Geographic Information Systems (GIS) made easy in EFFECTS

Thanks to consequence modelling, we can simulate the accidental release of hazardous chemical substances to determine how these loss-of-containment scenarios affect the surrounding vulnerable areas where people are present.

The modelling of these scenarios, which could potentially lead to a fire, explosion, or the generation of a toxic cloud, is extremely valuable because it helps safety professionals devise prevention and mitigation measures so that accidental releases can either be prevented or their consequences minimized. It also helps governments with urban planning so that densely populated areas are placed at a safe distance from the establishment where an accidental release could potentially happen.

The benefits of background maps for scenario modelling

Background maps are a beneficial resource to interpret those results and make the decision-making processes so much easier and efficient. By using background maps, you can see how far these accidents reach and which vulnerable areas are affected by them in one single look.

In this blog post, I will explain how easy it is to use background maps in EFFECTS, our consequence modelling software, which supports all types of background maps. EFFECTS accommodates easy importing and handling of DXF files, drawings, pictures, and screenshots of PIDs. It also offers access to multiple internet-connected servers, allows you to georeference images in a few clicks, and export consequence modelling results in a dedicated GIS tool.

How EFFECTS classify background maps

Before I show you how easy it is to use background maps in EFFECTS, let me first mention as a bit of background information that EFFECTS classify background maps in two types: tile servers (via the internet) and background maps (using your own files).

Tile servers

Tile servers are images (or ’tiles’) that are retrieved from an internet-connected server.

The main advantage of using tile servers is that your map will automatically have the correct scale and location associated with it. Furthermore, it will show the maximum detail available no matter how far you zoom in, just like you are used to in Google Maps or Google Earth. Exporting your results to GIS or Google Earth is a single click. This is the easiest way to present your results on a map.

In EFFECTS, a series of tile servers are readily available for you to use, such as Open Street Map. Additional servers, like Google Maps, can be added by yourself.

Background maps

Background maps make use of your own files and can be either vector-oriented or pixel-oriented.

• Vector-oriented maps include a scale and a coordinate system. Examples of vector-oriented maps are Shapefiles or AUTOCAD files (i.e., DXF). You might need to indicate which projection system you want to work with, which is just a way of describing how to flatten the earth’s surface into a 2D map.

• Pixel-oriented maps do not have a defined projection system or scale. Examples of pixel-oriented maps are those based on JPG, PNG, or GIF files. They work in a relative coordinate system that cannot be exported to a dedicated GIS system. However, they can be easily georeferenced inside EFFECTS to enable their export into a GIS system (such as Google Earth).

How to use background maps in EFFECTS

If you want to see how easy it is to use background maps in EFFECTS (as well as in RISKCURVES, as the functionality is the same), please refer to the video below.

In this video, I explain how to use background maps step by step and show a few practical examples; how to add a tile server, export a file-based map from a tile server, geo-reference a pixel-based background map, and export your consequence modelling results into Google Earth.