Welcome to Field Views in 2011 – it marks our tenth birthday and a year we feel is going to be very exciting for a number of reasons. Our previous post highlights our new contract with Wales & West Utilities. We’re delighted to be working with them to deliver GeoField into their frontline business processes.

As we expand our operations, we’re looking forward to welcoming David Baxter to our development team in the role of Senior Technical Consultant. Dave specialises in enterprise integration, data modelling and data integration, and has thirteen years of experience in utilities and asset management. 

As part of our continued growth we’re also thrilled about our move into new office space in central Edinburgh. The office is a stone’s throw from the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Park.

This time last year we predicted that 2010 could be the year of the tablet and it’s safe to say that we no longer need to explain what a tablet PC is when we are demonstrating GeoField. Following the early success of consumer tablet devices last year, tablet launches dominated this year’s CES so we are hopeful that 2011 will see further tablet enhancement in outdoor screen readability, battery life and rugged device portability.

Best wishes,

Paul Reid | Managing Director

Wales & West Utilities have selected Sigma Seven to provide their mobile workforce with GeoField, our map-based field work product. The contract represents a significant win for Sigma Seven and one which helps cement the company’s leading position in our field.

Sigma Seven is delighted to announce that we have been chosen by Wales & West Utilities (WWU) to deliver a new mobile maps solution to support the critical work and asset data management processes for its 1,000 strong mobile workforce. The system will provide mobile access to WWU’s network data, third party data and OS MasterMap®. 

Based on Sigma Seven’s GeoField product suite, the solution will be used by field workers at the regulated gas distribution business which transports gas to the homes and businesses of 2.5 million premises in Wales and the south west of England. 

WWU serves a population of more than 7.5 million people through its network of more than 35,000km of gas pipes across an area covering one sixth of the UK. Annually, WWU responds to over 120,000 gas emergency calls and makes 20,000 new connections. 

Graham Edwards, Chief Executive of Wales & West Utilities said: ‘This strategic initiative will enhance our ability to provide outstanding customer service and safety for gas consumers in our area and further assist our workforce with leading edge technology.’ 

Spanning the entire WWU operating region, Sigma Seven’s GeoField solution will provide fast and up-to-date access to critical network asset data relevant to the task at hand. 

The mobile workforce will be able to collaborate with field repair crews in near real time to share crucial map-based incident data. Integrated with existing enterprise systems, including GIS, GeoField will also enable mobile engineers to validate and correct asset data at the point of action. This will help reduce operational costs by decreasing the administrative burden and eliminating unnecessary journeys back to base. 

GeoField will also help WWU maintain their focus on safety and customer satisfaction, building on the company’s prestigious awards as Gas Industry Customer Service Company of the Year for the last two years and Utility Company of the Year in 2010.

Paul Reid, Managing Director of Sigma Seven, said ‘Wales & West Utilities has a strong reputation for safety and customer satisfaction, and we are delighted to support them in further developing the efficiency and responsiveness of their field operations teams. Their large network serves millions of people and we’re confident that GeoField will provide the reliability and performance needed for WWU’s business-critical activities. ‘ 

This is an important contract for Sigma Seven that consolidates our position as the class leaders in map-based field work management. We already work with Scottish Power, Scottish Water and Bristol Water. It is fantastic to further expand our operations in the utilities sector.’ 

Sigma Seven’s work with other utility companies has demonstrated that the GeoField solution provides a rapid and proven return on investment not just in financial terms but also in terms of environmental considerations, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and regulatory compliance. As we begin to implement GeoField with Wales & West Utilities, we are confident that they too will enjoy the benefits of Sigma Seven’s map-based field work solution and strong service ethos.

Sigma Seven celebrates its tenth birthday this month

They say time flies when you’re having fun and things have certainly moved at pace since we started out in map-based mobile work management.

During this time there have been massive changes in technology, especially around mobile device capability, communications and mobile operating systems.

Throughout, we’ve focused on ensuring that our GeoField suite provides the capability, usability and flexibility required to get the most out of your frontline field operations.

As we reach this milestone, I’d like to thank our team and customers for their support. We are extremely proud of the positive feedback we receive from our users, and this drives us to continually innovate, always aiming to be the leaders in our field.

Mobility is becoming increasingly important, especially in a climate where everyone is trying to get more from fewer resources. We know that greater operational efficiency is central to that goal.

Although we can’t predict what mobile technology we’ll be using ten years from now, we are certain that our focus will remain on our simple goal of making everyday tasks quicker and easier for field workers.

The way the Ordnance Survey operates has altered dramatically, writes Andy Gosney

In the closing half of 2010, Ordnance Survey underwent large changes in the way it operates. These changes include the creation and implementation of the Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA). Replicating the agreement already in place in Scotland, the PSMA covers the provision of all location data to the public sector in England and Wales. 

One of the main changes concerns Ordnance Survey’s data licensing model. This is the set of legal rules and apparatus deployed by Ordnance Survey to guide customers in how they can (or most importantly cannot) reuse, recreate or replicate Ordnance Survey data and derived information. The Ordnance Survey made these changes in response to criticism that the existing rules were too strict; there were too many of them and they were too difficult to understand.

Thanks to the PSMA, we now have a set of fewer, broader, and more compact licences. The rules are clearer and it is easier for the end user to understand what data use they are entitled to.

The complex and hotly disputed issue of derived data has also been addressed. Though not going as far as some would have liked, Ordnance Survey have tried to couple the free and easy use of derived data alongside their OpenData™ initiative. The main rule of thumb is (careful, there are exceptions) that if you did not pay for the data in the first place, it is more than likely free to re-use as long as you credit Ordnance Survey with its initial creation. 

The family silver, in the form of OS MasterMap® and  its accompanying layers (address, transport, imagery and so on), has been protected and any commercial re-use of this data  will still require an appropriate licence and payment. Extensive guidance is available online here.

This does not solve all problems and most free data advocates will protest that the most useful and detailed data (OS MasterMap®) is still prohibitively expensive for use at anything but a corporate level. But this is a start and we expect a Phase 2 update in early 2011.

The pricing still reflects an Ordnance Survey trying to balance conflicting forces and the pricing structure seems designed to maintain the broad status quo. I would like to see certain pricing reforms to help grow the use of data, especially in the SME sector where pricing is critical. It will be interesting to see if the OS VectorMap products address this market, as Ordnance Survey hope they will

To mark our tenth year in business, we’d like to invite all our customers, partners and friends to take part in a fun little competition.

Over the last ten years, GeoField has offered a unique combination of mobile geographical information, mapping, workflow, task management and field data collection.

The question is: how best to neatly describe GeoField to someone who doesn’t know the product? This has been a perennial challenge for us. We thought that our customers and partners might be the best people to ask.

So, in ten or fewer of your own words, describe GeoField and what it means to you. It is entirely up to you whether you focus on value or features or service or another reason you like the product. To steal an old marketing maxim, if GeoField is the sausage, what’s the sizzle?

You can email your answers to: newsletter@sigmaseven.co.uk. The closing date is 31 March 2011.

Prizes

First prize is the marvellous Viliv N5 from our friends at Think4, a full-powered Windows 7 PC with GPS, WiFi, 3G and camera that weighs only 388g. It’s a true Go Everywhere Pocket PC.

Second prize is a pair of clever new FIVEPOINT gloves, ideal for the fieldworker braving this winter’s bitter cold. Every finger tip is made from conductive material so you can tap and type on any touch device without frozen fingers.

Rules 

The winners will be those who provide in the opinion of the judges the most original, pithy, accurate and possibly witty description of GeoField within the ten word limit. The decision of the Sigma Seven MD is final. We may use one or more of your words in future company communications. Alternative prizes of equivalent splendour may be provided. You may not make up new words but feel free to pass on this competition to colleagues who you think might be interested in entering.

Andrew Coleman gives his final thoughts on the best use of GPS...

GPS satellite broadcasts are encoded on a high frequency carrier signal. Top of the range receivers use this carrier signal, not the messages contained within, to determine position.  The GPS carrier wavelength is over a thousand times smaller than the ‘normal’ timing signals so large improvements are theoretically possible.

However, it is extremely difficult to align these signals and sophisticated processing is required to minimise the errors.  So the equipment is very expensive and performance can vary as manufacturers have different proprietary solutions.  The very best systems give centimetre accuracy.

Surveying is the most common application, where a fixed base station does the hard work and rebroadcasts a correction signal to mobile units. This is known as Real Time Kinematics or RTK. The technology is also increasingly available in portable units. Innovation continues in this area and prices should come down.

A rough guide to pricing is to consider GPS correction solutions in four broad categories. Each offers roughly ten times greater accuracy for a tenfold increase in price: basic consumer GPS costs £20 for ± 10m, then £200, £2000 and £20,000 for ± 1cm.

How you use a GPS unit also affects performance. In general, the longer you run a GPS unit in one place, the greater its accuracy. So if you frequently move, lose signal or turn GPS off (i.e. to save power), you will risk lower accuracy or delays at each location. Models vary greatly in their start-up performance – known as ‘cold & warm starts’ – something to consider in specifications.

Finally, strictly speaking, GPS refers to the original USA military system, one of four Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Of the others, Russia’s GLONASS is an option and Galileo, a new civilian GNSS developed by the EU and operational by 2014, looks the most exciting as it promises greater availability, accuracy and choice of commercial services.

GPS: what you really need to know:  

• Don’tbelieve the hype   
• Think what field accuracy you really need   
• Operating conditions of your GPS are important   
• Try before you buy, especially on big purchases   
• Don’t rely on GPS and plan for alternatives   
• Traditional location skills will still be needed  
•  In general you get what you pay for on performance, reliability and accuracy   
• Get independent advice

Having previously managed the offices at Edinburgh’s Enviros, Jo Anderson has been the Office Manager at Sigma Seven for just over a year. In that time, she has swiftly proven invaluable to the smooth running of the company. In some ways, it is easier to define her roles by what she doesn’t do rather than what she does.

‘If it’s not software or sales-based then I’m your woman,’ is Jo’s quick fire description of her job.

This means that Jo looks after Sigma Seven’s facilities and premises; organises staff travel; books events and looks after the company finances. ‘Finance is the biggest area that I’m responsible for. I do all of the invoice processing and salary payments, tracking cash flow and the year end accounts.’

When not balancing the books, Jo has been instrumental in maintaining Sigma Seven’s ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certification.

‘Quality Management is about making sure that all of our procedures are documented, follow a pattern; that people follow them and that we are keeping to the standards that the BSI set,’ explains Jo. ‘My role is to ensure that the procedures are up to date, to audit our internal processes and make sure that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. Then we are externally assessed by the BSI. We have just had the second assessment visit for ISO 9001 and came away with a clean slate. I am utterly delighted.

‘But keeping up the standards for our ISO certification is not a one person job. I’ve had plenty of input from not just the internal Sigma Seven team but also Wendy Rayner, our environmental consultant.’