A Better Environmental Stewardship Through Better Information Management

The conversation about the environmental landscape has evolved drastically over the last 20 years as we continue to understand the extent to which human activity has affected the planet.

Businesses are currently not so keen on sharing the data they collect about their emissions, wastewater, and energy use as they are with sharing consumer information. But they are gathering those data, aggregating and analyzing it, and even acting on their activities as part of their risk-management protocols and environmental stewardship. What’s missing is the commitment to work across an industry, region, or country to measure all of these activities in a meaningful way on a global scale?

I am appalled that some Fortune 100 companies environmental managers I talk to tell me that they would not even host their company’s environmental data in the Cloud for fear of someone accessing it without authorization—the very same data their company is obliged to report to regulators and for which it is against the laws to not disclose data if found to exceed regulatory limits. Ironically, some of the very same companies see no problem with accessing our private information from consumer cloud companies to target us in selling their products and services.

Despite this resistance from business leaders, over the longer term I envision a world in which we can use shared environmental data to take a more concerted approach in our collective environmental stewardship. I consider the work that we do at Locus to be an important step in addressing a monumental global problem. There is a growing need for companies to harness their huge disconnected databases and spreadsheets and mine the information. In a decade or so, I envision the whole planet Earth as a meshed grid of static sensors coupled with movable ones installed on people, transportation devices, and other moving objects to collect data in real time.

Companies and society need a collective and holistic understanding of the problems we face. The only way to understand the full picture, and in turn to act meaningfully on a global level, is for all individuals and companies to understand the impact of their activities. It’s impossible to mitigate the risks and effects of those activities to the planet when we don’t have the data to characterize the problem and see a full picture.

While perhaps someday we will have environmental data sharing among all public and private organizations, the regulatory bodies that govern them, and the scientific community at large, which will provide us with an even more complete picture of our environmental activities, any coordinated effort is years in the making. One of impediments to institute a change like this lies with the Government. So far, it has not been able to impose data exchange standards, a prerequisite for a broad data exchange. In the meantime, Locus is ensuring we are ready to help tackle the problem one site, one facility, and one enterprise at a time.

Environmental and Sustainability Software: How one company’s cloud environmental and sustainability software is changing how firms and government manage environmental information.

How one company’s cloud environmental and sustainability software is changing how firms and government manage environmental information.

Environmental and Sustainability Software

We believe that every company that wants to be credible with their environmental reporting must own their data and organize it in centralized database on the web.

Our market category is not shaped by explosive growth of software companies like ones associated with social media or search engines. Our software manages and organizes a type of information on which the future of humankind depends. We organize it in a serious and very scalable way.

To read the full story and interview please click here.

 

Locus Technologies receives EBJ Business Achievement award for Information Technology

Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) recognizes firms for growth and innovation in 2014

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 10 March 2015 — Locus Technologies announced today that Environmental Business Journal (EBJ), a business research publication which provides high value strategic business intelligence to the environmental industry, granted the company the 2014 award for Information Technology in the environmental and sustainability industry for the ninth time.

Locus was recognized for significant strategic strides in 2014 including entering the water quality management (drinking water supplies and waste water) market; introducing its new Locus Platform (a highly configurable, user-friendly interface to fully meet individual organizations’ environmental management needs); and launching Locus Mobile (a field data collection solution that is fully integrated with Locus’s flagship Environmental Information Management [EIM] platform). In addition, Locus continues to maintain its leadership position in the commercial nuclear industry by solidifying business with more than 50 percent of all U.S. commercial reactor facilities that use Locus EIM for radionuclides monitoring management.

“Locus continues to influence the industry with its forward-thinking product set and eye for customer needs,” said Grant Ferrier, president of Environmental Business International Inc. (EBI), publisher of Environmental Business Journal.

“We are very proud to receive the prestigious EBJ Information Technology award in environmental business for the ninth time. It is a statement of our vision and perseverance to accomplish this level of recognition, especially now as we lead the market by providing robust solutions for the emerging space of cloud and mobile-based environmental information management,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus Technologies.

The 2014 EBJ awards, hosted by EBI Inc., will be presented at the annual executive retreat called the Environmental Industry Summit XIII in San Diego, Calif. on March 11-13, 2015.

How to Select an Enterprise EHS and Sustainability Software Solution

I recently had a discussion with the Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) on challenges companies face when selecting EHS and Sustainability management software. Environmental managers have to consider many things at this time of rapid technological change. The solution that was considered an industry standard or good fit just two years ago may not be the right answer any longer. With rapid penetration of multi-tenant SaaS, always connected mobile devices, and the Internet of Things, enterprise software selection just got much simpler (and less expensive).

The reality is that if a software vendor is offering you a latest on premise version of its software, or any version, you should not invest into it. Why? The new version, that comes out in two years from now, will most likely have unexpected changes that will cause pain for users, installers and/or managers of the solution.  But that pain can be avoided by moving to a SaaS-based solution.  SaaS not only improves cost efficiencies and offers better  integration with mobile deployments, but provides the ability to gleam more intelligent insight in the collected data.  Even Microsoft with its pending Windows 10 release, which is expected to be the last of the traditional big bang launches, is likely to complete Microsoft’s transition from a software licensing model to a cloud computing one.

Your next EHS solution must be built around continual upgrades and stable releases on a schedule or what is in SaaS industry called a rolling upgrade program. Due to market dynamics, your enterprise EHS software platform will evolve over time. This strategy will allow you to consume innovation easier and have success stories along the way.

I share my views and opinions in a 10 question and answer interview, entitled “Locus Technologies’ Duplan Advised on Navigation of Rapidly Changing World of EHS/Sustainability Information Management“, which appeared in the December 2014 issue of the Environmental Business Journal newsletter.

Click here for a full story

Internet of Things and the Climate Change

The future of climate change management lies in the ability to use a holistic approach to environmental data and monitoring information. This merging of technological advances, such as real-time sensors, big data technologies, and Internet of Things (IoT), gives industries and governments the ability to effectively predict and manage climate change.

In any industry, when all incoming data is connected and centrally accessible through a SaaS application, the flow of information is much more efficient and effective. For example, instead of having a separate file and procedure for energy management, waste management, environmental compliance and incident management, a company can have all emissions-related records environmental and H&S compliance data in one system. From this single system, they would have the ability to manage compliance activity, data monitoring, and resource management at the same time. Adopting such a structure offers any entity the ability to converge all incoming sources of information to create a much more integrated enterprise platform for EH&S+S management.

At the crux of this method of centralized information is the Internet of Things. The IoT is the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing internet infrastructure. The proliferation of IoT is expected to usher in an age of automation in the environmental field, while enabling advanced applications like a smart grid or real time water quality measurement and management. IoT is able to offer connectivity beyond machine-to-machine communications and cover a variety of protocols, domains and applications.

In relation to environmental management, a “Thing” in the IoT could refer to flow monitoring sensors, a groundwater monitoring well, emission monitoring stations, Gas Chromatography (GC) instruments  used in analytical chemistry for  testing the purity of a particular substance, or separating the different components of a mixture or  identifying a compound. Ultimately, any natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network can become a thing in the IoT. The expanded use of this system is expected to create a plethora of new areas of application for internet connected automation. And, in turn, the IoT is also expected to generate a large amount of data from a huge variety of environmental monitoring devices, thereby increasing the need for better indexing, processing, and storing of incoming data.

The IoT is considered one of the fastest growing trends in technology. When applied to the environmental monitoring industry, there will be an overwhelming influx of information that will have to be dealt with. Many companies are concerned that the sheer volume of data will render the information useless. Environmental companies must invest in smart software and intelligent databases to deal with this new trend, hopefully changing the face of the environmental monitoring industry.

Locus Technologies Introduces Locus Mobile for Data Access and Input On the Go

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) leverages new mobile app for its environmental data collection processes

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 27 October 2014 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental compliance and information management software, has announced the launch of a new mobile application Locus Mobile, designed for easy and accurate data collection on the go.

Locus Mobile works both online and offline to ensure continuous access and interaction, and takes advantage of the most advanced technology to provide a variety of options for ad hoc sampling, additional field data checks, dynamic forms, and effective mapping tools. Locus Mobile users can easily configure business-specific data collection needs, enter data offline and upload on-demand, and synchronize data back to Locus’ systems for final review, storing, managing, and reporting.

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has awarded a contract to Locus for the new Locus Mobile app, through which users can upload data directly from the field to their data management and compliance system, EIM. By taking advantage of configurable planned sampling and monitoring events, real-time data validation in the field, GPS mapping capabilities, and a complete audit trail of who, what, when and where, LANL expects that it will operate with a significantly higher degree of confidence that its environmental reporting and decision making are based off of the most accurate information possible in real time.

“We are seeing growing customer interest in adding mobility to our full-line of environmental and sustainability information management applications to more efficiently centralize remotely collected information for executive decision-support reporting. The next step is to push information the other way so that remote personnel are empowered with the information and instructions they need to take appropriate preventative and remedial action on the ground, perform real-time data validation, and spot exceedances,” said Locus CEO, Neno Duplan. “As a result of this more frictionless two-way data flow, mobile has the potential to completely transform the way enterprises address their environmental and sustainability challenges and achieve positive outcomes for the environment, brand protection, and their shareholders and customers.”

Locus Mobile is offered as a downloadable app from the Apple App Store to work with Locus’ cloud software systems.

Locus’ Intellus Site Creates Big Data Transparency in the Cloud; Millions of Environmental Data Records are Now Publicly Available

Through the Locus EIM platform public facing website, Intellus, the general public can now access remediation and environmental data records associated with the Office of Environmental Management’s (EM’s) legacy nuclear cleanup program.

Containing more than 14 million records, Locus’ Intellus has consolidated Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL’s) information that was previously handled in multiple independent databases. The centralized, cloud-based solution directly attributed to an estimated $15 million in cost savings for LANL through 2015.

The public facing site also ensures users have real-time access to the most recent data. The same data that scientists and analysts use to base important environmental stewardship decisions off of. Through tools and capabilities such as automated electronic data validation, interactive maps, and the ability to include data from other third-party providers and environmental programs, Intellus provides the ultimate platform to view LANL’s environmental data without compromising the core EIM system that LANL scientists use on a daily basis.

Locus has always advocated for the power of data transparency via the cloud. When you apply the most extensive security protocols to a cloud-based system, it can be a winning combination for data management and public trust.

Locus’ Intellus Promotes Big Data Transparency: More Than 14 Million Environmental Sampling Records from National Laboratory Are Now Available Online

Previously contained in a dozen independent databases, the integrated records of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) — are now stored in one location, the publicly-accessible website Intellus.

Through the Locus EIM platform public facing website, Intellus, the general public can now access remediation and environmental data records associated with the Office of Environmental Management’s (EM’s) legacy nuclear cleanup program.

Containing more than 14 million records, Locus’ Intellus has consolidated Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL’s) information that was previously handled in multiple independent databases. The centralized, cloud-based solution directly attributed to an estimated $15 million in cost savings for LANL through 2015.

The public facing site also ensures users have real-time access to the most recent data. The same data that scientists and analysts use to base important environmental stewardship decisions off of. Through tools and capabilities such as automated electronic data validation, interactive maps, and the ability to include data from other third-party providers and environmental programs, Intellus provides the ultimate platform to view LANL’s environmental data without compromising the core EIM system that LANL scientists use on a daily basis.

Locus has always advocated for the power of data transparency via the cloud. When you apply the most extensive security protocols to a cloud-based system, it can be a winning combination for data management and public trust.

Keeping the Pulse of the Planet: Using Big Data to Monitor Our Environment

Big data has become a major buzzword in tech these days; the ability to gather, store and aggregate information about individuals has exploded in the last few years.