ReportViz Allows Users to Assess Impact of Oil and Gas Exploration

In August 2019, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAA) awarded a contract to ICI Innovations (ICI), for the development of a dynamic interactive reporting system for use by the general public and industry as part of IAA’s Regional Assessment of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploratory Drilling East of Newfoundland and Labrador (RA). The data to be contained within the system would be defined through the course of the RA’s development, requiring a flexible model for integrating regional geospatial and tabular data that include:

  • Environmental information at various spatial and temporal scales.
  • Results of environmental effects analysis.
  • Information that is not geospatial in nature, such as text, figures, graphs and tables, but is related to data that may be mapped or visualized. This information may be clearly linked to various components of the system to support meaningful interaction and a comprehensive understanding.

Additional system requirements included:

  • An easy, quick and repeatable process for loading data of various formats into the system for the development of map layers.
  • Easy, yet powerful data exploration techniques such as sophisticated cartographic display, charts linked to map features and intuitive methods for accessing feature attributes.
  • An ability to filter the available data using easy to define parameters such as a range in time, the extents of the map display and/or data specific metadata.
  • Through custom software development and a well-documented software development framework (SDK), the support of specific needs that are not typical of out-of-the-box mapping solutions.
  • The support of rapid development schedules to accommodate changes as feedback is provided by stakeholders and the RA Committee.

ICI undertook a comprehensive investigation of available mapping products as part of its proposal to the IAA and determined CartoVista to be the base mapping technology that best met the requirements of the RA and the IAAC as a whole. ICI engaged with CartoVista to execute a comprehensive product review and confirmed the product provided a superior fit. CartoVista’s underlying technologies and architecture were also a very good match for ICI’s expertise, which includes the use of enterprise relational databases for data management and software development using HTML5 standard web technologies, such as TypeScript, JavaScript and CSS. This alignment of technologies, standards and expertise permitted the rapid adoption of CartoVista by ICI for the development of its ReportViz solution for the RA mapping system. The system can be accessed at nloffshorestudy.iciinnovations.com.

ReportViz offers a user experience new to those familiar with a typical mapping application’s user interface. New features include:

  • A panel for the navigation and review of report contents linked to the display of map layers
  • Report contents, including links to figures, are authored in Microsoft Word, without additional formatting or export
  • A layer control supporting thematic grouping of layers, with expanded layer options, including:
  • Filters that adjust the display of available features based on selected values
  • Expanded graphing capabilities and summary statistics tables
  • A data summary link providing additional details about the data (metadata)
  • A control to easily define a date range that is used to filter features within layers which are temporal in nature
  • A new type of dynamic web services layer that supports the dynamic query of data within a SQL Server database
  • Ability to perform interactive spatial analysis using user-defined features or features available from displayed map layers.

The final mapping system for the RA provides a comprehensive mapping solution for a large area of Canada’s eastern offshore environment. With access to over 200 unique layers, the solution offers unprecedented access to a wide array of information related to the region’s physical, biological and socioeconomic environments. Rather than providing a typical document containing static figures of geospatial data, the RA mapping system provides extensive information that is linked to an easy to use, yet powerful mapping solution that allows the public to explore data and layer interactions, resulting in an improved understanding of the potential effects of offshore exploration drilling activities for offshore Newfoundland and Labrador.

About CartoVista: CartoVista is a premier web mapping company that helps businesses and corporations unlock the potential of their geospatial data. With an off-the-shelf software solution as well as professional services, we help our clients create web maps that are meaningful and engaging to end-users and decision-makers.

*Important Notice About ReportViz

ReportViz is intended for use on devices that provide a suitable form factor for simultaneously viewing report modules and geospatial data, such as a desktop and/or tablet, with a minimum width of 1024 pixels. The application is supported by the following list of internet browsers (latest available versions):

ICI Innovations and Everbridge Deliver Visual Command Center to the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay

For immediate release, June, 2018

ICI Innovations Inc. (ICI) today announced the completion of the Automatic vessel Information System (AIS) for the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, a non-profit trade association and leading advocate for port and related businesses in the Delaware River region. As part of the Exchange’s industry leading Maritime On-Line® solution, ICI extensively customized and deployed Everbridge’s Visual Command Center solution to replace the Exchange’s legacy AIS application, which was nearing the end of vendor support. Exchange members, including the Pilots Association of the Bay and River, use AIS to track vessel movements in and out of one of the nation’s busiest waterways. Visual Command Center is the visualization and orchestration component of Everbridge’s Critical Event Management™ platform that helps provide a common operating picture and helps mitigate or eliminate the impact of risk for organizations.

In November of 2017, following an industry wide Request for Proposals bidding process, the Exchange signed an agreement with ICI to complete the project work, which was partially funded by a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The new Visual Command Center-based AIS platform not only transforms the user interface, but it also ushers in new features requested by the maritime community. “Together with the recently completed AIS hardware project, Exchange AIS users will enjoy a dramatically improved experience,” said Exchange Director of Operations Paul Myhre.

Among the highlights of the new AIS platform is the ability to view the platform on mobile devices. Exchange AIS subscribers can now also display a vessel’s vector based on course over ground, and controls for the replay of historic vessel information have been replaced making it easier to use. Other upgrades include a more responsive and detailed nautical chart provided by NOAA, density maps to show heavy traffic areas, and the ability to generate geofence alerts for specific vessels. Users can also export instant 24-hour vessel track information into Microsoft Excel. “The alerting capability tied to a specific vessel or vessels is very important to us,” said Captain Joseph Benton Vice President and General Manager of McAllister Towing of Philadelphia, Inc. “I also like the improved chart and updated playback feature. This allows us to be more efficient in our day-to-day operations.”

“We are thrilled to successfully complete our project work with the Maritime Exchange so they can provide its members with valuable AIS information within the highly accessible and easy-to-use application—Visual Command Center,” said ICI President Corey Tucker. “We are also happy to have become a member of the Exchange and look forward to supporting its AIS services now that the platform is available to its members.”

About ICI Innovations
We are obsessed with getting our customers in touch with their data. Using our partner’s leading technologies, such as Visual Command Center from Everbridge, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft SharePoint we improve how our customers manage, process, view, and analyze their data so they can see the whole picture and gain the insight their business needs. We have decades of experience in spatial data management and analysis, which we focus on two main business competencies – generating internet data streams for visualization & risk alerting, and customized solution development to maximize our customers use of information. Located in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, we work with customers across Canada, the United States, South America, and Europe.