Mobile Computing Improving EH&S Management

EH&S Software Online

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 1 January 2001 — Mobile computing has been around for a long time, but EH&S professionals are just beginning to realize its potential. Judging by the recent increase in the number and variety of applications, the EH&S software industry has embraced mobile tools as an integral component of the future of EH&S automation. But the market still seems to be a few years behind the technology.

Most of us think of mobile computing in terms of laptops or notebooks, or those Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) that are nothing more than a battery-operated Rolodex and appointment calendar. Despite the computer industry’s continuing efforts to make lighter, more portable, and more powerful tools, most people continue to view these devices as an extension of the desktop with limited potential for hardcore field work. We listen to the rhetoric about new capabilities for data entry and retrieval using a variety of handheld devices, but remain skeptical that these promises can actually be realized.

Meanwhile, many analysts are predicting an increase in the use of mobile computing, especially in the business sector. According to IDC, the market for smart handheld devices will grow from 12.9 million units in 2000 to over 63.4 million by 2004. These include devices like PDAs, smartphones, keypad handhelds, and pen-based notepads. Some offer wireless access to the Internet or to a local area network (LAN), while others can be used in the field to collect data, then transported back to the office to upload the data to a PC.

According to an article in PDA News, companies that incorporate handheld computing devices into their daily business operations have experienced “greater efficiency and faster fulfillment of client requests due to: reduced double handling of information; greater interaction with ordering systems; and a reduction in the number of mistakes made due to keying errors.”.

Despite these advantages and recent advances in technology, EH&S applications for mobile computing have evolved more slowly than the industry as a whole and have yet to achieve broad acceptance in the market. But that’s all about to change. If you’ve been following the EH&S Software News over the past few issues, you may have noticed that the number and variety of information systems that include applications for handheld computers or PDAs is on the rise. With the right combination of software and hardware, you can now track hazardous materials, record sampling data, audit EHS compliance, or retrieve material safety data sheets (MSDSs) whenever and wherever they are needed, anywhere within your facility or out in the field. Following are some examples.

Hazardous Material/Waste Tracking
Handheld computers/PDAs are helping Penn State Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) personnel enhance field operations and automate government-mandated record keeping [www.psu.edu]. Harold L. Brungard III, a member of Penn State’s hazardous waste (HazWaste) management staff, has been participating in the field tests of the new paperless system. He estimates that the PDAs are saving 5 to 10 hours a week of data entry time as well as improving data management accuracy. Brungard explains that the HazWaste staff respond to between 75 and 150 requests to collect and manage hazardous waste each month. The materials include flammable solvents, corrosives, toxic materials, and other hazardous wastes. On average, the team picks up about 500 containers and more than 15,000 pounds of waste each month.

With the new system, University personnel who want to dispose of waste material, visit the University’s EH&S website where they complete an online form to send information about the waste electronically to the EH&S department. The information from a completed form is then loaded into a database. The HazWaste staff uses the database to generate an itinerary for their daily collection rounds. They can also download information from the database into their 3-Com Palm III computers and edit this information while en-route.

The Rockwell Science Center developed a prototype, called EnvInv, for inventorying hazardous materials using a PDA.  According to Corinne Clinton Ruokangas, a member of the technical staff, “PDAs serve as low-cost information collectors – providing a level of accuracy and feedback not available with paper forms – and support the automatic transfer of data to workstations and central databases. She suggests that “PDAs can also be used as handheld manuals” to display diagrams, suggest scheduling and routing locations, and provide maintenance or diagnostic information to a user in environments where laptops may not be feasible.
They can provide “remote access to reference materials which may be hyperlinked.”

Data Collection in the Field
PDAs are particularly helpful for recording data in the field. Several software developers are now offering products to meet these needs. For example, EarthSoft recently announced the development of Pocket EQuIS, for collecting and managing data at the point of generation [www.earthsoft.com]. Similarly, FieldWorker Products Limited offers FieldWorker Pro, which allows relational data collection projects to be developed on the desktop or on a mobile device. Field workers can refer to images stored on the device’s desktop, or link data to a specific image, then connect to a GPS receiver to create point, line, and polygon geographic information. The company claims the product can be used with a variety of mobile devices, from laptops to palm tops to smart phones [www.fieldworker.com].

Potential data collection applications extend to just about any EH&S-related activity, such as natural resources inventories, water testing, and air emissions monitoring. For example, Two Dog Forest Inventory Software, by Foresters Incorporated, is a software suite with data collection, processing, and inventory capabilities. The product is used on handheld and desktop computers to inventory forests and to collect data on flora, fauna, and other site attributes in support of multi-resource inventories and certification.

DataPort, a hand-held data entry unit by AllMax Professional Solutions Inc. targets the field data collection needs of municipal and industrial wastewater and water treatment facilities. These devices include built-in scanners and fit in your pocket. Users can download data (e.g., material inventories or meters/gauges that must be monitored) from a PC to the DataPort device, then use the device to print barcode labels, scan barcodes,
enter field data, and upload the information back to the PC.

LEADERS™ LDRS by Environmental Monitoring Service is fugitive emissions software based
on a relational database. Features include LEADERS FieldSmart™ handheld software and DeskSmart™ desktop software.

Locus Technologies takes environmental industry wireless

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., 30 November 2000 — Locus Technologies (Locus), a global leader in environmental information management, today announced they have released the environmental industry’s first wireless Internet application for recording water level data in the field. The application is called eWell and uses the popular Palm® operating system. It can be used as an independent wireless application or with LocusFocus™, Locus’s environmental web portal. The system has been deployed on several large groundwater monitoring sites in California. The LocusFocus™ portal includes remote control and monitoring of treatment systems, Environmental Information Management (EIM™), and document management and collaboration tools. The EIM™ database is designed to manage the vast quantities of sampling, analytical and geotechnical data that are typically collected during the investigation, cleanup and monitoring of contaminated sites.

eWell is the first in a series of wireless applications for the LocusFocus™ Environmental Co Pilot Suite that is designed to bring the full functionality of Locus’s environmental-based Internet technologies to wireless devices. Locus intends to expand wireless applications to operate on a Pocket-PC® platform and Symbol Technologies™ devices equipped with barcode readers.

The release of eWell brings the power of LocusFocus™ to wireless cyberspace and completes the delivery triangle (Internet, microcomputer and wireless handheld device) for Locus’s Internet-based environmental services. “This new wireless technology application equips field technicians and engineers with the tools they need to stay productive while working remotely. The system eliminates manual entry of information into the project database and makes validated information available to engineers instantly. By extending our Internet offerings to include wireless devices, we are one step closer to our vision of a totally automated, Internet-based data collection, management, retrieval and reporting system that can be accessed from anywhere at anytime,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO Locus Technologies.

“The immediate benefits of the system include less data entry and transcription, simplified QA/QC, better access to key information and a reduction in the time required to upload field-generated records into the project or site database. Ultimately, the system promises to significantly reduce the overall cost of environmental monitoring and sampling,” said Duplancic.

Monitoring Waste From a Safe Distance

ENR Magazine

Walnut Creek, Calif., 7 August 2000 — Locus Technologies announced June 26 that its Environment Information Management System has finished a testing period and is now being offered as a Web-based application.

Locus provides consulting, engineering and construction management services to help solve design and construction problems associated with hazardous materials handling and other waste management tasks.

The company’s EIMS system manages the large amounts of sampling, analytical, and geotechnical data that is typically collected during the investigation and cleanup of contaminated waste sites.

The system can be used to plan and schedule sampling events, input field data, upload electronic data from analytical laboratories, produce downloadable reports and files, perform statistical and trend analysis, and create and display plots and other graphics. It also is capable of sophisticated numerical modeling for surface water, groundwater and air and contaminant migration.

“We have a very comprehensive Website where we manage all information associated with contaminated sites,” says Neno Duplancic, Locus president and CEO. “We not only manage it but also provide a means to interpret the data and use automated systems that are plugged into the same Website to control treatment itself. We can press the buttons on the screen and turn on the pumps all over the world.”

Duplancic says the software can “eliminate the need for somebody to sit in a pickup truck and go to the site to change a filter or turn on a pump.”

By Tom Sawyer

Locus Technologies announces release of Internet-based environmental information management system

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., 26 June 2000- — Locus Technologies (Locus) announced today that it has completed the development and testing of the environmental industry’s first Internet-based Environmental Information Management (EIM™ system. This system is designed to manage the vast quantities of sampling, analytical, and geotechnical data that are typically collected during the investigation and cleanup of contaminated sites. EIM includes the capability to plan and schedule sampling events, input field data, upload electronic data from analytical laboratories, produce downloadable reports and files, perform statistical and trend analyses, and create and display plots and other graphics.

EIM™ represents yet another addition to Locus’s award-winning Internet-based transaction and information platform, LocusFocus. This suite of e-business services and systems include project and document management tools, as well as remote-control and automation of treatment systems that can be accessed and controlled using a web browser and wireless devices.

“The release of EIM constitutes the completion of the third pillar in Locus’s goal to develop LocusFocus into the world’s largest, most comprehensive portal for environmental information and services,” says Dr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus. “We plan to continue adding functionality to the existing modules, as well as expand into other areas, such as cross-team communication and collaboration, environmental and compliance management, health and safety, and real-time monitoring. We are extremely excited about the future prospects for LocusFocus and look to organize all of our work around it in the months and years ahead.”

LocusFocus is used by a number of Fortune 50 companies and constitutes the fastest growing business sector of Locus. LocusFocus has the potential to bring the benefits of Internet technology to the environmental industry and, as such, eliminate the many inefficiencies and incompatible technologies that afflict the industry. These benefits include increased opportunities for collaboration; remote-access to environmental information; better project coordination; improved reliability of information management systems; more control of, and easier and better access to, project information and documents; and, ultimately, lower project costs.

Since its inception in 1997, Locus has been at the forefront of the environmental industry with respect to providing Internet-based services and systems. Currently, the company is exploring the possibility of allying with one or more other companies to accelerate its product development cycles, expand its offerings, and gain a greater share of the market for on-line environmental services.

Locus Technologies announces formation of Automation and Environmental Information Management groups and staff additions

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., 29 June 1999 — Locus Technologies announced today formation of Automation and Data Management Groups. Both groups will employ Internet based technologies to manage and control vast amounts of data generated at the company’s client sites.

Locus also announced the appointment of Steven McEvoy, P.E., to the position of Director, Automation Group, and Gregory Buckle, Ph.D., to the position of Director, Data Management, both newly created positions.

McEvoy, 33, has been with the company since its inception and has led the development of the company’s state-of-the-art automation technology for control and management of environmental treatment systems via the Internet. The technology is currently employed to control groundwater treatment systems for Locus’s clients, including Schlumberger, FMC, and Union Pacific Railroad. McEvoy holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Alberta. McEvoy will head Locus’s Automation Group, a team of experienced electrical, mechanical, and computer science engineers, including Dr. Robert Campbell, who also joins the company this week from the General Electric Company. Campbell holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and an M.S. degree from the University of Alberta. He will be managing the development of a second generation browser-based project archival database.

Buckle, 48, will head Locus’s data management systems and brings to Locus more than 20 years of experience in the environmental industry, specializing in surface and groundwater hydrology, including 9 years in environmental database management. Most recently, Buckle was the lead developer and designer of the IT Group’s environmental data management system. He holds a Ph.D. in biology from Kansas University, an M.S. in civil engineering from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a B.A. from Stanford University. Buckle will be responsible for development and operation of Locus’s Internet-based Environmental Information Management (EIMTM) system.

“Locus is aggressively moving downstream from site cleanups to management and control of large amounts of data that are generated by the environmental industry, using Internet based technologies. The company has a head-start on Internet technology and plans to capitalize on this position in a fragmented environmental industry information management market. Ultimately, Locus plans to commercialize these technologies,” said Dr. Neno Duplancic, President and Chief Executive Officer of Locus. “Greg and Steve’s experiences as a leaders in environmental data management, automation, and control technologies will ensure our success in this rapidly growing field,” Duplancic added.

Locus Technologies awarded remediation system installation at Union Pacific Railroad Yard in Tracy, CA.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., 5 May 1999 — Locus Technologies today announced that they were awarded a contract for groundwater remediation system installation at Union Pacific Railroad’s yard in Tracy, CA.

The remediation project will be managed in four phases: (1) construction of the infiltration trench, (2) construction of the extraction wells, (3) installation of the treatment system, and (4) system automation. As a leader in the field of groundwater treatment and automation, Locus will apply the most advanced techniques for installation of mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and control systems.

Locus Technologies is thrilled to have the opportunity to install an advanced automated groundwater treatment system at UPRR’s Tracy Yard. This is the third in a series of UPRR groundwater treatment system automation projects awarded to Locus Technologies in recent months. “It clearly demonstrates that Locus’s state-of-the-art Internet-based automation technology, when coupled with system installation, provides significant reduction of the overall cost for groundwater remediation projects. We are pleased that we can transfer those savings to UPRR,” said Mr. Neno Duplancic, President of Locus Technologies.

Automatic Savings, Civil Engineering Magazine

Read the Press Release Here

Walnut Creek, Calif., 1 June 1998 — In the last several years, growth in the environmental remediation industry has slowed. One reason is that at many contaminated sites remedial construction activities have been completed and the operation and maintenance (O&M) phase has begun. However, this slow growth, accompanied by increased competition, does not necessarily translate into cost savings for the owners of contaminated sites with long term O&M requirements.
Long-term O&M costs often dwarf engineering and remedial construction costs, but they don’t have to. By negotiating with regulators for adequate cleanup standards, reducing labor through automation and standardizing environmental reporting and record keeping, site owners often can shut down a system early or reduce the long term operating costs of environmental treatment systems by 30% to 50%.

Construction of a $1 million groundwater treatment plant operated for 30 years or more, for example, typically would be preceded by five years of consulting, regulatory negotiation and engineering costs. These initial costs would total about $300,000. After construction, the O&M phase might continue for 30 years. If the initial O&M cost is $40,000 per year and the inflation rate is 3%, the true future cost of O&M exceeds $2 million, which is substantially higher than consulting, engineering and construction costs combined (see Remedy Total Cost). Even a 10% reduction in O&M costs can produce enormous savings in the long run. The following four strategies can help to lower overall O&M costs:

  • Negotiate with regulators to reduce O&M requirements
  • Design a system that will require less servicing
  • Automate the system so that human factors play a minimal role in routine tasks
  • Computerize environmental data management and reporting

The ability to influence overall project costs is greater at the early stages of development. The engineers and scientists involved in the project need to establish a scientific approach to determining when to shut down in situ remediation systems, such as groundwater treatment or soil vapor extraction processes. These processes typically provide an initial rapid decline in contaminant concentrations, followed by a gradual flattening of removal efficiency over time.
Contaminant levels eventually get so low that the system can no longer reduce them. In many cases, the contaminant concentration may be higher than the cleanup standard, but continued operation of a treatment process in this situation is unwarranted, wasteful and ineffective. No discernable benefit can be obtained.

A policy for shutting down a treatment process that is based on the rate of change of the concentration versus time could save millions of dollars in cleanup costs. This would be consistent with Californian’s Containment Zone Policy. The policy, adopted in October 1996, recognizes the futility of trying to remediate groundwater to drinking water standards without considering technological and economic limitations.

In addition, a shutdown standard based on science could justify an impracticability waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, based on the inability of the system to achieve required cleanup levels using available remedial technology. This approach offers the owner an opportunity to shut down a system early and renegotiate sampling and reporting frequency. When a system can no longer significantly reduce the concentration of contaminants, groundwater concentrations change slowly. Frequent well sampling and monitoring are unjustified and wasteful.