Introducing Location-Source - a perfect Geospatial reference source for AGI members

Keep up to date with the latest news and developments in the geospatial sector with Location-Source.com.  The online portal is updated several times a day, offering readers the ability to keep their finger on the pulse of the geospatial world.

The site also features exclusive articles on a wide range of topics, as well as featuring content from GiS Professional, Geomatics World and Engineering Surveying Showcase.

Readers can sign up for free to receive a tailored weekly email. As our catalogue of content grows, readers will be able to make sure that they only receive content in the area that meets their interests. Readers who sign up can also tailor their homepage, allowing Users to move the sections that they are most interested in to the top of their page.

Signing up for Location-Source allows free access to a wide collection of archived longer articles and case studies. The site also features a growing job board, allowing readers to see the latest jobs in the sector.

The site also features a large directory of companies and institutions, helpfully broken up into industry sectors to allow readers to easily find exactly the right people for the desired task. 

To join our portal visit www.location-source.com

Sigma Seven Contract Wins Top £1M

Leading Edinburgh technology company, Sigma Seven, has won another significant new customer, achieving new project wins totalling more than £1M in the first three months of 2013.

Sigma Seven, which specialises in mobile and mapping technology, has been appointed by electricity distributor, Northern Powergrid, to assist with a major asset management project.

The company won the contract through a competitive tender, beating a number of large UK technology companies to the job. Sigma Seven employs a team of 22.

Northern Powergrid, based in the north east of England, delivers electricity to 3.9M domestic and business customers, through a network of more than 31,000 sub-stations and around 91,000 kilometres of overhead line and underground cables.

Effective management of these assets is key to Northern Powergrid’s operations and following an in-depth review, the company has recently introduced a programme of upgrades, to further enhance its systems.

As part of the review, the electricity distributor identified a need for a software tool, which would enable around 250 field-based workers to access network and asset information, while out in the field.

Sigma Seven proposed a solution based on its highly successful product, GeoField. This coordinates data from a number of sources, allowing field workers to access, collect and manage data, organise tasks and record information directly onto digital maps, either on a tablet or laptop.

The purpose of the customised version of GeoField is to give the Northern Powergrid field team access to all network information, as well as map viewing and data capture capabilities. It will include a workflow solution, providing step-by-step instructions to ensure the field worker’s job is completed fully, with no errors and in the correct format. The £0.5M project will also incorporate training of the 250 system users and on-going support and maintenance over a three year period.

Sigma Seven managing director, Paul Reid, commented: “We are extremely pleased to have won this contract. We welcome the opportunity to work with Northern Powergrid.”

He added: “This project also represents a hat-trick of significant contract wins for us in the last few months. Our mapping technology and expertise is much in demand and we are anticipating that 2013 will be our most successful year to date.”

www.sigmaseven.co.uk

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Business Improvement District Sees Almost £1m of Investment into Huntingdon

London, 2 May 2013 – Huntingdonshire District Council have used their local address dataset in a project that has secured almost £1 million of investment over five years for local businesses.

Through the establishment of a Business Improvement District (BID) in Huntingdon, one of four market towns in Huntingdonshire, in addition to the investment, footfall has increased, business performance improved and the town has been made more attractive, safer, cleaner and busier.

BIDs act as business partnerships between businesses, local authorities and other organisations, and were created to develop projects and services that will benefit the trading environment within the boundary of a clearly defined geographic commercial area.

This geographical area was determined through the use of the council’s local address dataset and its synchronisation to a list of properties paying business rates. Through this work, the BID Huntingdon Manager and the council’s Economic Development and Business Rates Managers were able to precisely identify the final geographical BID area and all commercial properties within it.

It was these eligible businesses, identified through the local address dataset, that now provide five years of sustainable funding, allowing Huntingdon businesses to control a significant pot of levy income each year, spent by the businesses for the benefit of business. 

LLPG Manager at Huntingdonshire District Council, David Lloyd said, “With Huntingdon Town Centre facing increased competition as a retail and leisure destination, particularly from local towns, out-of-town retail parks and online shopping, the BIDs were recognised as a winning way to fund and manage additional projects in the town, projects that are over and above those that the public sector has to deliver.”

“This project demonstrates localism in action – businesses working to help themselves against the backdrop of a very difficult economic and financial climate.”

To find out more about local address datasets, visit www.geoplace.co.uk.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Further InformedCONSULT Success as Big Chip Awards Finalist

Informed Solutions and the InformedCONSULT platform are Big Chip Awards finalists for “Best Public Sector Project” for the on-line consultation portal (https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk) and digital transformation programme delivered by Informed Solutions for the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).

This is further testament to the market leading capabilities of the InformedCONSULT solution and the success of LGBCE’s digital transformation programme, which was also a finalist for the European ICT Excellence Awards for ‘Best Government Solution’ earlier in the year.

LGBCE’s new on-line consultation service has transformed how the Commission engages with the public on vital electoral boundary reviews, delivering interactive street-level mapping and allowing users to review, support or challenge proposed changes. This has greatly facilitated the public’s ability to influence decisions in their local area, thereby directly increasing citizen representation and safeguarding the UK’s democratic process.

Alan Cogbill, Chief Executive of the LGBCE offered, “I am delighted that the work of my team and Informed Solutions has been recognised by the Big Chip Awards evaluation panel. This project has been an excellent example of how digital transformation can deliver cost savings alongside better services.”

John Alderson, Chairman of Informed Solutions, said: “Our engagement with the LGBCE is an exemplar for delivering digital transformation, delivered by an SME working in collaboration with a forward-thinking government body.  We are delighted to have made the finals of The Big Chip Awards and pleased that the value of well-executed digital transformation is being recognised.”

The Big Chip Awards are the longest running digital awards in the UK and the largest outside London.  They celebrate the North’s best digital innovation projects and technologies.  Category winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner on 27^th June at the Palace Hotel,  Manchester.

InformedCONSULT is a digital collaboration and consultation platform which manages complex workflows and transactions online, driving your digital shift strategy by transforming mailrooms, call centres and online channels into a single, integrated digital operation.  The platform is deployed using the Informed Digital Transformation Methodology, which delivers a step change in business efficiency, customer experience and stakeholder engagement.

Informed Solutions is a truly independent professional services and specialist systems integration practice.  We deliver exceptional value by providing clients with simple, high performing solutions to complex business and safety critical problems, particularly where place, location or geography is important (www.Informed.com).

For more information about our services contact us on: Tel: +44 (0)20 3042 2000 / +44 (0)161 942 2000 or email: David.Chapman@Informed.com.

For regular Informed news and event updates without the spam, please follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

New e-mapping Tool to Benefit Planners in Kent

Housebuilders, developers and planners in Kent will benefit from an electronic mapping project that helps simplify and cut the cost of the planning process in the county.

The Planning Screening Tool will allow public bodies, environmental groups and private organisations to assess potential impacts that proposals could have on local natural habitats – a key element of planning decisions.

The tool was developed as part of an European Interreg IVA-2 Seas-funded project, ARCH, that assesses regional changes in natural habitats.

The Kent County Council team behind ARCH recently won the prestigious British Cartographic Society Avenza Award for their work in electronic mapping.

William Moreno, who leads the mapping project at Kent County Council, said:

“This will help planners and environmental bodies by providing better online access to high-quality information on the county’s natural habitats. This will aid long term monitoring and conservation of important areas for wildlife, enabling planners to make informed decisions on spatial planning, and assisting the decision making process.

This has consisted of the development of an online mapping tool in Nord-Pas de Calais and of a planning and screening software solution in Kent which are available to planners and environment professionals.

The Planning Screening Tool can be used at the start of the planning application process. The improved access to information provided by this work will also allow key users to better take into account the importance of the condition and extent of our natural environment. It has been specifically designed to be as flexible as possible, and the way in which data is presented can be adapted to suit individual authorities requirements”

Kent County Council has already begun promoting use of the Planning Screening Tool to local authorities .

The device was officially launched at a conference to mark the conclusion of the three year ARCH project.

Paul Crick, Director of Planning and Environment at Kent County Council, said:

“I would urge housebuilders, developers and planners to use this very important and useful tool to inform their decision making and help to protect and enhance Kent’s natural environment.”

For more information about the Planning Application Screening tool please contact Hannah Cook at the Kent and Medway Records Centre, hannah.cook@kmbrc.org.uk.

For more information about ARCH, please visit: www.archnature.eu.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.