APSEA Award for AHB's VectorNet

Date: 7 January 2009

The Animal Health Board's VectorNet system won a Highly Commended Award in the prestigious Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards (APSEA) in Canberra on 18 November 2008. The award, in the Environment and Sustainability category, was the first award won by a non-Australian organisation since the inception of the awards eight years ago.

The Animal Health Board’s mission is to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (Tb) from New Zealand, in order to protect New Zealand’s access to export markets for dairy, beef and deer products. In response the Animal Health Board has developed VectorNet: a Geographic Information System that underpins all aspects of Tb vector control.

VectorNet is comprises of a set of interrelated modules, automating and combining through an end to end workflow. Web services are used to closely integrate the technologies of GIS, three-tier non-spatial internet system and handhelds. Every piece of data in VectorNet is related to a geographical area. Each level in the planning hierarchy is reflected in the geospatial hierarchy. Business rules link VectorNet to the real world. These include automated extraction of possum habitat data from national landcover datasets and satellite mapping and time-series datasets of possum densities and habitat distributions.

VectorNet is easy for people to use despite the system implementing complex end-to-end processes and business rules. The complexity is hidden from users with careful design of the user interface, use of workflow and the application of business rules within the system. It allows users to focus on actions and results rather than administration and process. It also promotes the entry of high quality data.

The VectorNet project has taken AHB vector management from being based on an unwieldy collection of legacy systems and spreadsheets to an integrated system with many benefits, including significantly improved efficiency and reduced cost of possum control.

Congratulations to the Animal Health Board! 

For further information see the Eagle Technology newsletter.