What's this blog about?

This will be the 93rd EWUG blog - and it has me wondering.

What should this blog be about? Should it (mostly):
a) Report ESRI-related news and tips;
b) Report Wisconsin-based GIS news;
c) Provide Opinions about a) and/or b); or
d) Just stick to EWUG-related notices

Post an anonymous (or not) comment and me know!

EWUGing 2007

Another successful conference. We had just over 200 people in attendance and 12 vendors.

A highlight for many was the talk by James Murphy of the City of Minneapolis about the I-35W bridge collapse. The presentation was top notch and discussed in a separate post.

After lunch the conference broke into sessions. The first session, 3 hours in length was a detailed session by ESRI staff about ArcGIS Server. The others focused on the applications of GIS within private-industry. Due to a scheduling issues with the hotel, one of the tracks had to be held in the hotel bar. Yep, that's right, the presentations where in the hotel bar! Only in Wisconsin. (At least the bar was closed at the time!)The day ended with a successful Vendor's Reception. We raffled off some prizes donated by our exhibitors and local businesses. (Some people were very excited to win!)
The second day got underway with a rapid series of 20-minute sessions. When the sessions went late, and there was nowhere to eat our box-lunches many attendees made due.
The "sitdown lunch" turned into a great informal networking session. Many people stuck around for quite awhile talking GIS.

If you have any comments about the conference, or ideas for next year, leave a comment.

If your interested in the final agenda or PowerPoints from the conference, check the website for the latest. They'll be added as they arrive (I'm sure I'll blog about it when they're all up).

I-35W Bridge Collapse

At the EWUG 2007 Conference we were very fortunate to hear firsthand about how GIS was used at the disaster site.

I know it was a highlight for many at the conference to hear from James Murphy from the City of Minneapolis. He gave a down-to-earth account of how the City's GIS Department handled the I-35W Bridge Collapse. It is a real life story that I'm sure has been played out many times - before a disaster, GIS is just another acronym, afterwards, GIS becomes crucial.

Jim recalled, that soon after the bridge fell, his department went to work - without asking. They just started printing up orthos, lots of them, of the site. Jim then spent several hours trying to get past security to get them to the command center.* Once there, the Minneapolis Police used them for as a basis for security checkpoints.

*A key point made by James was to get the creditntials needed to enter a disaster site. It's not easy, but its still easier to do before a disaster happens than after. Make sure your police/fire/emergancy government department knows who you are and that you have the documentation you need to get past the checkpoint in a real disaster.

Soon after the City was assigned to handle security for the site (other agencies and handled other aspects of the disaster.) The maps then became filled with tons of Post-It notes. James then started digitizing the Post-Its, and their meaning so they won't blow away in the wind. The Command Center end up with it's own GIS tent. GIS was eventually used to geography assign officers to various checkpoints. This was even more important since mutual-aid that was involved. (Mutual-aid is when officers from outside the jurisdiction come in to help.) Many of these officers were not familiar with area, and the maps James and his team proved to be priceless.

GIS really turned out to be a 'common language'. There were lots of acronyms flying around industry jargon, much of which was common to one specific agency on the site. The maps James produced help translate the jargon. The officers/agents, could point to the map and say "Here it is".

ESRI also developed for the City a very sweet routing tool. It's literally click-click route. This is the best utilization of ArcWeb Services that I've seen yet.

EWUG Conference Next Week!

The EWUG Conference is next week. The agenda is high top notch. Here's a few of the schedule presentations -

I-35W Bridge Collapse - Hear first hand how GIS was used in the response from City staff.

ArcGIS Server - Three hours of information on how to implement GIS Server: Topics include a detailed discussion of the ArcGIS Server System Components, configuration options, installation process, access, and system security.

Business GIS - Hear how GIS is used within Walgreens, a Fortune 100 retailer, and an insurance company.

Emergency Response - How GIS was used in the search for a missing child.

And More