Internet GIS solution for Bermuda’s Environmental Health Department
Bermuda's Need for an Environmental Health Data System
Bermuda is known as a great vacation destination with pink sandy beaches, and some of
the best deep-sea sport fishing in the world. What most people do not know is that the
island of Bermuda has a delicate ecosystem that can be easily damaged. As evidence, the
oil tanker “Aguila Azteca” ran aground on Bermuda’s barrier reef in 1984. Had the
tanker’s oil leaked, the damage to the reef ecosystem may have destroyed the whole
island! Fortunately, the tanker’s oil did not leak, thus saving the living reef. Without the
protection of this reef, the island could quite literally, be washed away by the eroding
ocean tides.
Bermuda’s Government understands the fragile nature of its ecology and is sensitive to
issues that impact the natural and man-made environments. The Environmental Health
Department is mandated with protecting public health & welfare on the island. This task
has been made easier with the recent implementation of the first phase of a new web enabled GIS application called the Bermuda Environmental Health Data System
(BEHDS). BEHDS is designed to manage a broad variety of inspection & investigation
information.
Five years ago, the Department had an existing networked computer system – but
information was not reaching those that needed it. The system’s shortfalls were due to the
limiting technology of the time and while partial solutions existed, the high cost was
extremely prohibitive.
In order to understand the problem, the Department’s existing data system and its
deficiencies needed to be analyzed. Following a number of meetings between members
of the Environmental Health Department with parent departments and sections, it was
concluded that satisfaction with the current system was extremely poor and that the
implementation of a new system was required.
There were a number of specific problems with the previous computer scheme, including:
- Poor ability of program to schedule required inspections;
- Queries or reports could only be output to the printer;
- The database had limited queries and an inflexible structure;
- The computer system was based on names, not addresses;
- It did not generate statistical returns;
- Insufficient information on computer (e.g. pest control, planning and laboratory
information was not captured;
- No live terminals of training for inspectors;
- There was limited networked access to data;
- Information was duplicated;
- Sophisticated scheduling of workload was impossible;
- Separate databases with different data structures for separate applications caused
extra work and higher possibility of error;
- Written inspection forms did not match applications’ inspection data entry fields
causing data entry error;
- All “spatial analysis” performed by the geographic information system department
from printed data. The process is not automated and does not produce timely analysis.
The lack of an integrated GIS was a noted shortcoming of the existing system. GIS
technology is particularly useful for public health agencies and can help with a range of
tasks, including: tracking health inspections, disaster planning and response, management
and preparedness, and premises inventories. However, a point of contention was that the
proposed GIS data structure should follow the Bermuda Land Information System (BLIS)
geographic data standard. Logic indicated that one GIS data structure should be followed
through the different governmental departments.
The decision to install a 100 per cent web-based system enabled the utilization of
BEHDS by any of the 5,000 plus government employees, using 1,500 computers
distributed across the island and various networks. Another major factor for the creation
of BEHDS was the Bermuda Government’s demand for better customer satisfaction. A person who files a request for service; an owner of a facility being inspected; a
construction team waiting on an inspection; a farmer who needs a requisite inspection; or
other government personnel who need the data immediately, are all considered
customers. To better serve the customers, the Department needed increased efficiency
and planning.
This increased efficiency was achieved by developing the following features:
- Assigning tracking numbers to Requests for Service for follow up and streamlined
retrieval
- Linking location and establishments to complaints and activities to build up
valuable historic information that can be reviewed in real-time
- System integration with other applications running in Bermuda to automatically
share mission critical data such as addresses and Requests for Service
- Linking premises, activities, and complaints to spatial locations for display in
integrated maps (GIS)
- Data input capture through interaction with maps
The ability to visualize premises, historic information, and addresses in the highly
integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) module is probably the single most
important factor in achieving the intentions of the system.
A triumph of BEHDS is that a Government employee, using a browser, can see pertinent
data represented spatially and perform spatial queries, without being familiar with the
acronym ‘GIS.’ Many key decision-makers, who have had no or limited experience
using a GIS, now have timely access to data presented in a format in which they can see
spatial relationships. The inspector, the specific project manager, and even the elected
official in charge, who are all making key decisions in real time, can now access key data
with the simplicity of using a browser.
