Esri Canada wins awards for apps that improve public safety

Collaboration with customers produce location intelligence solutions for safe return to the office and Next Generation 9-1-1

TORONTO—May 3, 2021—ITWorld Canada’s Channel Daily News, which hosts the Channel Innovation Awards (CIA), has recognized Esri Canada with two awards. ‘Return to the Office’, a GeoBC and Esri Canada app, won their ‘Remote Work and Collaborative Workspaces Wunderkind’ award. The GeoFoundation Exchange, developed by Esri Canada with New Brunswick as an early adopter of the solution, won the ‘Data Management Master’ award. The awards were presented at the virtual CIA Innovation Awards Conference.

“Using location intelligence is essential to public safety. The governments of British Columbia and New Brunswick recognize this and have done an excellent job of using that information to help keep their communities safe,” said Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “We are pleased to share this recognition with them.”

‘Return to the Office’ is an app developed by GeoBC and Esri Canada to provide a cohesive synergistic approach for employees returning to the office during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using location to visually display their needs, it helps BC Government employees maintain social distancing and safe health protocols while they are at the workplace, be it an office or a cubicle. It allows them to see, for example, intersections of people and high-traffic places, like the routes to the washrooms or a coffee station and alerting them if they’ve been in contact with a colleague who has tested positive.

“Perhaps the most important thing is that this tool has given staff a sense of confidence that their on-site presence is valued. A health check-in is integrated into it, so people have to declare themselves symptom-free before continuing to sign in. This has increased the confidence in on-site attendance,” said Nancy Liesch, executive director, GeoBC.

New Brunswick is using the GeoFoundation Exchange to help update their 9-1-1 response.  Public Safety Answering Points, first responders and 9-1-1-1 Service Providers need authoritative GIS data to efficiently support location services for 9-1-1. To ensure that this data is both up to date and more readily accessible, Esri Canada developed the GeoFoundation Exchange, a cloud-based geographic data repository and exchange platform that automates data changes. So, for example, local municipalities directly contribute their own road data, making it easier to maintain and share data with partner organizations, thereby ensuring the data used by all 9-1-1 stakeholders is as current and accurate as possible. This has streamlined NB 911’s coordination with other stakeholders, increased efficiency and simplified maintenance, minimizing costs.

“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,” said Diane Pelletier, director, NB 911.

See CDN’s announcement of Esri Canada’s winning projects with GeoBC and NB 911.

About GeoBC
GeoBC creates and manages geospatial information and products to help better manage natural resources in British Columbia. GeoBC also offers consultation services across all natural resource sector agencies.

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 road information aggregation, 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 and LinkedIn.

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