2015 - NZSEA - New Zealand Spatial Excellence Awards

Winners of the 2015 Awards

Supreme Award

Interpret Geospatial Solutions, Technical Excellence

Interpret Geospatial Solutions developed a geospatial road safety speed modelling and curve risk assessment methodology and web viewer output called SignatureNET. This was developed as part of a New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) project for the Eastern Bay of Plenty (EBoP). The project combines a number of existing technologies, processes and geospatial tools to develop a unique road safety product that is now being used by the NZTA, ACC, New Zealand Police and local road controlling authorities.

Following the success of the EBoP project, the methodology is now being rolled out for a range of road safety applications in New Zealand, including the identification of high risk curves on rural road networks, as training data for a regional road safety workshop, and in support of the ‘safer speeds’ state highway speed limit review. The high technical standard of the work has been praised by all project partners. The real success of the project is its potential to reduce fatal and serious road injuries, and how it supports an integrated, inter-agency approach to road safety.

Organisations

Winners of these awards have been automatically entered into the Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards (APSEA).

Environment and Sustainability

Department of Conservation
Battle for our Birds

The Department of Conservation (DOC)’s Battle for our Birds is New Zealand's largest ever aerial pest control programme. The programme was designed to protect native birds, bats and giant land snails deemed at-risk from a seed-fuelled plague of rodents and stoats. It was launched in 2014 in response to the biggest seeding seen in South Island beech forests for 15 years.

Via 27 separate aerial 1080 operations, more than 600,000 hectares of forest was treated. Operations involved up to 80 staff and contractors, and relied heavily on comprehensive GIS support. From the outset, geospatial information enabled scientists to predict seeding and monitor predator trends, which informed the planning and prioritisation. During the programme GIS supported the delivery of the consultation, boundary decisions, resource consent and tendering processes. Geospatial data guided decisions about where to sow pre-feed and toxin, and enabled DOC to monitor the programme's progress. This information assisted DOC to better communicate with its audiences; including, staff, other government agencies, contractors, landholders, public, special interest groups, and government ministers.

Thanks to the GIS support, more than 99.9% of bait fell within consented areas, rat populations crashed dramatically and stoat plagues were averted, which helped to ensure the continued survival of vulnerable native birds and bats.

Innovation and Commercialisation

Eagle Technology
Remote Seismic Survey - A Spatial Approach

Eagle Technology developed a spatial-based IT solution for one of its clients - GAMA ProjEx. The client is a Papua New Guinea (PNG)-based company that specialises in seismic surveys, in particular, the provision of field support services in the oil and gas industry. The client wished to more effectively manage their projects but were faced with unique operational challenges due to their expanding workforce being situated in field camps connected by a helicopter-based logistics chain, spread over a large geographic area in remote highlands.

To help GAMA ProjEx to meet its growth needs in a safe and sustainable way, Eagle Technology designed and delivered a bespoke spatial-based IT solution. The tailored solution was predominantly built from components of Esri ArcGIS and Systematic Sitaware software platforms, AWS cloud technology and modern communications devices. With the new scalable operational management system in place, the client now has oversight and coordination of all their crews, camps, vehicles, aircraft and personnel.

People and Community

Scouts New Zealand
Putting Scouts on the Map

Scouts NZ is a not-for-profit movement that aims to empower young people through adventurous activities. It is important for Scouts’ staff to be able to accurately locate local scout groups, and to access the group contact information. To facilitate this, the organisation moved from a series of paper maps to a web-based application. This not only allowed each scout group to be accurately mapped, but gave staff quick and easy access to all the information they need to answer queries. A secondary version of the application is now visible to the general public, increasing awareness of the movement’s activities in the region.

The result of this project has been extremely positive. Office staff found the tools easy to learn and use, allowing them to provide better customer service and save time. The editable nature of the database meant that group details and contact information were kept up to date. The application also found uses beyond its original intentions, being used to help with strategic planning for new groups and to promote the presence of Scout groups to third parties. Scouts is now looking to extend the use of GIS in their operations to build on the success of this platform.

Spatial Enablement

Network Delivery Alliance
Enabling an Integrated System

Since early 2014 Enable have partnered with Broadspectrum New Zealand (formerly Transfield Services New Zealand) to form the Network Delivery Alliance. Over the past two years, the Network Delivery Alliance has been working hard to deliver a fibre broadband network to homes and businesses in the Canterbury region. A key component to the success of the project to date has been the adoption of geospatial solutions to streamline processes and make data more accessible and widely used throughout the organisation. This has resulted in tangible returns including a marked reduction in map production time. Due to the successful implementation of the geospatial system, the Network Delivery Alliance is at the forefront of geospatial technology in the New Zealand fibre industry and is actively promoting these solutions to others within the sector. GIS is now recognised as a key tool to efficiently manage data and to maintain an overview of the network roll-out. As the network continues to grow in complexity, the benefits of the integrated GIS solution will only become more evident and smart management of spatial data will continue to increase in importance to the business.

Technical Excellence

Interpret Geospatial Solutions
Vehicle speed and curve risk modelling for road safety

Individuals

Winners of these awards have been automatically entered into the Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards (APSEA).

Education and Professional Development

Dr. Mairead de Roiste
Victoria University of Wellington

Mairead de Roiste, teaches GIS at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), though her teaching impacts people beyond the university. During her tenure at VUW, Mairead has developed a postgraduate community of practice, and expanded the number of GIS courses available including a new, collaborative Masters and Postgraduate Diploma in GIS. She has consistently used innovative methods to support student learning and engage with the geospatial professional community. It is her belief in the value of geospatial concepts and skills that drives Mairead to ensure her lessons hold enduring value for her students well after they leave university.

Postgraduate Student of the Year

Richard Law
Victoria University of Wellington

Richard Law, a Master in GIS student from Victoria University of Wellington, has researched models of public transportation systems, including schedules and assumptions about passenger waiting strategies. His research found that assumptions in these models can lead to a representation that may not accurately reflect the operation of the real transit system, such as delays and missed connections. Using the complete record of Greater Wellington Regional Council's real-time information (RTI) system, Richard developed more realistic models of Wellington's public transportation system, and quantified the error associated with travel time estimates and the measurement of spatial accessibility made from models that lack this additional information. For a weekday commute, the research found the average error in models using schedule data to be as much as ten minutes of expected journey time (including estimated waiting time). Richard is an exemplary student and his research, using spatio-temporal data, is an excellent example of how geospatial information can help improve the efficiency of the public transportation network.

Professional of the Year

Matti Seikkula
e-Spatial

Matti Seikkula is the CIO and Enterprise Architect for New Zealand’s leading geospatial consultancy firm, e-Spatial. Matti has helped businesses to understand the value proposition of geospatial information, and how it can deliver exceptional outcomes for them. He has demonstrated the knowledge, leadership and vision to help organisations achieve their objectives using geospatial data and takes an outside-in approach to its application. His insatiable desire to keep up with the latest technology trends and their business application has enabled Matti to demonstrate new innovations to others. This has raised the awareness of geospatial technology at an enterprise level and widened its uptake and usage within New Zealand organisations. Following 26 years’ experience in IT, he can understand the big picture, and recognise patterns to predict what is likely to happen in the future. Matti connects people within and across organisations, speaking their language, unifying the market, and promoting the benefits of spatial. His ability to network and engage at all levels of an organisation continues to increase his sphere of influence and that of the spatial industry.

Undergraduate Student of the Year

Hamish Kingsbury
University of Canterbury

During the summer break before he began postgraduate studies, Hamish undertook a project to conduct a feasibility test that examined how road safety can be incorporated into a vehicle routing network in the greater Auckland region. He combined two existing datasets: Urban KiwiRAP and the Economic Evaluation Manual from the New Zealand Transport Agency and developed a system of weightings that influence potential decisions. The final result of the project was an interactive website where users are able to specify two to five desired destinations, how important distance, safety and time are to the user, and what type of vehicle they drive. With this information, the website shows users how their chosen routes vary. Hamish is a highly intelligent student and has a bright future ahead of him.

Young Professional of the Year

Natalie Scott
Interpret Geospatial Solutions

During the past three years, Natalie has shown outstanding performance as a young professional in the geospatial industry. Her work has been presented at a variety of conferences around New Zealand, and has been recognised as runner up in the 2014 Eagle Technology Excellence in GIS competition. Natalie contributes to the geospatial community in her role on the New Zealand Esri Users Group Committee, most recently on the paper selection committee for the 2015 Esri Users Conference and in her involvement in coordinating the 2014 and 2015 Regional Conferences.

Throughout her many roles, Natalie has shown exceptional leadership and technical innovation. She is frequently called upon by both clients and colleagues to provide solutions, and enjoys the challenges she is asked to solve. She is committed to achieving an exemplary standard of excellence in all areas of her work, as demonstrated by the many successful projects she has completed. In addition, Natalie is an excellent communicator and prides herself on consistently producing quality results, both on schedule and at the agreed cost. She is dedicated to ongoing professional development, attending and running a variety of courses and events to broaden her understanding of the skills required by the geospatial professions.

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