Lancaster, Pennsylvania (April 11, 2011) – Two recent mobile GIS projects developed by geographIT® and implemented by the City of Philadelphia Streets Department were recently featured in print and television media. The Streets and Walkways Education and Enforcement Program (SWEEP) is responsible for educating the public and enforcing sanitation laws established by Philadelphia Code and City regulations governing municipal trash collection. SWEEP Mobile is a mobile ticketing system which has increased the number of tickets issued and fees collected from repeat offenders. The cost of developing and implementing SWEEP Mobile is projected to be returned within the first year of operation based on revenues reported during the first six months of operation. Philadelphia’s NBC Channel 10 recently aired a segment raising public awareness about SWEEP and showing SWEEP Mobile in action. A video of the broadcast can be viewed on-line at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Investigation__Beware_of_the_Trash_Police_Philadelphia.html

The spring 2011 issue of ESRI’s ArcNews magazine features a front page article titled: “GIS Based Traffic Light Project - Philadelphia Saves $1 Million per Year”. The article highlights the City of Philadelphia Streets Department use of a mobile GIS asset inventory solution to conduct an inventory of light-emitting diode (LED) traffic signal bulbs as the City replaces 87,000 incandescent bulbs in order to save energy and reduce operating costs. geographIT® adapted the SWEEPS Mobile software to support barcode scanning so that LED bulb records can be added with minimal data entry to an LED bulb inventory database. The article can be read on-line at: http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/spring11articles/philadelphia-saves-one-million-per-year.html

Both mobile GIS solutions were developed using ESRI’s ArcGIS Mobile 9.3 API developer framework and deployed on ruggedized Intermec handheld devices with integrated GPS, camera, RFID scanner, and barcode scanner components. These projects demonstrate that adoption of mobile GIS technology can yield a return on investment at a time when local governments are seeking ways to reduce costs or increase revenues. And in some cases, the return on investment will recover the upfront cost of deploying mobile GIS technology within the first year of operation.