A web mapping application from specialist British GIS software developer Cadcorp, has been selected to become the corporate GIS for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). SFRS will provide all 23 of its fire stations with access to geographic information through an intranet application, Cadcorp Web Map Viewer.
This is the first time that Cadcorp software has been used by SFRS, and brings to 41 the number of fire services using Cadcorp products.
John Phillips, GIS Officer at SFRS, explained how the service came to select the product. “Our Service motto is ‘Putting Shropshire’s Safety First’. We rely heavily on modern information technology to help us understand the location of different types of risk, and manage our response accordingly. When we learned that the geographic information system we have been using for the past five years was to be discontinued, we had no choice but to find a replacement.”
Rather than simply identify a like-for-like replacement, Phillips and his GIS Analyst colleague Adam Green, decided to use the opportunity to re-evaluate the needs of the Service. “We found that officers wanted a mapping application that was simple and intuitive to use” added GIS Analyst, Adam Green. “Officers also stressed the importance of having access to live data. When data on a server is updated, it is important that this changed data is immediately available to end users. Lives can depend on the accuracy and currency of the information we manage.”
Following a competitive tender involving five organisations, Cadcorp’s Web Map Viewer was judged as being closest to meeting the Service’s needs. As Phillips explains “In the end it came down to us making a judgement about whether to go with a basic application built on open source software, but which required development effort to meet our needs, or to go with an application which could meet our requirements ‘out-of-the box’. We judged the latter was actually more cost-effective. We also recognised in Cadcorp’s open technology that there would be benefits for us as GIS administrators. The use of Active Directory to administer user accounts is just one example.”
Based on user feedback, Phillips and Green are busy configuring the data underpinning the application, which is scheduled to go live later this summer. End users will then be trained in using Web Map Viewer.
“Shropshire Fire and Rescue service cannot be accused of underestimating the part played by geographic information in ensuring public safety” noted Mike O’Neil, CEO of Cadcorp. “We are delighted to be supplying the software that shares that critical information.”
Cadcorp
Cadcorp is a British software development company focused on geographic information system (GIS) and web mapping software. It offers a complete suite of products – the Cadcorp Spatial Information System® (Cadcorp SIS®) – addressing all phases of spatial information management. Cadcorp SIS is available worldwide through a network of Cadcorp partners and through a direct sales team in the UK and Ireland. For more information visit www.cadcorp.com
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering Shropshire, including Telford and Wrekin, in the West Midlands region of England.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service employs 635 members of staff who operate from 23 strategically located sites across Shropshire. The service currently deploys 46 operational vehicles and a number of specialist appliances.
For more information visit www.shropshirefire.gov.uk
