area. Advanced algorithms are used to identify areas that could be susceptible to a range of threats, including frost, flooding and erosion to name a few. Preventative measures can then be put in place to avoid or mitigate damage.
A map showing high frost risk areas in red.
Change detection
Some satellites have a speedy revisit time (taking images of the same area at frequent intervals), allowing for weekly monitoring for resource management. By interpreting changes in data sets, Sappi Sphere will detect and monitor changes providing data on harvesting operations or theft (illegal harvesting taking place).
Data management
Data editing and maintenance
Accurate mapping of an owner’s landholding is crucial to making informed decisions about planning operations and effective asset and resource management. Our skilled GIS professionals strive to accurately digitise and maintain all geospatial land use data, consistently upholding a high level of spatial data integrity.
A map showing land use mapped from remote sensing imagery.
Data modelling and analysis
Data modelling is the manipulation of spatial data to answer a specific question and is the foundation of all data processes. Well-designed data models and procedures define the capabilities and limitations of solutions and analyses. In conjunction with scripted data models, value-added derived data and spatial analysis will improve decision-making, share data, and ultimately enable the successful implementation of GIS solutions.
Data visualisation
In a highly visual world, we have come to rely on bringing business data to life, and GIS provides an ideal platform for geospatial data to contextualise facts and figures in a visually compelling way. Data visualisation can be accomplished on a desktop level or distributed to the organisation using web map applications. This enables business users to make more informed decisions based on a well-represented and illustrated visual representation of data and information.
LiDAR processing
Aerial LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a mapping technology that uses pulses of light from a sensor mounted on an aircraft to map the Earth’s terrain in 3D. Sappi Sphere has extensive experience in processing LiDAR data and the generation of specialised derived products such as aspect, canopy height, contours, elevation, ground roughness, hill shade, road bank heights, slopes, and tree counting; bringing one-dimensional maps and images to life in 3D splendour.
Derived products
Aspect
Contours
Ground roughness
Road bank heights
Canopy height model
Digital elevation model
Hill shade
Slopes