UK Hydrographic office speeds up chart turnaround
UK Hydrographic office speeds up chart turnaround with TOWER Software
Electronic document and records management software, TRIM Context, forms backbone of chart management system
19th July 2005 - London, United Kingdom - The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has chosen TOWER Software’s TRIM Context electronic document and records management (EDRM) solution to manage thousands of its UK navigational charts and publications. In a deal worth £100,000, around 300 cartographers and chart plotters at the Taunton-based operation will use TRIM Context as part of a Source Data Receipt and Assessment (SDRA) project that aims to capture all source data digitally and distribute it around the organisation digitally. This should dramatically shorten the time scale for altering charts.
The project involves integrating the digitisation of all analogue source data which will be held with all digital source data, this information will then be viewed from within a Geographic Information System (GIS) based on ESRI technology. This information will be stored within an electronic archive. TRIM Context will form the backbone of the SDRA project, managing the location of all source items, including Foreign Government charts and notices to mariners allowing them to be assessed against UKHO products. This includes sea depth changes, wrecks and new lighthouses, for example.
Tony Sumpster, Managing Director at TOWER Software explains, “The UKHO will receive documents and charts which will be checked into TRIM Context. Work packages will be created which will allow the Source Documents to be assessed against UKHO products, this assessment will suggest what changes are required to the UKHO Products used by both the Royal Navy and Merchant Marine customers. Not only does TRIM Context manage the many versions of the source documents received, but it also provides the facilities to manage loans from the Physical Archive in a system approved by the National Archives.”
Tim Squire, Technical Director of the UKHO is delighted to embark on this project, "The resulting capability provided by this work will transform the way we handle incoming material, ultimately providing an even better service to the mariner."
The whole project is lead by TOWER Software’s partners BAE Systems that is supported by T-Kartor of Sweden. BAE Systems will deliver the capability to capture all incoming hydrographic source data and, where required, convert it into digital format. This will streamline every aspect of the initial data assessment process and also allow direct comparison against existing UKHO products. T-Kartor will supply its highly successful CPS NG product for the project as well as providing an integrated workflow. The SDRA system will also incorporate a state of the art high-density secure storage and archive system pioneered by BAE Systems for the Defence Geographic Service.
SDRA will deliver digital data to over 300 desktops by early 2006.
About UKHO
The UKHO is a government Trading Fund and part of the Ministry of Defence. Its primary activity is the provision of navigational products and services to the Royal Navy and the merchant marine in compliance with Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Regulations. Marketed under the Admiralty brand, the UKHO's product portfolio offers worldwide coverage in the form of 3,300 Standard Navigational Charts and 220 Navigational Publications. In addition to these more 'traditional' products, it also produces a range of electronic charts known as ARCS (Admiralty Raster Chart Service) and a popular range of Leisure Charts and Editions produced specifically for the small craft and leisure mariner. Recently, a number of products have been added to its digital product portfolio including TotalTide - a Tidal Prediction Program exclusively designed for SOLAS shipping, and the Digital List of Lights - a CD-ROM version of one of our most popular publications. It is continuing to expand its range of web-based services with the introduction of EasyTide, a popular online tidal prediction service and Searchable Notices to Mariners. The UKHO’s first online product catalogue, the Admiralty Online Catalogue, was launched in March 2004. Based in Taunton in the South West of England, the UKHO employs nearly 1,000 people across a range of specialisms including Chart Compilation and production, navigational textual editing and publishing, Physical Oceanography, Geodesy and Law of the Sea as well as Finance, Marketing, Human Resources and Information Technology.
About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is a world leader in the provision of Integrated Defence, Paramilitary and Air Traffic mission critical systems, with an established customer base in over 100 countries. BAE Systems operates in the markets of Homeland Protection, Integrated Air Defence Systems, Battlespace C4I, Naval Mission Systems and Air Traffic Management. This is underpinned with wide ranging capabilities in systems integration, simulation and synthetic environments, engineering, software design and manufacturing all backed by comprehensive customer support facilities. BAE Systems has 7,000 employees worldwide, a turnover of some €1.3bn and a healthy order book in excess of €3bn, which underpins ambitious growth plans for the next four years. BAE Systems is a major European company in systems’ integration owned by BAE Systems of the UK and Finmeccanica of Italy, with a combined annual turnover of some €27bn.
