City Recognized For Mapping Tool Created For Emergencies

SANDY SPRINGS GA -- The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association has recognized Sandy Springs for its use of geospatial information technology to improve delivery and quality of government services.

Sandy Springs was awarded top honors in the Single Process System Category during URISA’s Exemplary Systems in Government Awards presentation on Oct. 25. The award competition is open to all public agencies at the federal, state/provincial, regional and local levels.

The award presented highlighted the city’s use of GIS as part of its Emergency Operations Center to facilitate operations and response by emergency personnel during a 2017 winter ice storm. Sandy Springs implemented a central GIS live map providing situational awareness, displaying field-collected road temperatures, GPS locations of fleet vehicles and mapped reported incidents.

"Situational awareness during an emergency is a complex process that is critical to implementing successful operations during an emergency," Sandy Springs City Manager John McDonough said. "The addition of this GIS mapping tool provided more accurate location of resources and conditions, aiding in our ability to prioritize and allocate teams."

The GIS solution includes a central web map displaying real-time field data collection, accurate reference layers and mobile access to the map for all team members. The map allows users to input data including road temperatures and active incidents, and permits uploading of photos, status updates and incident notes.

The data can be exported following the event for reporting and event evaluation purposes. The system is flexible, providing situational support on following events including the recent emergency operations related to Hurricane Irma.

Photo 1: Pictured left to right: Langdon Sanders, Carol Frate, and Nathan Holman with InterDev. Sanders and Holman provide GIS services for the city of Sandy Springs.

Photo 2: Tripp Corbin, president of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) Board of Directors presents the award to Langdon Sanders, GIS Analyst for the city of Sandy Springs. GIS Services are provided through a contract agreement with InterDev, a metro-area provider of information technology, security and geographic information services.

Photo credits: city of Sandy Springs