The BioSIRT BLOG - September 2011

Edition 20

Biosecurity Mapping Symbology

Marg Coonan-Jones (DAFF) presented to the National Biosecurity Committee (NBC) in July 2011 on the mapping symbology set endorsed by the Biosecurity Emergency Preparedness Working Group. The draft national biosecurity mapping symbology is a culmination of work over several years to agree symbols with all jurisdictions that are based on the All Hazards National Symbol Set used by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council. The NBC

1. ENDORSED the recommended Australian All Hazards Generic symbol set for mapping, developed by the Emergency Management Spatial Information Network of Australia; and
2. ENDORSED the national set of mapping symbology for biosecurity developed by the Biosecurity Information Network, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

A final release package of the Australian All Hazards Generic symbol set is currently being developed by the Biosecurity Information Network. The release packages will include: true type fonts, gif and png images, ArcGIS Style files, Map Info Pen files, Styled Layer Descriptor and final BioSIRT code.
Contact Marg Coonan-Jones for more information (02) 6272 4422.

Welcome for a short while

The most recent addition to the National BioSIRT Program team is David Cowland-Cooper. He comes to us for a short stint on loan from the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy, where he has been dealing with BioSIRT business since November 2009. David is currently acting as our Technical Officer and has been busy preparing for the testing phase of the substantial upgrade of the BioSIRT application to version 4.0. When he’s not tapping away at the keyboard in Cairns, David is known to dance around in white socks and a bathrobe. He tells us it’s a traditional Japanese dance called Awa Odori and all part of a big festival, but we’re not convinced! You can ask him about it at the next meeting of the National BioSIRT Development Committee (NBDC).

Welcome Back

We are very pleased to have Peter Frecklington return to the BioSIRT National Coordination Team. Peter re- commenced work with us part time on a short term contract starting 15 August to act in the role of Development Manager. Peter will Chair the NBDC, lead the technical team and be involved in the first iteration of testing of v4.0  of BioISRT which includes summary screen performance improvements, sample form redesign, and improvements to importing reports.

BioSIRT Bid for Continuing Funding

Current funding to June 2012 for the National BioSIRT Program was agreed by the Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC) in 2009. The Australian Government will be submitting a paper seeking renewed funding at the next meetings of the:

• Primary Industries Standing Committee(PISC)
  Chief Executive Officers’ Workshop and Meeting 22 and 23 September, and
• Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC)
  Meeting 28 October.

The schedule for v4.0 testing and release has been revised

The current schedule for version 4.0 release is:

Iteration 1

• Spatial Vision (SV) start development 25 July.
• Client tests Iteration 1 on test instance 5 - 16 Sept.
• SV fix bugs for Iteration 1 19 – 30 Sept.
• Client retests Iteration 1 fixes 3 -14 October.
• NB further fix/tests cycles may be required.
• Client approves Iteration 1 14 October.

Iteration 2

• SV delivers Iteration 2  5 Sept – 28 Oct
• Client tests Iteration 2 on test instance  31 Oct – 25 Nov
• SV fixes bugs for Iteration 2 28 Nov – 9 Dec
• Client retests Iteration 2 fixes 12 – 23 Dec
• NB further fix/tests may be required
• Client approves Iteration 2 23 December 2011

Finalisation

• SV develop v4.0 documentation and deployment package 9 – 13 Jan 2012.
• Client deploys and user acceptance testing 16 Jan – 3 Feb.
• SV fixes for deployment package 6-10 Feb
• Client retests 13 -17 Feb
• NB further fix/test cycles may be required.
• Client approves v4.0 for production deployment 17 Feb.

An Update from Tasmania

A meeting of the Tasmanian BioSIRT Administrator Group (T-BAG!) was convened at the New Town Research Laboratories in Hobart on 10 August. The aims of the meeting were to revitalise administrator interest, participation and ownership of the BioSIRT Program, and provide training and instruction on some administration tasks.

The meeting covered a variety of subjects, including:

• The BioSIRT governance/committee structure
• BioSIRT instances and workspaces currently available in Tasmania
• the ETL process for transferring data from the Tasmanian Agricultural Property Database into BioSIRT, and methods used to limit clashes between the two systems
• Administration procedures during and after an emergency response
• Learning from experienced administrators; administrator resources, both locally and nationally
• Opportunities for administrators to practice their skills, with an emphasis on participation in national working groups.

A discussion on the workspaces and data currently contained within the Test instance and the uses of that instance (development, training and testing) resulted in unanimous agreement to undertake a healthy round of ‘spring cleaning’. A fresh install of v3.0 to the Tasmanian Test instance is now under consideration, virtually ‘blowing away’ the old workspaces and data. In addition to removing clutter from the Test instance, this will provide administrators with an excellent opportunity to practice exporting templates from the Production instance and importing them to the Test instance. It is anticipated that de-mystifying the export/import process will give administrators added confidence to assist during an emergency response.

Discussion of administrator resources highlighted the availability of places in forthcoming training in Tasmania, ie.. Administrator Training during October, and proposed Advanced Administrator Training later this year. Participants viewed this as an excellent opportunity to refresh and expand their knowledge and skills and are looking forward to meeting the trainer, Paula Phelan

The convenor (Carol Houghton, Senior Administrator) received positive feedback from the meeting and is keen to maintain the high level of commitment expressed by participants. Future meetings will be conducted as necessary, with an anticipated bi-annual frequency.

Upcoming User and Administrator Training

Administrator Training will be held in Tasmania from October 26 and 27, preceded by User Training on October 25. If you are interested in attending please contact your National BioSIRT Standards Committee member or NCT Training and Communication Officer Paula Phelan 02 62725837 email Paula Phelan.

Administrator Training is also scheduled for February 2012 in Queensland -dates to be confirmed.

Advanced Administration Training will also be scheduled, if you would like the training hosted in your jurisdiction please email Paula Phelan