We work in an increasingly technology-based world, where people concerned with environmental stewardship or remediation are learning that an environmental database management system (EDMS) can make their work faster, more accurate and more productive.
In fact, an EDMS proves that innovative automation can provide myriad improvements over traditional environmental records storage and retrieval.
The traditional way is ponderous.
- Generating lots of paper – documents, data, large maps, photos, etc. – requires lots of physical storage space and can make review unwieldy.
- Only one person or co-located group at a time can view data, reports, etc.
- Because data is usually quite complex, it’s not always clear to non-technical project stakeholders or decision makers. You often have to re-purpose technical reports for presentation to non-technical decision-makers or other stakeholders, or for use as courtroom testimony, etc.
- Doing everything by hand devotes countless hours to clerical work and arithmetic calculations, driving up labor costs, inefficiently deploying highly skilled technical staff, and increasing risk of human error.
- Often data isn’t retained except as needed for each project, frustrating potential opportunities for cross-program assessments, long-term tracking, identification of broader trends, etc.
- Lengthy project turnaround time can cause considerable delay in completing remediation or other work. Time is money for everyone concerned, especially when work needed to resolve problems can cost millions.
An EDMS helps your team work smarter and faster.
- An environmental database management system supports every stage of your work, including comprehensive permanent archiving.
- Because everything is 100% digital, it’s easy to quickly capture and store even more field data, photos, etc. There’s no need for conventional mapping and logging because photos can be used to generate contouring and other dimensional visualizations. The ability to gather and retain more information also expands long-term learning opportunities.
- An EDMS supports off-site project management by enabling multiple points of contact at every step. Everyone has nearly real-time access to field data and can easily generate customized reports, from anywhere, any time. And the wide range of 2D, 3D and GIS reporting and presentation alternatives allows all team members to clearly visualize site conditions.
- Consistent collection and storage enables broader and more productive use of data, including establishment of a legacy data repository. Standardized deliverables make comparison of analytical results easier and help you meet important compliance requirements.
- It’s easy to add new data, so you can easily identify and assess alternative potential resolutions and estimate costs.
- EDMS-assisted conversions, calculations and analysis produce more reliable data, improving your ability to identify anomalies, plot trend analysis and establish more definitive baselines.
- Accelerated data review and evaluation enables earlier decisions for remedial action. It shortens turnaround of data availability and lowers labor costs.
In essence, an environmental database management system combines the best of traditional methods with the latest technological advances. The EDMS helps conduct much of the factual analysis, so the humans on your project team can focus on “thoughtful” analysis using their specialized education, training and experienced insight.
An environmental database management system provides numerous significant benefits over traditional records storage. Working faster yet more accurately assures more cost-effective investigations as well as solutions.
Remedial actions can be completed sooner, and possibly more thoroughly, assuring better long-term care of the environment. And cost efficiencies enable all parties to operate in a more business-like manner, producing much stronger ROI for both private and public entities.