Sector: Defense
United States Air Force Civil Engineer
Background
The Air Force Civil Engineer is responsible for developing and executing policy and overseeing cost-effective life-cycle management of worldwide US Air Force installations and facilities.
Challenge
In 2001, the USAF Civil Engineer selected Critigen, then a department of CH2M HILL, to pioneer the development of an enterprise-wide geospatial information resource management program called GeoBase. Critigen was charged with addressing the Air Force’s worldwide installation management challenges by providing disciplined creation, management and sharing of critical geo-referenced information through new Department of Defense enterprise architecture frameworks.
By late 2002, Critigen staff successfully delivered the first USAF GeoBase enterprise architecture to the USAF Chief Information Officer who immediately approved its implementation. The USAF Chief of Staff also recognized the architecture as a key foundation to guide all future installation mapping and visualization capabilities.
Result
The GeoBase enterprise architecture enabled the Air Force installation management mission to:
- Leverage existing spatial information technology investments.
- Fuse disparate data sources into one common installation picture.
- Optimize legacy systems and processes to secure maximum benefits from geospatial technologies at the least cost.
- Enhance management processes.
Critigen’s efforts in developing and implementing the GeoBase enterprise architecture earned praise from both the US General Accountability Office and the US Department of the Interior as a model for future US Federal spatial information resource management. As testimony to its effectiveness, the GeoBase enterprise architecture continues to positively impact Air Force business operations to this day.
Critigen continues to build upon their GeoBase enterprise architecture experience to extend this capability through a web of location-enabled solutions across the Air Force base enterprise. To date, Critigen has achieved the following benchmarks to support GeoBase programs worldwide:
- Deployed more than 30 GeoBase-enabled applications.
- Enhanced more than 20 business systems with geospatial information.
- Developed and implemented over 30 strategic and tactical GeoBase plans.
- Surveyed and mapped more than 80 bases in ten countries.
- Managed and sustained GeoBase programs at more than 25 sites.
- Trained thousands of civilian and military Air Force staff.
