Category: Local Government GIS

Muskoka Plows Through Record Snowfall with the Esri Canada Automated Vehicle Location Solution

Hosted solution enables real-time tracking of snow plows and maintenance activities, resulting in efficient, safe and timely snow removal Continue reading “Muskoka Plows Through Record Snowfall with the Esri Canada Automated Vehicle Location Solution”

Washington DC Metro Area Workers Have Longest Commute Times in United States

SAN LEANDRO, California, February 6, 2014  — Average commute time for small business employees nationwide is 28.7 minutes

TriNet, a leading cloud-based provider of HR services, today announced the findings of the January issue of its TriNet SMBeat. The SMBeat report is a monthly analysis of small business employment and human capital economic indicators. January’s report features an in-depth analysis of employee commute times throughout the United States, including both demographic and geographic trends. A key finding of the report is that the Washington, D.C. metro area has the longest commute time across TriNet’s clients, averaging 31.2 minutes. It is followed closely by New York with 30.2 minutes.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140206/667978 )

Long commute times can be a burden on workers and affect employee happiness and productivity. The length of time an employee spends commuting is impacted by a number of factors. Geographical characteristics like population density cause increased road congestion and subsequently increase commute times. Also, demographic factors such as earnings, marital status and gender contribute to the willingness of employees to spend time getting to work. Employers can alleviate the stress caused by long commute times by offering perks, such as flexible start times, telecommuting, and transit benefits. These perks ultimately impact the bottom line by reducing costs associated with employee turnover and poor employee productivity.

Key findings – sourced from TriNet‘s more than 8,800 customers and over 230,000 worksite employees in the U.S.

  • San Diego has the shortest commute time of the analyzed metropolitan areas with 24.7 minutes.
  • The Atlanta, San Francisco Bay and Chicago metro areas have an average one way commute time of 28.7 minutes.
  • Across the TriNet population, income is positively correlated with commute time. Workers that earn less than $50,000 per year commute 27 minutes on average, while those earning more than $250,000 per year commute 31 minutes on average. Populations in certain geographies have a negative correlation. In Los Angeles, lower income workers commute for a longer duration, 22.5 minutes for the higher wage earners versus 45.9 minutes for earners of lower wages.
  • Married workers with growing families often seek larger homes in the suburbs outside of metro areas, adding to their commute time, which is an average of 2.5 minutes longer than single workers.
  • On average, men commute 7% longer than women. We believe the gender salary gap may drive this discrepancy in part due to the correlation between larger incomes and longer commute times.
  • Baby Boomers aged 49 years and older have the longest commute time with an average of 31.3 minutes.
  • Millennials between 22 and 31 years old have on average the lowest salaries and lowest commute times. Research frequently finds work-life balance to be an important factor for Millennials[1]. Shorter commute times can contribute to less daily stress and we believe this age group therefore values them.

In addition to the findings on commute times, SMBeat indicates that 2014 began on a high note with net job growth of 1.26% across TriNet’s clients in January. In addition, growth for the tech sector continued. Nationally, it saw 1.80% net job growth, increasing from last month’s growth of 1.49%. New York continues to lead the tech sector with 2.57% net job growth. New York surpassed Denver–Boulder, Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, which saw 2.46%, 2.40% and 2.09% net job growth, respectively.

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1. The Millennials: A New Generation of Employees, a New Set of Engagement Policies [http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/the-workplace/the-millennials-a-new-generation-of-employees-a-new-set-of-engagement-policies ], by Jay Gilbert; September/October 2011, page 2

For more information on TriNet, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.

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About TriNet

TriNet is a leading provider of a comprehensive human resources solution for small to medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. We enhance business productivity by enabling our clients to outsource their human resources, or HR, function to one strategic partner and allowing them to focus on operating and growing their core businesses. Our HR solution includes services such as payroll processing, human capital consulting, employment law compliance and employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans and workers compensation insurance. Our services are delivered by our expert team of HR professionals and enabled by our proprietary, cloud-based technology platform, which allows our clients and their employees to efficiently conduct their HR transactions anytime and anywhere. For more information, please visit http://www.trinet.com.

 

Geocove Earns largest Florida client for Impact and Damage Assessment software: Miami-Dade County

ORLANDO Fla., — Geocove, Inc. the Orlando technology firm that developed the award-winning ARM360 GIS-based disaster assessment system for local, state and regional governments, and NGOs worldwide, has won the most populated county in Florida: Miami-Dade County.
Karyn Tareen, president and chief executive officer at Geocove, said Miami-Dade County has licensed the Enterprise version of Geocove’s ARM360 system, to include not only Miami-Dade County, but all municipalities and other concerned agencies within Miami-Dade County.  This common platform will allow the collaboration, sharing and reporting of impact and damage information across municipal boundaries, key for success in managing a disaster.
According to the US Census Bureau 2012 estimate, Miami-Dade County has over 2.5 million residents, making it the largest county in Florida by population. 
Miami-Dade joins Geocove’s other ARM360 clients including Collier, Lee, and Sarasota counties, West Palm Beach and other counties and cities throughout the State of Florida and the US.  Internationally, ARM360 has been deployed in Melbourne, Australia.
Geocove’s ARM360 system enables disaster management authorities to immediately assess large-scale damages caused by disaster using a wide range of tools based on underlying GIS capabilities and databases.
 “ARM360 enables even the largest communities to construct, compile and share information on the ground in real time,” Tareen said. “In a disaster event, ARM360 can enable authorities to learn instantly when and where to respond with which resources,” she said.
Geocove is a client company of the UCF Business Incubation Program on the UCF campus.
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For more information contact  
 
Karyn Tareen, President/CEO, Geocove, Inc., 800-614-9850 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-614-9850 FREE  end_of_the_skype_highlighting ext. 701, ktareen@geocove.com
 
Carol Ann Dykes, Site Manager, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407-207-7426 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 407-207-7426 FREE  end_of_the_skype_highlighting, carolann.dykes@ucf.edu;  
 
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications Inc. 407-644 4142 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 407-644 4142 FREE  end_of_the_skype_highlighting lvershelco@aol.com
 
 
About Geocove
Geocove, Inc. provides scalable assessment solutions built using the power of GIS across a multitude of industries.  The Geocove team has extensive experience in providing assessment, reporting and mapping tools for emergency management, building officials, public health and other government agencies as well as utilities and other private industries.  Geocove, Inc., a privately held corporation located in central Florida, is an authorized partner of Esri, the world’s leading GIS software provider.
 
About the UCF Business Incubation Program
The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a non-profit community resource, which provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises.  Since 1999, this award-winning program has helped hundreds of local startup companies (including nearly 150 current clients and 100 graduates) reach their potential faster by providing vital business development resources.
 
With eight facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Apopka, Kissimmee, Orlando, St. Cloud and Winter Springs.  From October 2011 to June 2013, the UCF network of current and graduated clients has helped create a total regional output of over $620 million resulting in a $6.16 return for every $1.00 invested in the program while sustaining (directly and indirectly) over 3,300 jobs in the Central Florida region.  For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu

 

Bundaberg Council says mapping technology crucial to flood rescues

As the anniversary of the 2013 Bundaberg flood approaches, Bundaberg Regional Council has for the first time revealed the critical role cutting-edge mapping technology played in saving thousands of flood victims.

When six tornados struck in and around Bundaberg in January 2013, Council turned to Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to provide rescue teams with instant information for evacuations, rescues, food drops, and the ensuing clean-up.

Council’s GIS Delivery and Support Team Leader Steven Bowden said the technology was a crucial part of its operation to evacuate more than 6,000 people from the areas of North and East Bundaberg. 

“Council has been working with Esri Australia in leveraging GIS technology across different business areas for the past five years,” Mr Bowden said. 

“But it was when the floods hit in 2010 and 2013 that the technology truly delivered its greatest value by providing us with an up-to-date view of the situation as it was unfolding.

“In this way, GIS technology improved all of our tactical and operational decision-making, situational awareness, strategic planning, community engagement and rescue efforts.

“It was crucial for us at Council, as well as other organisations such as the Australian Defence Force (ADF), The Salvation Army and The Red Cross.

“It also enabled us to receive information from other organisations, particularly Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) data from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES).”

Mr Bowden said Council also used GIS technology to deliver critical emergency messages for those in trouble during the disaster.

“We used GIS technology to define the boundaries of areas affected by the incident,” Mr Bowden said.

“These geographic locators then allowed Council to issue State Government Emergency Alerts to the residents of Winfield – on Baffle Creek – warning them of impending flooding.

“The Emergency Alert system produced an automatic voice message to all identified landline telephone services, within the defined geographic area, notifying them of the approaching danger.”

Andrew Highley, Esri Australia Business Manager, said during the crisis, GIS technology was critical in identifying where community members needed help. 

“Council used the technology to map the locations of requests for assistance from the Disaster Coordination Centre Hotline,” Mr Highley said.

“Councils could then locate where community members were and what assistance they required – such as whether they were trapped by the flood or if they had no access to food. 

“Response agencies such as State Emergency Services, QFES, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Ambulance Service, and helicopter assets could then be dispatched to respond to the situation.

“Comprehensive maps for the ADF were also generated to find suitable landing sites for food drops, as well as maps of exclusion zones, traffic management plans, critical infrastructure, mud army marshalling and route maps.”

Bundaberg Regional Council has revealed more details of their 2013 flood experience in the GIS in Local Government Benchmark Study. 

The Study – a joint collaboration between the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute and Esri Australia – found 76 per cent of councils use GIS technology when planning for an emergency; 75 per cent use it to guide their response; and 68 per cent rely on it to aid recovery. 

For further information about the Study or to download a copy, visit esriaustralia.com.au/ benchmark-study.

 

Get on the Map – The Nanaimo Cultural Map

October 8, 2013- Local creative organizations, venues, professionals and businesses are invited to create listings within the newly launched Nanaimo Cultural Map. The online tool housed within the City’s website will provide the public access to information about all of Nanaimo’s cultural assets and resources. The map has been created in a way that enables people to add and maintain their own listings. The map includes information about cultural organizations, cultural facilities/venues, creative cultural industries, creative professionals, cultural heritage, natural heritage, artists and sports. To access the Cultural Map please log onto http://www.nanaimo.ca/PRC/CulturalMap

The Nanaimo Cultural Map will be used to identify and map community cultural assets and resources. It will also help to prepare the groundwork for identifying future needs and opportunities for investing in cultural development and to demonstrate the breadth and variety of cultural activity in our community. Ultimately it will also be a great resource for the public to find out exciting things to experience.

Development of the cultural map has been an integral part of the cultural planning process. The new Nanaimo Cultural Plan, which will be presented to the public at an open house this fall, will guide us towards our vision of a Nanaimo as a “healthy, vibrant and prosperous community that recognizes the importance of creativity and cultural vitality for quality of life and place”.

For more information please contact Bob Kuhn, Manager Culture & Recreation Services at 250-760-1139 or email Bob.Kuhn@nanaimo.ca .

 

City of Yellowknife Recognized for Expanding Use of GIS to Support Municipal Processes

City of Yellowknife Recognized for Expanding Use of Geographic Information Systems to Support Municipal Processes – Northwest Territories’ largest city to upgrade cityExplorer app and integrate more business systems with GIS to deliver better citizen services Continue reading “City of Yellowknife Recognized for Expanding Use of GIS to Support Municipal Processes”

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