Environmental Data Management

Data published by the Environmental Business Journal indicate that the U.S. environmental industry generated cumulative revenues of about $300 billion dollars in 2007. The industry grew over 5 percent, its second consecutive year of growth greater than 5 percent and, by many indicators, one of its best years ever.

Although such numbers would seem to be cause for celebration, some troubling trends persist within the industry. Notable among these is its failure to embrace the information management revolution that has had deep and far-reaching impacts on so many other business sectors.  In particular, this failure to adopt the latest technologies for storing, distributing and managing information increases the costs and delays the cleanup of contaminated sites.  In this white paper, we discuss the role that consulting companies play in misinforming their clients about the data management options available to them.

Most companies “own” their financial, human resource, customer relations, and other data. This information typically resides on computers located in the company’s facilities, or it may be housed off site in data centers managed by an outside party. Regardless of which alternative is adopted, both are similar in that:

  1. Information is stored in a consistent and organized manner in central databases
  2. Employees within the company have, to the extent that their privileges permit, continuous and unimpeded access to this data.
  3. Companies unquestionably own the data and are able to change support vendors at will.

The manner in which companies with environmental liabilities manage and store their environmental information and data stands in marked contrast to the model that they have adopted for all their other key data.  Historically, environmental consultants and narrowly focused applications built on spreadsheets and client/server databases have served the complex software requirements of this market.  Today’s landscape of available technology options has consolidated and new and better options exist.  While planned IT spending on environmental software is rising, organizations are still struggling to identify software and service providers that can support environmental information management in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed with other enterprise initiatives and enterprise software, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM).

Locus adds Port of Los Angeles, the largest port in the U.S., as a customer

Locus Technologies selected by the busiest port in the United States

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 5, 2008 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in specialty environmental services and web-based environmental software, has been selected by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners to perform environmental site assessment, soil and groundwater investigation and cleanup, environmental compliance assessment and environmental information management services for the Port of Los Angeles. The agreement with Locus is valued at $1,890,000 for a 3-year period.

Mr. Paul Parmentier, Locus’ Southern California regional manager, will be project manager for the Port of Los Angeles project. The contract further consolidates Locus’ presence in the rapidly expanding and fiercely competitive California transportation market. Locus is happy to be one of the Port’s principal environmental partners. The Port of Los Angeles, a premier US gateway for international trade and commerce, is located in San Pedro Bay, just 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. This booming seaport is not only considered the busiest port in the US with its record-setting cargo operations, but is also known for its groundbreaking environmental initiatives and progressive security measures. The Port encompasses 7500 acres, 43 miles of waterfront and features 27 cargo terminals, including dry and liquid bulk, container, breakbulk, and automobile and omni facilities.

The Port project will be supported by Locus’ cutting edge flagship environmental management software product, ePortal, a web-based platform that runs key environmental data management applications. Locus’ ePortal leverages Web 2.0 technologies such as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), mashups and vertical searches. It also stores and organizes all of the customer’s environmental data and information. Locus is the only environmental services organization able to offer such powerful data management and organization capabilities to its clients.

“Locus is pleased to support the massive operations at the Port of Los Angeles with our unique blend of environmental consulting and management. This project is an example of the specialized consulting and advanced information management services Locus provides our clientele that result in faster and less expensive remedy selection, implementation, and ultimate site closure,” said Mr. Parmantier, Locus’ Southern California Regional Manager for Locus Technologies.

“We are very pleased to add another Port client on the list of transportation companies that Locus has served since its inception. Our expertise for environmental liability management, coupled with the state-of-the art technology for environmental management was the winning combination that resulted in the Port of Los Angeles choosing our company,” added Mr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus.

Locus CEO presents environmental data challenges at Carnegie Mellon West

Environmental Industry Software: A Growing Data Management Challenge

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, SILICON VALLEY, Calif., 9 April 2008 — Bay Area based Locus Technologies is in large part responsible for the creation of an emerging technical sector— the storage and management of environmental industry data. Even conservative estimates project rapid growth in the environmental information arena, with an increasing need for software tools to store, manage and manipulate data. Such data includes the massive amount of complex information collected during environmental cleanup projects, air emissions, greenhouse gasses monitoring, and other activities, which in past practice was stored in various distributed locations from spreadsheets to PDAs to field notebooks. Locus stores environmental industry data in an online central database, making it accessible via the Web and available for analysis, visualization, and reporting, leveraging Web 2.0 technologies such as Service Oriented Architecture, mashups, and vertical searches.

 

ABOUT DR. DUPLAN
Carnegie Melon alumnus Dr. Neno Duplan is the founder and CEO of Locus Technologies where he has
pioneered the application of an Internet based on-demand computing model for data management in the
environmental industry.

Dr. Duplan is the author of more than 30 technical papers on the use of technologies in the environmental
industry. As a research associate at Carnegie Mellon in the early eighties, he developed the first prototype system
for environmental and geological data management and display using microcomputers. This early work led to the
development of numerous database management systems at some of the nation’s largest contaminated sites, and
ultimately to the formation of Locus Technologies in 1997.

Dr. Duplan earned a Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon, Master’s and
Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil
Engineering from the University of Split, Croatia. He attended Stanford University’s Advance Project Management
program, and has taught classes at Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin.

Silicon Valley Business Journal Interviews Locus’ CEO

Locus Technologies seeks to pioneer environmental information management through on-demand approaches.

New Locus Web Module Organizes Geological Information: Organize, Display and Report Geo-Data with eGeo

Organize, Display and Report Geo-Data with eGeo

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 24, 2008 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in web-based environmental data and information management services, announced today the expansion of its award winning ePortal software with a new module, eGeo, which organizes geological and geotechnical data on the web.

eGeo is available to Locus’ existing Environmental Information Management (EIM) customers immediately and free of charge.

eGeo eliminates the need for third-party borehole log applications, fence diagrams, or CAD drawings and for yet another disconnected database application, login and software license. eGeo is fully integrated with Locus’ award winning EIM Web 2.0 analytical data management system and with the Locus ePortal, providing users with single sign-on access to a powerful set of geo-data management tools.

Geological site investigation processes generate tremendous amounts of data, including geological quality and geotechnical properties. Field investigation results such as borehole drilling, geophysical testing, Cone Penetrometer Testing (CPT) and Standard Penetration Testing (SPT) all must be collected and analyzed. This information needs to be validated, managed, reported and preserved. Ironically, while companies invest millions of dollars to collect their data, rarely is it well-organized or readily accessible.

Previously, geo-data, such as borehole logs, were entered into expensive stand-alone software applications, spreadsheets or CAD systems that had little or no data analysis capability. Users could not easily retrieve this content or correlate it with similar geological and analytical chemistry data. Data had to be downloaded, merged and analyzed as precious time was lost and consulting hours piled up.

Locus’ eGeo, an integrated module in Locus’ ePortal, is a web-based application that instantly delivers, sorts, and assembles geo-data into highly nuanced reports, boring logs, CPT logs, SPT Logs, cross sections, charts, and maps—including raster image overlays, and mashups with Google Maps and pictures. As a result, geological information can be quickly visualized and analyzed.

“eGeo and our other software tools meet a huge need in the field of geotechnical and geological data management,” said Locus President and CEO, Dr. Neno Duplancic. “By offering up graphical, mapping, and other applications in our portal, users are able to view, download, and print information from each application in a uniform manner,” continued Duplancic. “This exciting new functionality comes without the need to store large image files on the server end, minimizing storage and Internet traffic requirements.” said Duplancic.

“Our tools give corporate managers something new, a means to quickly view and click through any aspect of the environmental status of their sites from within a single application. Geologists, geotechnical and environmental engineers, and site owners can use eGeo to look at their data with the same ease that oil companies use multi-million software applications to visualize and map underground oil reserves,” said Duplancic.

“Information management technologies based on Web 2.0 technology can help businesses and governments characterize environmental problems faster and more easily so that valuable resources can be spent designing solutions instead of searching for information or synchronizing disconnected applications, spreadsheets or databases.” Duplancic said.

Locus Presents at GeoCongress 2008: Six Sigma Approach to Sustainable Institutional Environmental Data Management

GeoCongress 2008: The Challenge of Sustainability in the Geoenvironment.

Locus Technologies Receives Another Environmental Business Journal Business Achievement Award in Information Technology

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., February 20, 2008 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the world leader in on-demand environmental data and information management software, today announced that it has received a 2007 Business Achievement Award in Information Technology (IT) from the Environmental Business Journal (EBJ). This award recognizes Locus for achieving record sales to new Fortune 100 customers and for adding more than 30,000 new sites to its popular EIM database, representing a 600% increase over 2006.

Locus was also recognized for introducing the environmental industry’s first “software as a service” (SaaS) environmental portal (ePortal) to its Fortune 100 customers. Locus’ ePortal provides customers with a user-friendly interface to environmental information, business analytics and direct integration with Locus’ EIM environmental database. ePortal is based on next-generation portal technology that enables seamless information integration across multiple sources and includes sophisticated data mashups for enhanced environmental data visualization.

“We are honored to be recognized by the Environmental Business Journal for our sales and technical achievement,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus Technologies. “2007 was an outstanding year for Locus. We introduced an entirely new category of product for the environmental industry, and we significantly enhanced our Fortune 100 customer base who embraced our new offerings.”

Locus plans to keep the momentum going in 2008 with continued innovation in its products. According to Duplancic, “It’s no surprise that consumer social networking sites are driving business demand. After all, all the new Web 2.0 features people use everyday become so ingrained in our lives, we begin to demand the same features in business products.” Social Computing is radically changing today’s definition of collaboration and ECM (enterprise content management), prompting corporate environmental managers to reconsider how to make it easier for teams of environmental professionals to collaborate and securely manage content both inside and outside the organization.

After adopting the ePortal platform in 2007, Locus is perfectly positioned to add the features to ePortal that environmental customers are demanding, including enhanced collaboration and communication tools and more data mashups. Already in progress are enhanced linkages with Google Earth and GIS programs to extend ePortal’s mapping capabilities and enhanced business analytics to report enterprise environmental sustainability parameters.

“Business Achievement Award in Information Technology,” Environmental Business Journal, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., February 20, 2008 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the world leader in on-demand environmental data and information management software, today announced that it has received a 2007 Business Achievement Award in Information Technology (IT) from the Environmental Business Journal (EBJ). This award recognizes Locus for achieving record sales to new Fortune 100 customers and for adding more than 30,000 new sites to its popular EIM database, representing a 600% increase over 2006.

Locus was also recognized for introducing the environmental industry’s first “software as a service” (SaaS) environmental portal (ePortal) to its Fortune 100 customers. Locus’ ePortal provides customers with a user-friendly interface to environmental information, business analytics and direct integration with Locus’ EIM environmental database. ePortal is based on next-generation portal technology that enables seamless information integration across multiple sources and includes sophisticated data mashups for enhanced environmental data visualization.

“We are honored to be recognized by the Environmental Business Journal for our sales and technical achievement,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus Technologies. “2007 was an outstanding year for Locus. We introduced an entirely new category of product for the environmental industry, and we significantly enhanced our Fortune 100 customer base who embraced our new offerings.”

Locus plans to keep the momentum going in 2008 with continued innovation in its products. According to Duplancic, “It’s no surprise that consumer social networking sites are driving business demand. After all, all the new Web 2.0 features people use everyday become so ingrained in our lives, we begin to demand the same features in business products.” Social Computing is radically changing today’s definition of collaboration and ECM (enterprise content management), prompting corporate environmental managers to reconsider how to make it easier for teams of environmental professionals to collaborate and securely manage content both inside and outside the organization.

After adopting the ePortal platform in 2007, Locus is perfectly positioned to add the features to ePortal that environmental customers are demanding, including enhanced collaboration and communication tools and more data mashups. Already in progress are enhanced linkages with Google Earth and GIS programs to extend ePortal’s mapping capabilities and enhanced business analytics to report enterprise environmental sustainability parameters.

Locus Technologies Wins Environmental Business Journal’s 2007 Business Achievement Award for Information Technology

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 9 January 2008 — Locus Technologies has won Environmental Business Journal’s 2007 Business Achievement Award, for achieving record sales to new Fortune 100 customers, adding more than 30,000 new sites using its EIM database, representing a 600% increase over 2006, and more than 20 million records, which constituted a 20% increase. In May 2007, Locus introduced what it claims is the environmental industry’s first “software as a service“ (SaaS) environmental portal (ePortal) to its Fortune 100 customers, providing them with a user-friendly interface to environmental information, business analytics, and direct integration with EIM. The ePortal is based on next-generation portal technology that allows seamless information integration across multiple sources. According to Locus, the facility gives users access to Web 2.0 features and allows customers access to important data and information in a single, customizable dashboard. Locus is poised to add another 10,000 EIM and ePortal sites and millions of additional records in early 2008 with existing signed contracts.

 

ABOUT EBJ BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
For more information on the EBJ Business Achievement Awards go to: www.ebionline.org.

Fortune 500 Chemicals Company Selects Locus Technologies SaaS for Environmental Data Management

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., November 19, 2007 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the market and technology leader in on-demand environmental data and information management software and services, today announced that Fortune 500 Chemical Company (The Company) has selected Locus’ award-winning Environmental Information Management (EIM™) on-demand system and ePortal environmental information portal to manage and organize their environmental information. The Company chose Locus’ SaaS EIM system to manage formerly inaccessible analytical laboratory data and will use ePortal’s strong business analytics to reduce overall environmental risk. As an On-Demand web-based solution, Locus’ EIM environmental database meets all project requirements for robust environmental data management, including quick deployment and multi-party access.

Established in 1912, The Company is a leading producer of specialty chemicals used in making a variety of products for home, office, and industrial markets. The Company joins more than 35,000 EIM sites of all sizes, industries, and locations now benefiting from Locus’ single centralized, comprehensive environmental data management solution, accessible at anytime, anywhere in the world.

With EIM, The Company can query and report a variety of data—visualize and spatially query environmental information through Locus Web 2.0 technologies, as well as create on-the fly Google Maps and boring logs all within an intuitive, user-friendly interface. The Company will also enjoy ePortal’s customized dashboards to display site-specific environmental compliance alerts. These advanced features will open a whole new world of environmental decision-making, as well as streamline existing business processes for The Company.

“Before EIM, The Company was using stand-alone systems and was unable to effectively share their environmental data or efficiently perform key business analytics or reporting. By putting the data back into the hands of the data owner, and providing a robust set of tools for environmental data management and visual analysis, The Company project managers and their suppliers will be able to quickly organize and share data on their projects, while significantly reducing the data management effort and cost,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus.