TALLAHASSEE, Fla., August 27, 2019 – Walton County, Florida has chosen DATAMARK VEP for its Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) geographic information systems (GIS) solution. The main priority for Walton County is to assess the street centerline data with the master streets address guide (MSAG), and address data with the automatic location identifier (ALI). DATAMARK VEP will enable the Walton County GIS department to ensure readiness before, during and after the county’s transition to NG9-1-1, while still supporting legacy 9-1-1 systems. Walton County is the third Florida county to select DATAMARK for NG9-1-1 GIS readiness, following Washington County’s selection in June 2019 and Manatee County in 2018.
“We selected DATAMARK for two main reasons: its experts, who are providing Walton County with grant consulting and NG9-1-1 GIS know-how, and the power of the DATAMARK VEP solution,” said Major Audie Rowell, Director of Emergency Services for the Walton County Sheriff's Office. “Perhaps equally important, we realized that with DATAMARK we can access and work with our data as needed. The DATAMARK team is training our public safety GIS team so that we have full control and accountability.”
As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, DATAMARK VEP users are not required to purchase and maintain additional servers and software. All users receive the benefit of new features as they are released, which lowers the total cost of ownership.
With a population of just over 70,000, Walton County has unique addressing challenges. There are multiple addressing authorities, each with its own method of addressing. These separate GIS data sets need to be aligned and validated to create one authoritative GIS database for the county. Once this is completed, the GIS department can ensure GIS data integrity, quality and interoperability during and after the transition from its legacy 9-1-1 systems to the NG9-1-1 platform.
In addition to validating the public safety GIS data, Walton County will use DATAMARK VEP’s observation capabilities which gives non-editors the ability to drop a point on the map and record their observations for processing by editors. For example, if an ambulance is misrouted, the response team will call over the air and inform a dispatcher of the routing issue. That dispatcher, who is not an editor, can create an observation point and report the routing error. This will send a notification to an authorized GIS editor, creating an audit trail that the editor can use to report the processing of the observation.
“In rural areas like Walton County, GIS departments typically have few people and limited resources,” said Luke Granlund, Business Development Advocate, DATAMARK. “DATAMARK VEP provides addressing authority, GIS and PSAP stakeholders – with any level of technical expertise – the ability to translate, validate, edit and extract public safety GIS data with ease. It’s also configurable with other PSAP and government enterprise systems so they have the option to maximize the value of their GIS data county-wide.”
DATAMARK’s public safety and GIS experts will also provide on-site and/or virtual training for Walton County, so the users acquire the knowledge to support and use DATAMARK VEP effectively. The county can also leverage DATAMARK’s Customer Support Center within the DATAMARK VEP interface for ongoing technical support.
About DATAMARKAs trusted advisors in public safety, DATAMARK brings comprehensive, real-world expertise in police, fire, EMS and 9-1-1 leadership roles to Next Generation 9-1-1 transitions. The DATAMARK team leads the industry by shaping rules and legislation, and by building a suite of products and services that ensure accurate emergency response location data in life-critical situations. DATAMARK empowers its team and stakeholder partners to foster trusted relationships and cultivate data integrity for informed decision making. DATAMARK, the public safety GIS team of Michael Baker International, has decades of proven experience in mission-critical government addressing projects. The team works with clients to solve their complex needs, from data quality checks and addressing to workflow analysis and more. Learn more about the company at www.datamarkgis.com and follow DATAMARK on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
About Michael Baker International
Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services, including design, planning, architectural, environmental, construction and program management. The company provides its comprehensive range of services and solutions to support U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments, foreign allied governments, and a wide range of commercial clients. Michael Baker’s more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement to help solve challenges for clients and communities throughout the country. To learn more, visit www.mbakerintl.com.
