APPENDIX 13
Memorandum submitted by Ordnance Survey
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Ordnance Survey http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
is Britain's national mapping agency. We maintain the definitive
geographical framework for Great Britain, as well as capturing
and marketing a wide range of geographical information. Our Director
General is official advisor to the United Kingdom Government on
all aspects of survey, mapping and geographic information. Ordnance
Survey is a Government Department and Executive Agency, and since
1999 has operated as a Trading Fund.
1.2 Ordnance Survey surveys and collects
nationally consistent data on roads, buildings, addresses, boundaries,
water courses, height and many other aspects of the natural and
man-made landscape of Britain. Although traditionally supplied
to the user as paper maps, this data is now more usually supplied
as digital information to underpin and link government and business
information for analysis, manipulation, display and publication.
1.3 The digital database of the surface
of Britain is known as the National Geospatial Database (NGD)
from which the OS MasterMap® *product is produced. The NGD
is the most up-to-date, consistent and accurate topographic information
available and forms an essential geographic framework for Great
Britain. It is continuously updated with some 5,000 changes added
every day.
*OS MasterMap®is an integrated set of geographical
layers which provides the underpinning reference base for location-based
information in Britain. It is the definitive national database
of geographic information. Designed for use in geographical information
systems (GIS) and a database environment, OS MasterMap®has
interoperable layers of information with Topography (real-world
features such as the extents of land, buildings, roads and rail)
as the basis. Additional layers include Address (postal addresses),
Integrated Transport Network (TM) (currently roads and road restriction
information) and Imagery (digital aerial images). Additional layers
are planned. It is recognised by Government as key to joining
up information and processes between local, regional and central
government and integration with the private sector.
1.4 Ordnance Survey geographical data is
currently available to all Government departments, agencies and
non-departmental public bodies through the Pan-Government Agreement
(PGA). [8]The
agreement supports the delivery of strategically important e-government
and joined-up government initiatives. To date Ordnance Survey
data has been deployed by over 200 signatories to the PGA, including
the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency, the Driver
and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
and the Office of Rail Regulation, all employing geographical
information systems (GIS) [9]but
to differing extents.
1.5 The OS MasterMap® Integrated Transport
NetworkTM layer (ITN)
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/products/osmastermap/itn/
is licensed extensively to support transport policy and projects
across Local and Central Government. This includes a number of
Department for Transport projects including the Transport Direct
journey planning portal, the National Traffic Model, the National
Congestion Model, Accident Rate Statistics and Public Transport
Accessibility.
2. SUMMARY
2.1 Everything on Britain's extensive and
complex transport networks happens somewhere. Operational effectiveness
and efficiency is therefore dependent on a nationally consistent
geographic database and ubiquitous use of a common geographic
framework.
2.2 The use by all relevant parties of a
common geographic framework is fundamental to the effective and
efficient sharing of information between the Department for Transport's
Executive Agencies and others within Central and Local Government,
the Business community and citizens.
2.3 It is our view that there are significant
economic and operational benefits in establishing a common geographic
framework for DfT and its Agencies in line with the Digital National
Framework (DNF) 21[10]
principles and based upon OS MasterMap®
3. SCOPE OF
MEMORANDUM
3.1 It is not appropriate for Ordnance Survey
to comment on a number of the issues the Committee will consider.
We therefore have nothing to say on:
— The purpose of the agencies and whether
the current allocation of responsibilities is appropriate.
— How the agencies contribute to Departmental
objectives and policy.
— Whether the level of accountability
and transparency of the Government's relations with the agencies
is appropriate.
— Whether the agencies' performances
are satisfactory and whether they are sufficiently accountable.
— How the agencies' funding arrangements
relate to Government accounts.
3.2 Ordnance Survey does however have extensive
experience in the creation, supply and use of information and
will therefore confine its response to the issue of:
— Whether there is sufficient co-ordination
of systems and sharing of information between agencies and with
the Government.
4. IS THERE
SUFFICIENT CO
-ORDINATION OF
SYSTEMS AND
SHARING OF
INFORMATION BETWEEN
AGENCIES AND
WITH THE GOVERNMENT
4.1 In our view, no.
4.2 Everything on Britain's extensive and
complex transport networks happens somewhere. Whether this refers
to fixed assets, mobile units, passenger journey information,
freight movements or street works, everything can be attributed
with a geographical reference or position. Addresses, road names,
national grid and GPS co-ordinates all represent a position on
the earth's surface to which information can be uniquely referenced
and linked. More often than not the only common denominator in
information systems is geography or geographic information (gi).
GI therefore provides the only nationally consistent common framework
for the transport industry's disparate information and datasets.
4.3 GI provides the facility to link information
together and to combine datasets, connecting information about
people, places and events to locations and routes. Used within
a live database environment it is a powerful tool enabling virtual
integration and analysis of information drawn from numerous sources.
This can and does improve the accuracy and reliability of information.
4.4 Integrating and sharing government and
business information and related technologies is key to delivering
a step change in the performance of Britain's transport networks.
Employing GI as the consistent common framework for accessing
and referencing that information will deliver significant benefits
to transport, not least as an unambiguous context for live data.
4.5 Government policy for the transport
industry stresses the importance of greater co-operation between
all stakeholders with particular emphasis on improved traffic
management. Devolved responsibilities also now serve to highlight
the importance of a single source for accurate, focused and unambiguous
information.
4.6 The requirement for integrating public
and private sector information is also significant. Utility companies
and infrastructure contractors in particular have been tasked
with reducing their impact on transport networks. The New Roads
and Street Works Act 1991 requires statutory undertakers to inform
the relevant street authorities of impending works. The authority
is in turn required to maintain a street works register and to
co-ordinate workings, including its own, to minimise disruption
to road users. The Traffic Management Act 2004 has since added
to these roles and reinforced the need for an unambiguous street
referencing system with GI at its centre.
4.7 The need to draw together and analyse
geographically referenced information is now essential for the
efficient management of the road and other transport networks.
Knowing with certainty the position and condition of assets, workings,
incidents and users, and being able to link that information to
performance, capacity, safety, costs and revenues at both location
and route level, will make a major contribution to understanding
core network issues such as the causes of congestion, and so help
the overall objective of improved integration.
4.8 Surface transport data can be viewed
and analysed against the backdrop of accurate and up to date geographical
information. This will provide the consistent and common framework
of known and assured quality for managing, analysing and visualising
data at local, route and network levels. As an example, faced
with the problem of fusing disparate information held in numerous
datasets of varying quality, Network Rail's Corporate Network
Model project has concluded that geographical attribution offers
the best means of integration and data maintenance to support
better informed decision making.
4.9 A uniform "picture" of transport
networks can help in forecasting pressures from growing demands
on the network and can be used to understand how the growth predications
relate to population, housing and employment and to analyse and
predict the effects of transport initiatives such as congestion
and road user charging.
5. CONCLUSIONS
5.1 Road usage and demand for passenger
and freight services is forecast to continue to grow. There is
consensus that improved communication, cooperation and coordination
between the various agencies and with the transport industry is
now vital. GI provides the logical common framework for sharing
information to enable virtual integration.
5.2 Adopting the geographical perspective
provides clear visibility of facilities, services, demand and
other vital road and transport information. Traffic data, infrastructure
works and safety records can all be viewed using this common backdrop
so eliminating confusion, lost time and unnecessary expenditure.
5.3 Until all providers in the transport
market are able to share and access information in a common geographic
framework there will be scope for improvement in the sharing of
information. Information held in, and exchanged against, a common
geographic framework provides the potential for significant cost
savings and much improved decision making and operational effectiveness.
service provision.
5.4 GI has already been independently adopted
by several transport stakeholders as an essential resource, some
examples are provided in Annex A. Government departments and their
agencies, local authorities, police authorities and Network Rail
are all investing in the technology as an effective source of
intelligent information. GI is also a very effective tool for
integration, a means of linking separate initiatives for the wider
benefit of all involved in planning, providing and using transport
facilities. However agreement on a common information framework
and appropriate standards has not yet been reached.
5.5 We suggest that to maximise the sharing
of information between DfT and its agencies a standard definitive
geographical framework should be adopted as this would allow different
information sources to be easily cross-referenced and accessed.
5.6 Ordnance Survey advocates that the standard
definitive geographical framework for the management of the Great
Britain's road networks and transport systems should be founded
on DNF and OS MasterMap® including addresses in the form of
OS MasterMap® Address Layer Release 2.
9 January 2006
Annex A
THE APPLICATION OF GI TO RELATED GOVERNMENT
AND INDUSTRY INITIATIVES
A.1 GI is accepted as being fundamental
to the success of a large number of Government and industry initiatives.
The importance of a consistent geographical underpinning framework
has been accepted by the Department for Transport, the Office
of Deputy Prime Minister, the Office of National Statistics, the
Environment Agency, the Metropolitan Police and Network Rail amongst
others. It is seen as essential for reliable cross-referencing,
sharing and analysis of government and business information.
A.2 Relevant current case studies include:
— The Traffic Management Act and the
New Roads and Street Works Act tackles traffic disruption and
congestion by introducing the requirement for a nationally consistent
referencing system to enable local authorities, utilities and
contractors to co-ordinate operations.
— Transport Direct is a web portal
giving instant free access to comprehensive journey information
and an important element of the Government's 10 year transport
plan. It is the definitive web-based journey planner for the citizen
and detailed geographical information is the essential backbone
of its route planning service.
— DfT's National Traffic Model and
Accident Rate Database use GI to bring together disparate databases
containing traffic, accident and road network information to improve
appraisal methods and monitor the impact of road and transport
schemes.
— DfT's Congestion Model uses structured
road network data to analyse road congestion and traffic flows
and to model the impact of proposed improvement schemes.
— Local authorities receive grant allocation
from the Revenue Support Grant for the upkeep of minor roads in
their areas. The use of high quality GI is critical for the accurate
distribution of grant funding.
— British Waterways is linking its
IT and GI systems to improve understanding of its assets and infrastructure.
A web-based portal has been installed to provide dynamic links
between financial and management information referenced to precise
locations.
— London Underground's infrastructure
partners Tube Lines and Metronet are tasked with increasing the
network's capacity by 25%. In response, Tube Lines has invested
£30 million on developing an integrated enterprise system.
This includes GI data within the asset and works management system
as a common set of master data for the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly
lines, providing project managers with a clearer picture of the
location and condition of its assets.
— Network Rail maintains a number of
legacy systems to manage its infrastructure assets. The wide variety
in data quality and standards is complicated further by the continuing
usage of several referencing systems. Each system is fit for its
own purpose but there is no single "source of the truth".
Network Rail is developing the Corporate Network Model (CNM) to
provide access to consistent network information across the business.
The CNM is a database integrator, a single master data source
linking linear references to locational (GI) references.
— The Highways Agency is tasked with
delivering the Roads Information Framework (RIF) as a Strategic
Programme for all roads. Using GI for the basic framework, the
purpose is to enhance the management of the road network in England
by integrating existing and new data sources for journey times,
traffic volumes, planned and unplanned events, incidents and road
works. RIF will provide visualisation and analytical tools and
facilitate the provision of information to road users via web
portals. The RIF will also enable better understanding of road
network costs and performance and inform investment decisions
and the development of policies at local and national level.
8 The Pan-Government Agreement was established in
April 2003, following a successful pilot, in line with Transport,
Local Government and the Regions Committee's report on Ordnance
Survey (HC 481 published 22 June 2002) Recommendation (d). Back
9
GIS is a powerful combination of computer aided design, desk
top publishing and digital cartographic tools integrated with
database technologies. It is a tool for managing, analysing and
visualising information with outputs in numerous formats including
maps, tables and graphs. The development of open systems and common
data standards has transformed GIS from a specialist resource
to a mainstream information technology for desktop and web-based
usage across every sector of Government and business. Back
10
DNF is an industry standard for integrating and sharing business
and geographic information from multiple sources. The vision for
DNF is to enable and support easy and reliable integration of
business and geographic information regardless of who is responsible
for its maintenance and where this is undertaken, thus achieving
the goal of "plug and play information". http://www.dnf.org/Introduction/WhatIsDNF.htm Back
| 
