New Brunswick 9-1-1 Wins 2020 Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award
Getting its data ready for Next-Generation 9-1-1 has made the province a GIS leader
TORONTO–July 13, 2020– Esri Canada congratulates the New Brunswick 911 (NB 911) Bureau, for receiving Esri’s Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award. The winners of this award are chosen from thousands of Esri customer organizations worldwide, for leading the way in location intelligence innovation to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. NB 911 has achieved a paradigm shift in the vitally important field of public safety.
The Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission has mandated that telecommunication companies provide the infrastructure necessary to ensure people can be better located when they call 9-1-1 from their mobile device. This is known as Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) and New Brunswick is the first Canadian province to get its data ready to leverage the new NG9-1-1 infrastructure.
“New Brunswick showed tremendous foresight in preparing for NG 9-1-1 early. Organizing their data using GIS to support new public safety requirements has saved them time and money. All municipalities in Canada will have to meet this requirement and New Brunswick is leading the way for them,” said Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada.
The NB 911 Bureau needed to standardize location data from multiple authoritative providers, but like most Canadian provinces, New Brunswick did not have a complete authoritative road network and address database required for NG9-1-1. They wanted New Brunswick municipalities to easily deliver their updated road data to the Bureau, so it could be shared.
To manage the need, NB 911 Bureau had to modernize its GIS systems and processes which included developing AddressNB, a GIS-based, web-centric civic address system, and building several new GIS tools to help them fulfill their role as the aggregating maintenance authority for the New Brunswick Road Network. This has reduced time and effort by stakeholders while ensuring that the data meets or exceeds the standards set for NG9-1-1.
By leveraging partnerships with local municipalities, they created a single, comprehensive, up-to-date road network. This solution, Esri Canada’s Public Safety - GeoXchangeTM, helps the NB 9-1-1 Bureau maintain a complete dataset of the province’s roads including road names, classes, speed limits, surface types and address ranges. Local municipalities directly contribute their own road data, making it easier to maintain and share data with partner organizations. This has streamlined coordination with other stakeholders, increased efficiency and simplified maintenance, minimizing costs.
As a result, it will be much easier for emergency services to quickly locate people in trouble when calling from their mobile device, which is vital when the difference of a few minutes can literally mean saving a life.
“As we move toward next-generation 9-1-1 service, we want a system that will get the right resources to the right place in the fastest time, and having accurate and timely road network and civic addressing data is key,” NB 911 Bureau Director Diane Pelletier said. “This award is also an important recognition of our dynamic team of professionals, who have worked tirelessly to move this project along.”
See video: New Brunswick Blazes the Trail on Getting its Data Ready for NG9-1-1
Learn more about GIS for NG 9-1-1 at esri.ca/NG911
View the list of Esri SAG winners
About New Brunswick 911 Bureau
The NB 911 Bureau administers provincial 9-1-1 services through six Public Safety Answering Points, is responsible for civic addressing, and provides advice and direction to municipalities and other partners on emergency communications issues.
About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower people in business, government and education to make informed and timely decisions by leveraging the power of mapping and spatial analytics. These solutions enable organizations to better manage their resources, plan their future and collaborate within and beyond their organization. Esri Canada’s products and services help advance successful digital transformation. The company serves 12,000 organizations from 16 offices across Canada and is based in Toronto. In 2019, Esri Canada achieved Platinum Club status with the Canada's Best Managed Companies program by retaining its Best Managed designation for seven consecutive years or more. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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