Do you ever feel the need to ask a really big question?
I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago in London at which there was a panel discussion on “exploiting location information to save your organisation money” when someone from the audience had an overwhelming urge to do just that. The question was: “Who owns the data?”
This is one of those questions that always moves me to raise my hand and ask for the microphone. The question of course dates back to ancient times – even before the pestilence of computers descended upon us – ever since it was decided to store data centrally. The answer is “whoever is responsible for creating, amending and deleting it”, of course.
All field-based staff create, amend and delete data as they carry out their duties, so they must be ultimately responsible for the companies’ data – right? So what do Utilities’ give their field staff and contractors to complete this vital and important task – a pen and paper and a list of instructions that would confuse a Philadelphia lawyer.
What field staff need is a tool that is easy to use and completes the data update at the same time as the work is carried out. It doesn’t need a GIS system, Work Management or Scheduling System, or even a computer like “Deep Thought”, but a tool like Sigma Seven’s GeoField.
In search of the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?
If this doesn’t work you can always try something else!