As the Manager of the Spatial Information Management Unit at Alberta Infrastructure, Rafael is responsible for:- Providing direction and leadership over BIM, GIS and CAD and digital transformation.- Overseeing the development and implementation of a Building Information Model and Digital Project Delivery strategy.- Managing projects and providing specialized advice, strategies and recommendations to senior management/executives.- Ensuring unit best practices, knowledge management practices and site related services to contribute to Department business processes.- Providing leadership and coordination for three teams: Geographic Information Systems, CAD and BIM.- Performing proactive change management for numerous innovative digital transformation initiatives.

Rafael was responsible for developing Qatar Rail’s technical information management strategy and leading the GIS, BIM and CAD departments with a total of 15 full-time staff. This includes the responsibility for the conceptualization, implementation and operation of innovative enterprise solutions which have been widely adopted throughout the organization. In addition, Rafael was responsible for liaising with numerous government agencies, 3rd party stakeholders and all project contractors and joint ventures on matters related to GIS and BIM.

As a secondee to the Qatar Rail technical department, Rafael was responsible for the conceptualization, implementation and operation of innovative enterprise GIS solutions. Specifically, he has implemented cloud-based Google Earth and mobile mapping systems to disseminate multiple terabytes of spatial information throughout entire organization. The systems have been widely adopted and have given GIS significant exposure at the highest levels of management. In addition, Rafael is responsible for liaising with numerous government agencies, the implementation of an ArcGIS Server based enterprise GIS, implementation of the land acquisition and NOC databases and contributions to tender documents. Finally, Rafael provides regular GIS training and has been tirelessly and successfully promoting geospatial awareness and technology throughout the company.

• Amman-Zarqa Light Rail Feasibility Study, Jordan, GIS Manager: PB was selected to conduct a feasibility study for a 25km light railway from Amman to Zarqa in Jordan. As GIS Manager, Rafael was responsible for all aspects of data collection, analysis, management and visualization closely liaising with the Royal Jordanian Geographic Centre. GIS was used for station location analysis, alignment alternatives planning and final visualizations. A wide range of software including ArcInfo, 3D Analyst, ArcScene, ArcGlobe and FME were used to provide support to alignment engineers and urban planners. Additionally, Red Hen video mapping technology was used to capture potential alignment alternatives and displayed using a Google Earth interface. • Abu Dhabi Metro Study, Abu Dhabi, GIS Manager:Rafael was responsible for managing and coordinating GIS activities during the year-long feasibility study for the Abu Dhabi Metro. In close cooperation with the client, the Department of Transportation (DoT), over 300 datasets were acquired and managed throughout the project. Specific responsibilities included data collection, client meetings, advanced spatial analysis, developing a GIS standards manual, data visualization and day-to-day management of GIS staff. A number of custom tools were developed using VBA and Python to facilitate the data analysis and data extraction processes. • Dubai Rail Master Plan, Dubai, Senior GIS Specialist: As a senior GIS consultant, Rafael was responsible for organizing and managing the project’s geospatial data. He has also been tasked with carrying out all spatial data analysis to ascertain trends in Dubai’s growth patterns in projected horizon years. Finally, there is a necessity to deliver high quality cartographic outputs for inclusion in the final reports.

Responsible for supporting the development of a comprehensive vision, strategy and implementation of the Urban Planning Centre Information Centre. With the support of local UPA GIS staff, a vision for information management was created and presented to the Chairman with positive feedback received. Through this, Rafael was responsible for overseeing the daily management of a staff of six GIS and five IT professionals. As one of his many tasks, he had to perform analysis, quality control and structuring of 3rd Generation Planning Project (3GPP) data. A comprehensive assessment of national data was undertaken including spatial references, ISO 19115 metadata standards and topological conformity to the data model. Additionally, he also developed complete data acceptance plans for regional and sub-regional vector data and installed and set-up an ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Server Image and Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Along with this, he also set up a prototype multi-terabyte geodatabase for the storage of raster and vector spatial data and developed initial plans for building a professional IT network infrastructure. His leadership skills were well practiced when he had to assemble a GIS quality control team to aid in the final assessment of data submitted by national consultants. Rafael also provided on-site technical mentoring, database training and IT development support for the Tripoli branch office.

• Sewer separation scheme, Auckland, New Zealand, Senior GIS Specialist: Rafael took on the lead role in the development of a GIS and web based information management system. This US$36 million project involved software procurement, a lengthy design process, daily client interaction, full software and database development, deployment and support. The technology was based around an open-source stack (PHP, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, MapServer) with a focus on performance and high availability.• Road asset data collection, Auckland, New Zealand, Senior GIS Specialist:Responsible for the design and development of a mobile GIS/GPS application for road asset data collection for an Australian client. The application was implemented using ESRI ArcPad technology and made extensive use of customized VBA programming. There were numerous innovative features that were developed, including the ability to calculate the linear measure of a street network segment based on an X,Y coordinate in real-time. This custom algorithm overcame ArcPad’s inability to handle linear referencing and made it possible for field staff to accurately and instantly measure road assets. • Web-based GIS information management systems, Auckland, New Zealand, Senior GIS Specialist:Rafael took the initiative and lead role in the conception, design and development of a number of internal web based GIS information management systems. Projects included a geotechnical borehole reports managements system and a full information management system for a US$108.3 million motorway extension in Auckland. The borehole management system consisted of developing a fully customized intranet based website using opensource GIS software that included MapServer, PostGIS and PHP. The success of this project was a catalyst for implementing intranet mapping systems for numerous other projects and significantly raised the profile of GIS within the company.

• Housing market analysis, Ottawa, Canada, GIS Software Developer:Responsible for the design and development of an ArcIMS/ArcSDE/SQL Server based GIS (MAGIS) for a housing market analysis. Vast amounts of GIS (vector and raster) data and country-wide census data were used with a focus on performance, data quality control and regular monthly data updates. The application allowed government staff to retrieve up-to-date statistics on a variety of housing indicators and to display and symbolize the results spatially. There were enormous challenges in bringing together disparate sources of data, including historical data stored in DB2 mainframes. With the assistance of talented database administrators, however, routines were created to efficiently automate the import and tabulation of millions of records into an ArcSDE database. The success of this project was instrumental in demonstrating the power of spatial analysis to the agency and led to the establishment of a dedicated GIS centre. • Spatial Manager, Exor, Fredericton, Canada, GIS Software Developer:Rafael was appointed to carry out the full design and development of an ArcGIS based commercial highway management software product. As lead developer, responsibilities included product specifications, software development (VB 6.0, ArcObjects), database development (Oracle 8i/9i), technical documentation and debugging. The product continues to be sold as an integral part of the Exor software suite, which is a market leader in road asset management software. Spatial Manager provided Exor users with the ability to edit and query linear referencing data directly from an ArcGIS interface. There were a number of technical challenges involved including the seamless integration of ArcGIS, Oracle SDO and Exor’s proprietary software. Exor is now sold on the merits of its ability to integrate with GIS and this is due in no small part to the successful two year development effort of Spatial Manager.

• Emergency management, Dublin, Ireland, GIS Software Developer:Responsible for the design and development of a standalone GIS application for the Welsh and Irish coast guards for emergency management. The software was developed in Visual Basic 6.0 and ESRI MapObjects and made extensive use of pan-chromatic raster imagery. The tool was used by the coast guard to quickly obtain information on locations where an emergency was occurring.The operator could use the system to print out hardcopy maps of the area, identify access routes and list possible hazards to emergency response teams. It was critical that the system be easy to use, responsive, updatable and reliable. The system delievered on all of these aspects and was highly praised by the client.