Session 9: Emergency Management

Meeting the Geospatial Data Challenges for the Next Generation of Emergency Services
Travis Schindler, 1Spatial Inc.,
Meeting the data requirements of new/changing government regulations, such as NextGen911, can prove quite challenging, often requiring many hours of manual data manipulation to deal with misalignment, topological errors, and errors in attribution. Critical layers such as address points, pipelines, road centerlines, and boundaries (e.g., Parcels, PSAPS) can prove especially difficult with misalignments, improper attribution and the need for change detection between vintages to manage ongoing updates. This presentation will cover how local and state governments are creating configurable validation platforms/rules to ensure incoming data from outside local entities meet the accuracy standards for use in their 9-1-1 platforms. This presentation will also focus on our work with the State of Minnesota Emergency Communication Networks division in support of the contributor validations and workflows for the Emergency Services (NG911) Repository.
Introduction to the U.S. National Grid
Randy Knippel, Dakota County
Adoption of the US National Grid (USNG) continues to grow. It is imperative that all state, regional, and local government agencies implement it by developing map products and providing training in their use to increase geospatial interoperability across jurisdictions. Fundamentally, this is about teaching people the basic skills of map reading and land navigation. In many ways, the value of those basic skills has been lost among all the technical sophistication of GIS. Furthermore, the need for a standardized location referencing system can be easily demonstrated through the pervasive availability of GPS on cell phones and a general lack of understanding how to use it effectively. Demonstrating the wide array of coordinate systems, notations, and conventions available for GPS location display quickly leads to a conversation about the need for standardization. This presentation will cover the basic concepts of the USNG, its foundation and importance as a National standard, provide practical examples, and updates on recent national activities.