2007 February 15

This issue sponsored by

Professional Surveyor Magazine

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Editor's Introduction

This week, I report on the perspective of geospatial groups that oppose the lawsuit by MAPPS et al. against the U.S. federal government. It is a complicated and important story, so I am dedicating the whole issue to it. I look forward to your comments! Plus, my usual selection of news items from press releases.

—Matteo Luccio

Professional Surveyor Magazine

Geospatial Groups Oppose Lawsuit By MAPPS et al.

The future of the U.S. geospatial industry may depend on the outcome of a legal battle that is taking place in a federal court. Last week I reported that a coalition of organizations representing photogrammetrists, surveyors, architects, and engineers filed a lawsuit last June against the U.S. federal government on the question of the application to surveying and mapping of the Brooks Act, which mandates qualifications-based selection (QBS) for certain federal procurement contracts. This week I report on the position of another group of geospatial organizations that opposes the lawsuit and has stepped into the fray on the side of the federal government.

The plaintiffs are asking a federal district court to compel the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to change the regulations implementing the Brooks Act to "define 'surveying and mapping' so as to include contracts and subcontracts for services for federal agencies for collecting, storing, retrieving, or disseminating geographical or digital data depicting natural or man-made physical features, phenomena, and boundaries of the earth and any information related thereto, including but not limited to surveys, maps, charts, remote sensing data and images, and aerial photographic services."

The Association of American Geographers (AAG), the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI), the Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA), the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), and the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA), have filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in opposition to the lawsuit.

According to the brief, a victory by the plaintiffs would have disastrous consequences for most of the GIS industry because it "would not only insulate all federal mapping contracts from price competition, but also exclude everyone else—that is, everyone and anyone other than licensed engineers and surveyors—from even being eligible to receive a federal mapping contract, even where engineers and surveyors lack the training and subject matter expertise needed to perform the contract."

Read more…

Professional Surveyor Magazine

Interview with Ed Wells and Al Butler, of URISA

Last week I interviewed the executive director of MAPPS, John Palatiello. This week I discussed the lawsuit with the president of URISA, Ed Wells, and a member of the organization's board of directors, Al Butler, who has 32 years of experience in planning and mapping and has written more than 90 publications related to GIS, mapping, and planning.

Read more…

News Briefs

Please note: I have culled the following news items from press releases and have not independently verified them.

  1. CONTRACTS & COLLABORATIONS

    1. The Maine State Police has chosen the XMap 5.0 GIS Editor program by DeLorme, a manufacturer of mapping, GPS, and GIS technology, to provide mobile GIS and GPS navigation services in emergency response situations. Read more…

    2. Timmons Group has extended the existing VDOF ArcGIS Server project Integrated Forest Resource Information System (IFRIS), previously completed for VDOF, to the field. Adhering to a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) model, the same Web services used on the server to support the IFRIS Web solution are being leveraged from mobile computing devices. Read more…

    3. The Spatial Information and Mapping Centre (SIM-Centre) of Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstrucksi (BRR) NAD-Nias in Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, is using ESRI GIS software to support the activities of humanitarian agencies rebuilding after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Read more…

    4. ScottishPower plc, headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, has awarded a contract valued at 750,000 pounds (approximately US$1.5 million) to ESRI (UK) Ltd. to provide a mobile GIS. Read more…

    5. Networks In Motion (NIM), a wireless navigation and location-based services (LBS) company, has announced that its NAVBuilder Developer Program is available to Sprint independent software vendors through the Sprint Application Developer Program, which offers an array of developer resources to create, test and deploy innovative wireless applications for Sprint's CDMA and iDEN networks. Read more…

    6. The municipality of Nynaeshamn, a community of 25,000 near Stockholm, has joined Bentley's Municipal License Subscription (MLS) program, which offers municipalities all the software they need to design and manage all their infrastructure for a fixed annual fee based on population. Read more…

    7. Bentley Systems, Incorporated has acquired C.W. Beilfuss & Associates, Inc. (CWB), a provider of consulting services, software development, and licensed software products to engineering firms and transportation government agencies, including more than 40 U.S. state departments of transportation (DOTs). Read more…

    8. The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department has deployed the MultiVision 3D Plus oblique imagery solution as a tactical aid in positioning personnel to safely approach and enter the scenes of unfolding emergencies. Read more…

  2. PRODUCTS

    1. GfK GeoMarketing has released RegioGraph 10 and DISTRICT 10 geo-marketing software programs for analyzing company data on digital maps. Read more…

    2. Hemisphere GPS has developed an alternative to subscription networks and high-priced base systems. Using high-definition, single-frequency RTK, Outback BaseLineHD provides the same accuracy as dual-frequency RTK but at a fraction of the cost. Read more…

    3. Set for release on March 7, ER Mapper Image Compressor is a desktop application for high-speed JPEG 2000 or ECW image compression that begins a new era of low-cost geospatial image compression where any organization, large or small, can maximize the value of geospatial imagery by using compression. Read more…

    4. QCoherent Software, provider of Limitless LIDAR software tools, has released LP360 (1.4), the LIDAR extension for ArcGIS. LP360 employs a specially designed ArcMap data layer to access LIDAR points directly from LAS files. The unique architecture of LP360 supports enormous quantities of point cloud data. Read more…

  3. CONFERENCES & TRAINING

    1. The Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) has expanded its second annual competitive Poster Session, set to be displayed as part of its 30th Annual Conference, slated for March 4-7, in San Antonio, Texas. Organizations wishing to display posters depicting various uses of geospatial technologies are encouraged to submit their entry forms by Friday, February 23. Read more…

    2. The inaugural 1Spatial Conference 2007 will take place at Ordnance Survey Great Britain, in Southampton, UK, on May 2-3 and is this year's premier event on the transformation, management, and quality control of spatial data to achieve fit for purpose spatial data for effective sharing and reuse. Read more…

    3. Pictometry International Corp., a provider of digital, aerial oblique imagery and measuring software, will be hosting its second annual Pictometry FutureView User Conference in Orlando, Florida, October 28 to 31. Read more…

  4. PEOPLE

    1. Leica Geosystems Inc., Americas, has promoted Ken Mooyman to vice president of geomatics for the USA. In his new role, he will be responsible for sales, support, and product marketing for the survey, engineering and scanning businesses in the United States and will report directly to the company's president, Bob Williams. Read more…

    2. GeoDecisions, a provider of geospatial solutions, has promoted Susanna Kodlick to manager of GIS and Steven Korzekwa to director of advanced technologies. Read more…

    3. WilsonMiller has promoted Michael H. Maxwell, P.S.M., from Vice President and Principal to Corporate Business Unit Leader of Survey and Mapping. He previously served as Lower Southwest Florida Regional Manager of the business unit, which precisely locates and documents information to define real estate rights, geographic boundaries, and topographic features. Read more…

  5. OTHER

    1. Since February 2007, TopoSys North America Inc., a new subsidiary located in Denver, Colorado, serves as a sales and support center to satisfy the ever increasing demand for TopoSys Lidar systems in North America. Read more…

    2. WilsonMiller, due to the growth of its operations, will relocate its Fort Myers office to the Westlinks Business Park in early March of 2007. Read more…

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Matteo Luccio, Editor
GIS Monitor

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