Will I ever be able to stop giving driving directions?
Source: Mississippi 811 Magazine
by Roger Cox
It’s a fair question. Amanda Russell, GIS Manager for Mississippi 811, explains to those who have asked before, “The first step in making that happen is for the caller to provide GPS readings for the excavation sites. While we aren’t quite prepared to implement automated driving directions, it is a service that we are considering how best to implement.” She continues, “Because it is important to our callers, it is important to us.”
Sam Johnson, President of Mississippi 811, adds, “Whether or not automated driving directions will be a function of GeoCall, the call center software, or some type of plug-in to our software has not been determined.” He continues, “But with the advances in mapping technology, it is certainly one of our priorities as an added value to our services.” He agrees with his GIS Manager that an absolute requirement for making that a reality is for the callers to provide GPS readings when they call before they dig.
There are immediate benefits of providing the GPS readings. It helps ensure that the right companies are notified and that the correct excavation site is located, resulting in a safer excavation. Certainly all the stakeholders benefit from that. Additionally, providing the readings helps the call center process the locate request quickly and efficiently.
Amanda points out, “There are many GPS options for our users, including dashboard, handheld, smart-phones, and PDAs. Some cell phone carriers are now providing GPS navigation that can be accessed through compatible cell phones.” She continues, “These cell phones do not have internal mapping software, but access the information wirelessly over a cellular network. The cost is typically $10 a month.”
When asked about any particular feature recommendations, she replied, “WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) enabled devices provide the best accuracy and are low cost units as well. WAAS is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving an average of up to five times better accuracy. It can give a position accuracy of better than three meters 95% of the time.”
The Mississippi 811 preferred GPS setup is as follows:
1. Set primary and secondary coordinate system to Lat/Lon DEG.DDDDD
2. Set primary and secondary map datum to WGS84
3. Set NMEA to V2.1GSA
I asked her, “What if I don’t know how to do that, then what?” She laughed and said, “Just buy youself a unit and give me a call. We’ll help you set it up and teach you how to use it.”
I thought to myself, “That’s a fair deal.” Mississippi 811 will set it up and teach me how to use it. Then by using it now, I can take advantage of some immediate benefits and move all of us closer to the day I don’t have to give driving directions.
Amanda can be reached at gis@ms811.org, or by calling 601-368-1150. Give her a call today.
