Emergency Response/Management

 

Emergency Response/Management Technical Sessions

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

8:30 a.m.

Cost Effective GIS Technologies in Infrastructure Management
Lead Presenter:  Babu Krishnasamy, GISbiz Inc.
Copresenter:  Ian Charles Sorhaindo, Dominica Electricity Services Ltd

Keywords: standards, GOS, web services, open source, search and rescue, 3D
Vertical Interest Tags: WW; T; E; ER; PS; G; TR; CC; W

The necessity and complexity in effectively managing our infrastructure increases day by day, so does the availability of various geospatial technologies in the market place. It is therefore important for the infrastructure managers to constantly evaluate the technology options in order to implement the right solutions at their organizations. This presentation would explore how an electric power company from a developing nation took advantage of open source geospatial technologies in implementing a cost effective solution to manage its infrastructure.

Improving Asset Integrity and Reliability with 3-D Mapping
Todd Porter, Geospatial Corporation
Copresenter: Linda Ward, Geospatial Corporation

Keywords: 3D Mapping, location, condition, assessment, time saving, cost saving

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; M; TR; P; S; EN; DD; AI

In order to effectively maintain, rehabilitate, or install pipelines and underground infrastructure, stakeholders must identify where assets are located and manage this data effectively. Three-dimensional (3-D) locations (XYZ) of pipelines can be achieved using various technologies. These technologies can coincide with additional condition assessment tools to provide accurate pipeline positional information along with geo-referenced pipeline condition assessment data such as CCTV video, leak detection data and interior and exterior corrosion data. Once gathered, this information can be managed effectively through GIS.

8:30–10:15 a.m.  (Double Session!)
Power Panel: A Unified Federal Approach to Geospatial Technologies in Times of Crisis
ERS Session
Moderators: Justin Sherin

The role of geospatial technology, information and data continues to be of critical importance in supporting Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness, and Response and Recovery Operations. This panel will address the continuing evolution of the individual and coordinated efforts of a number of key federal agencies.  Panelists will also share insights for improving information collection for Homeland Security Infrastructure Programs and the vital role of utilities and other public and private infrastructure organizations in meeting common objectives.

GIS & Emergency Management:  A Common Operating Picture for Emergency Response
ERS Presentation
Patrick M. O’Toole, Salt River Project

GIS now provides that critical link allowing responders to quickly gain situational awareness when disaster strikes. Timely, accurate, and disaster-specific geospatial data coupled with competent, well-trained responders is now a powerful enabler in responding to disasters of any scope, duration or severity. Patrick O’Toole will discuss how the Salt River Project is using its comprehensive GIS capabilities as a common operating picture for crisis management and emergency response.

 

Breaking News Panel  • 10:30 - 12:15
Not Your Father's Approach to Geodata Creation and Sharing
Moderator:  Peter Batty, Ubisense
Speakers: Andrew Turner, FortiusOne; Ron Lake, Galdos Systems; James Fee, WeoGeo

Keywords: geodata, creation, sharing, crowdsourcing, OpenStreetMap, Haiti, OGC, GML, KML, GeoRSS

Vertical Interest Tags: E; ER; EN; G; M; P; PS; T; TR; WW; DD, II, CC, W

This panel will look at new approaches to geodata creation and sharing that have emerged in the past few years, and consider how they apply to infrastructure related problems. Crowdsourcing has grown dramatically as a mechanism for creating geospatial data, and has the potential to dramatically reduce the costs associated with geodata creation and maintenance, which of course have traditionally been very high. One of the best known initiatives in this area is OpenStreetMap, and the crowdsourcing approach is also being used by a number of commercial companies including Google, TomTom and others, as well as some government agencies. Crowdsourcing has huge potential in emergency response, and the panel will include a look at how OpenStreetMap contributed enormously to the response to the Haiti earthquake. The panel will also consider approaches to sharing geodata. New lightweight standards like GeoRSS and KML have arguably done more to facilitate sharing of geodata in practice than longer standing more heavyweight standards. Techniques for making geodata accessible to search engines like Google, rather than being hidden behind portals, have also contributed to our ability to easily share data. These and other developments will be discussed by the panel.

Ensuring a Successful Web Portal Deployment
Michael Baker, Intergraph Corporation

Keywords: enterprise, web portal, collaboration, communication, internet reporting, business intelligence

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; P; DD; W

One of the most exciting technologies to allow a company to connect the operator to the solution is the enterprise Web portal. When defining the enterprise Web portal, it is important to understand that it is more than a flashy Web site. Rather, the enterprise Web portal is a Web-based, business-critical system. This presentation will explore the best practices of planning, implementing, and deploying a successful enterprise Web portal.

Modeling the Real World
Ton Di Vries, Bentley Systems, Inc.

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; P; S; EN; DD; PH

Keywords: GIS, mapping, model, 3D, land development, cadastre, infrastructure, engineering, workflow

Infrastructure professionals rely heavily on cadastral data. Governments worldwide are planning thousands of new infrastructure projects to stimulate faltering economies and to repair, strengthen, and expand existing structures to avert catastrophes. Though projects will vary widely in scope and nature, planners and engineers will have one common need: information about the land. This session addresses the challenges infrastructure professionals face obtaining accurate land information, streamlining work flows, managing infrastructure information, and collaborating across distributed teams.

Revolution Underway—GIS and Emergency Management in Minnesota
ERS Session
Stephen Swazee, Emergency Preparedness Committee, MN Governor’s Council on Geospatial Information

In recent years, the U.S. government has spent billions to improve situational awareness for the emergency management and first response communities. Unfortunately, in many cases these expenditures have failed because they do not adequately address the pivotal role state-based geospatial efforts must play in developing national capacity and interoperability. Consequently, inconsistent and poorly focused state-based geospatial support of the nation’s emergency response community is largely the norm. There are exceptions, however, with the Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) of Minnesota Governor’s Council on Geographic Information serving as an example of what is possible from “state partners.” Starting with a membership of 17 in fall 2007, the EPC now stands at over 200 as volunteers from Minnesota’s geospatial and emergency response communities have come together to develop better situational awareness products for emergency response. These very thinly funded collaborative efforts have produced unique and powerful results: national leadership in U.S. National Grid implementation, development of powerful Common Operating Pictures for the Republican National Convention and 2009 Red River Valley flooding, creation of “state-endorsed” geospatial data layers, and much more. Thus, to align national situational awareness needs with a plan federal money must be directed at creating and supporting these types of state-based efforts.
 

Process to Product: Developing a Custom GIS Web Portal
Aaron Gundel, San Jose Water Company
Copresenter: Jeff Hobbs, San Jose Water Company

Keywords: Open Source, GeoServer, OpenLayers, Oracle Spatial, Google API, jQuery, Web Portal, Records Management, AJAX, Web Services

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; TR; P; S; EN; W

San Jose Water Company has taken on an ambitious project to create an ever-evolving GIS facilities tool, GDI Portal. Using the latest Web APIs and open source technologies available (OpenLayers, GeoServer, OpenStreetMap, Google Maps/Earth API, etc.), the portal serves as a window into the company’s GIS data. This talk reviews the portal’s use within the company, and offers a brief overview of the technical aspects and challenges involved with the development of the portal.

Leveraging GIS in a SCADA Implementation
David Nemeth, Panhandle Energy
Copresenter: John Spangler, GE Oil & Gas, PII Pipeline Solutions

Keywords: SCADA, GIS, gas control real-time compressor pressures valve map schematics

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; G; P; S; EN; DD; II; AI

This is a review of Panhandle Energy’s 2009 project to bring together its extensive GIS map data with the dynamic real-time SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) data. The two data sources are rich and complex, but by identifying a cost-effective method to integrate these, Panhandle Energy would eliminate manual creation of SCADA system schematics, prevent data synchronization problems, and eliminate delays in getting data into the GIS as required before first flow.

Identifying Potential Multi-Story Building Interference of Microwave Communication Paths using 3-D GIS
ERS Session
Cory Whittaker, City of Mesa
Copresenter: Faith Hager, City of Mesa

In the spring of 2008, a multi-story structure at a new steel mill received permits to be built that posed a serious problem to the communications system to the City of Mesa, Arizona. The problem was the structure was approved by the City Council without knowing that it would block the signal path of the Police/Fire Department communications system. To make sure this did not happen again, City Management charged the Information Technology Department to develop a way to model the communications system and to ensure that all future projects submitted to the City do not interfere with the signal paths. To do this, all of the towers and signal paths were mapped out, which are called Fresnel zones, and a 100ft avoidance zone around this Fresnel zone. Using this data we identified all parcels that this signal and avoidance zone intersects. These parcels are flagged and whenever a proposal comes into the City of Mesa on one of these parcels, some further analysis is taken. In an instance such as this, the building footprints are digitized and placed where the applicant is proposing. Once a height is added to the digitized building, a 3-D view can show if in fact there is a disruption of the signal.

Protecting Geospatial Information Processing in the Cloud
Andreas Matheus, University of the Bundeswehr

Keywords: Security, Geo Web Services, GIS, Cloud Computing

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; M; TR; P; S; EN; CS; CC; W

The strength of cloud computing is that it dramatically reduces the investment costs for users, required for processing high-volume geospatial data. But in order to have confidential or even classified geospatial data processed in the cloud, service level agreements must ensure the seamless protection of the data. This paper introduces a concept to declare and enforce service level agreements preventing unauthorized use.

Mobile Resource Management Solutions
James Main, CompassCom, Inc.

Keywords: Automatic Vehicle Location AVL MRM Mobile Asset Management Tracking

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; PS; M; TR; AI; WM

The implementation of a mobile resource management (MRM) system can provide cost savings and a host of other benefits to an organization. This presentation is geared to organizations considering the implementation of such a system and represents an effort to explain the various components, provide insight into the pros and cons of differing approaches to the technology, and cover some of the benefits a system can provide.

 

On Demand GIS as Software as a Service
Eamon Walsh, eSpatial Inc.
Copresenter: Paul Baynham, eSpatial Inc.

Keywords: Cloud SaaS Web GIS Service

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; M; TR; CC; W   

Software as a Service (SaaS) has gained widespread acceptance and adoption in the wider industry and increasingly in GIS with applications hosted in the cloud delivered on-demand over the Internet. SaaS removes the need for users to install and manage their own software, reducing deployment costs and timelines. There is a wide range of capabilities of GIS SaaS offerings. SaaS will allow more people in more organizations to use GIS for real business advantage.

GIT UR DUN—Cost Effective Recipe for Successful Modeling and Migration Between Platforms
Ken Clifford, CISS TDI GmbH
Copresenter: Joachim Figura, CISS TDI GmbH

Keywords: Migration, Modeling, Oracle Spatial, Data Integration, Geodata-warehouse Data translation-conversion, ETL

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; T; PS; E; G; M; TR; P; DD  

The presenters will showcase three different successful implementations transcending several utilities verticals, platforms and applications. This is a GIT UR DUN implementation of modeling and migration for geodata warehouse based on CITRA open technology, utilizing Oracle Spatial. All base data, application data, as-built data, and third-party data is integrated and shared ubiquitously across the implemented organizations. Each environment has different applications, data, and requirements. The CITRA core technology accommodates all the varied environments, technology, and client specific requirements.

Where It Shakes, Burns, and Floods in the MUD: Emergency Management and Spatial Technologies at East Bay Municipal Utilities District
ERS Session
Xavier Irias, East Bay Municipal Utility District
Copresenter: Elizabeth Bialek, East Bay Municipal Utility District

The East Bay Municipal Utilities District serves nearly 4.3 million customers in the greater Oakland area. EBMUD’s service region is especially vulnerable to a host of disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires, landslides, and floods. To counter these risks, EBMUD has developed a host of geospatial solutions to better plan for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from disasters. This presentation will provide an overview of these strategies and demonstrate key technology pieces, such as our U.S. National Grid atlas system, Marconi—an open source disaster management application developed by EBMUD. Presenters will also discuss the design and staffing of our emergency operations center.

A Geospatial Solution for Simplifying Profitable Adoption and Management of Alternative Fuels
Chinni Ranganath, Space-Time Insight
Copresenter: Krishna Kumar, Space-Time Insight

Keywords: See how utility companies are using simulated wind generation to forecast transmission hotspots rising from intra-zonal congestions

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; PS; E; G; EN; GR

Learn how geospatial tools use rich 3-D visualization and satellite imagery to simulate post-production operations, asset performance and revenue potential for a range of operating conditions. See how utility companies are using simulated wind generation to forecast transmission hotspots rising from intra-zonal congestions. Learn how Web service feeds from historical wind conditions and how meteorological towers can simulate energy supply in corridors, providing the operations and planning engineers with the parameters needed to select appropriate designs and aid in estimation of equipment maintenance cycles.

Wednesday, April 28^th
12:30 p.m.

Enterprise GIS
Dan Brooks, 3-GIS, LLC

Keywords: enterprise GIS, web 2.0, web-based, mobile technology, asset management, utilities, telecommunications, work order process, mapping

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; E; G; TR; DD; AI; WM; W   

GIS and asset data are often confined to mapping departments due to the high cost of licensing and limited tools for sharing data across an organization. Utilities can now leverage thin-client, Web-based technology providing access to your GIS from any browser on the network. Enterprise GIS provides a central data repository and communications link to third-party applications while automating work order processes, reporting, and mobile operations.

Building a Wastewater GIS for the County of San Diego
Melisa Caric-Lee, PBS&J

Keywords: Conversion, ArcServer, asset management, integration, data collection

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; PS; P; EN; AI; DD

The County of San Diego’s Wastewater Management Section has been using GIS technology for a number of years. This project‘s intent was to develop a system to allow wastewater staff a better means to maintain their data and distribute the data to other users. The WWM Section utilizes several applications to perform their operations and maintenance responsibilities. Linking these applications to the GIS will allow staff to work more efficiently in a time when budgets are tight.

Real-time GIS for Real-time Decision Makers at an Emergency Operation Center
ERS Session
Stacey Lyle, Texas A&M University
Copresenters: Rick Smith, Texas A&M University; Cynthia Lyle, Geospatial Research Innovation Design

Southern Mississippi and Louisiana are still recovering from the episodic events of the recent hurricanes. Several research companies partnering with NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi were awarded Small Business Innovation Research grants to build a geographic information system (GIS) response system for use in an Emergency Operation Center (EOC). The systems were in development when the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over the Stennis facility in 2005. From this event, new technology, methodologies, and science have been researched and developed. The results of this exhausting research were put into action with an innovative solution. This advanced technological solution contains some of the most current GIS technology for monitoring and responding to natural or episodic events. Presenters will discuss the event that led to the SBIR’s, the SBIR’s science, and implementation of a real-time GIS for the EOC. The results will show how the system was designed and developed as well as the critical technology developed under the SBIR. The final product is a system that can be utilized by other institutes, campuses, and/or industries for managing infrastructure, monitoring the environment, and supporting emergency response. Lessons learned and future development and implementation will be presented.

Spatial Law and Policy
Kevin Pomfret; CantorArkema, P.C.

Keywords: Spatial Law Policy

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; M; TR; P; S; EN; GR

In October 2009, the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) hosted the Emerging Technology Summit V: Spatial Law in Washington, D.C. The specific intent was to identify the legal and policy issues that will impact the growth in consumer and business applications of geospatial systems, software, and services.

Geospatial Data Sharing Via the Cloud
Brad Sileo, iFactor Consulting

Keywords: SaaS Online Mapping Organizational Trusts Cloud Computing Security Scalability

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; TR; P; S; EN; DD; CC; W   

The increased prominence of cloud computing architectures has changed the way that business-to-business transactions occur. With the addition of mapping technologies, the cloud is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for companies that rely heavily on geospatial information to communicate with each other. This presentation will cover the main issues that companies face when deploying such solutions, including security concerns, Web services and standards, and scalability.

Geospatial Dimensions of Intelligent Infrastructure: ITAG Recap
Matt Ball, Vector1Media

Keywords: smart grid, intelligent infrastructure, Broadband for the Nation, ITAG, GITA, industry trends, SCADA, gathering systems

Vertical Interest Tags: II; E; G; P; PS; T; TR; ER; S; EN; M; WW

The GITA Industry Trends Analysis Group (ITAG) meets on Monday, April 26th to explore the geospatial dimensions of intelligent infrastructure for electric, gas, telecommunications, water/wastewater, public sector, transportation, and pipeline vertical markets. This session will provide a recap of the dialogue from that session, and will provide a means for continued discussions.

The ITAG meeting that is the subject of this recap is tasked with helping define the concept of Intelligent Infrastructure for a variety of different vertical application areas. The recap will include an outline of case study examples from different practitioners with an idea of both challenges and successes. The bottom line focus will be on the creation of more efficient operations with time and cost savings through the application of intelligent models, feedback from sensors, and better processes. There will be time available in this session for more open dialogue and discussions.

Building a Common Operating Picture to Enable Disaster Response
ERS Session
Speaker: Dale Lutz, Safe Software, Inc.

Indiana’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has embarked on an ambitious endeavor to develop a common inter-agency operating picture that will improve two-way communication and collaboration in the event of an emergency. This presentation will focus on how GIS at Indiana DHS is enabling real-time data sharing across jurisdictions through its new GIS Disaster Response system. We will illustrate how Indiana DHS created a two-way data stream between local, county, and state agencies by integrating data from disparate systems into their Web-enabled crisis management system (WebEOC). Key data interoperability requirements, such as consuming disparate data Web services, restructuring data models, and enabling tight security will also be highlighted. A summary of Indiana DHS’ future plans and potential opportunities for this project will also be discussed.

Your Grid is Already Intelligent, Benefit Before You Invest and Make a Stronger Business Case to Invest More
Rich Cummings, Level Four Solutions

Keywords: intellegent grid, smart grid, performance support system operator

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; E; DD; II

Input from system operators or dispatchers, and/or operations engineers and others—along with data from investments in GIS, SCADA, OMS—can help you make your operations more efficient in front of investing in FDIR or auto restoration schemes. Creating preplanned responses supported by data can assist organizations in building a better business case for distribution automation.

Geospatial Media Web Services Support Infrastructure Management Operations
David Wright, i-cubed, LLC
Copresenter: Mick Garrett, i-cubed, LLC

Keywords: geospatial digital asset management, geomedia, geospatial web services, REST, mapping

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; M; TR; P; S; EN; II; AI; W   

Document management has become an infrastructure operations cornerstone. However, location data and rich media support are missing in conventional solutions. DataDoor’s Geospatial Asset Management Environment (GAME) establishes digital asset management upon a geospatial foundation supporting documents, video, audio, and photographs within a spatially intelligent, role-based framework. GAME’s RESTful API enables customization on platforms including ESRI ArcGIS, Google Maps, Google Earth, and Microsoft Bing. Organizations leveraging GAME realize significant benefits through improved visibility, collaboration, and documentation.

Geospatial Cloud Computing—The Next Frontier in Business Intelligence
Krishna Kumar, Space-Time Insight
Copresenter: Mark Feldman, Space-Time Insight

Keywords: All human activity has a location and time component. It takes place somewhere and some time. That is precisely why companies must monitor, understand and adjust to geo-economic signals when and where they occur.

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; E; G; DD; CC; W

This session will show how geospatial cockpits with cloud computing capabilities can now integrate the wealth of macroeconomic data on the Web with internal operations and information, to help define and execute optimal business decisions in realtime. Examples will include how Web 2.0 concepts like Wikis and Tweet streams combined with supply chain metrics from ERP systems can improve the accuracy of demand forecasts and support lean manufacturing cycles.

Haiti, Open Source Mapping, and the Collaborative Environment
Talbot Brooks, Delta State University

Keywords: Haiti, Emergency Response, Collaboration, Crowd-source, Public license, Authoritative data, Crisis, Volunteer, Earthquake, Distributed

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; PS; W

The geospatial response to the earthquake disaster in Haiti was unique in that hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals without formal training in geospatial technologies contributed significantly to the development of data and products.  A call to arms through social networks mobilized many in the geospatial community to assist through the provision of map products and services.  Nearly all who responded discovered an immediate barrier: lack of data.  What transpired next will likely stand the test of time as one of the most Herculean geospatial efforts ever accomplished: the near complete digitization of most of Haiti by the open source community using high-quality donated imagery distributed through cloud computing and image servers.  The resulting data was largely public licensed and easily accessed, trumping the availability of less complete “authoritative” data sources.  This session will present information about the collaborative environments used, a sampling of the partners involved, samples of the data and map products created, and will set time aside for an open discussion about the benefits and risks of open/crowd source and authoritative data sources during times of crisis.

Saving Lives with Spatial Technologies: Maricopa County E-911 and Phoenix Fire
ERS Session
Speaker: Dave Eaton, Maricopa Region 911
Copresenter: Lance Strong, Phoenix Fire Department

E-911 systems lie at the core of all emergency responses. Calls for help may originate from traditional wire-line telephones, cell phones, Internet-based phone services, and even text messaging systems. Regardless of the point of origin, an E-911 system must be able to correctly identify a caller’s location and reference it to the location of available resources for a successful response to occur. The system currently used by Phoenix Fire Department supports all modes of potential call receipt, employs cutting-edge geospatial technologies to dispatch and manage resources, and puts up-to-date maps and geospatial services at the tips of all firefighters’ fingers.  This presentation will provide an overview of modern E-911 systems and introduce participants to lessons learned through the development of Phoenix Fire Department’s E-911 and computer aided dispatch system.