Locus Technologies Introduces Environmental Electronic Data Deliverable (EDD) Standards
A Growing Need Exists for a Standardized Format for Transmitting Environmental Electronic Data; There Are More Than 15 Different Standards in Use in the U.S. Alone, Most of Which Are Antiquated; Locus Leverages the Latest XML Technology to Drive Standard Consolidation and Ease of Use
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - May 30, 2007) - Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry
leader in web-based environmental data
management software, announced today the release of a set of its first
standard Electronic Data
Deliverable (EDD) formats for the reporting of environmental laboratory
analytical data. With the recent signings of several large Fortune 100
clients, and the upcoming tenfold increase in the number of sites with data
in the company's flagship product, EIM, a growing need exists for
a standardized format for transmitting electronic data. Several EDD
formats already exist in the environmental industry -- some promulgated by
government agencies -- and others by vendors of commercial software
products. However, some of these format "standards" suffer from the
requirement that data be submitted in multiple files, while other formats
have antiquated requirements related to field lengths or valid values that
originated at a time when hard disk space was at a premium.
Locus's Extensible Markup Language (XML) formatted single-file standard EDD
allows for much more flexibility in file structure, because the data
self-identifies each field using labels to bracket its contents. The
content is similar and compliant with the Staged Electronic Data
Deliverable (SEDD) format. SEDD is an inter-agency effort spearheaded by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) to create a generic XML-based format for electronic
delivery of analytical data for environmental industry.
To simplify the work of legacy systems, Locus is also releasing an EDD
standard format, which consists of 53 explicitly defined fields maintained
in a single file. Clients may request that additional custom fields be
included to meet specific agency, the major state submission, or project
requirements. The selection of the fields that are included in the Locus
EIM EDD format was based on input from Locus's user community and experts
in analytical data management, as well as a review of the most popular
currently used EDDs. The contents of the format permit data to be
validated to EPA Level II, if a customer so desires. Locus envisions this
format to be transitional for the companies and laboratories that are not
yet ready to adopt XML-based technology, but are tired of dealing with
multiple and antiquated file formats, which only serve to increase IT
costs.
Since the release of EIM in 1999, Locus has allowed companies to design
their own EDD formats, and Locus will continue to support this flexibility
in its systems. However, Locus believes that the promulgation of a
standardized format will allow laboratories to reduce the costs of creating
EDDs, minimize errors in the reporting of data, and more quickly support
new EIM clients.
"As the leader in environmental data
management software, Locus strives to provide guidance, direction, and
endorsement to the best ideas in an effort to standardize data management
processes. Currently, there are more than 15 different standards for
analytical data submittals, and this needs to change," said Locus's
president and CEO, Neno Duplancic. "We believe that the standards we are
releasing today, one transitional and one XML-based, will take steps toward
achieving that goal and will help drive uniformity in the marketplace. With
more than 35,000 sites reporting through LocusFocus EIM, Locus customers
represent the largest users of environmental lab data, so this effort
should help drive consolidation of the standards. Locus is committed to
meeting all federal and state EDDs and leading the industry in reducing
proliferation of incompatible formats by strongly endorsing XML-based SEDD
standards," added Duplancic.
Locus's XML-based EDD accepts files in Stage 2a SEDD format, which contains
the basic analytical results (including the sample ID, analyte, result, and
qualifier) plus method quality control data. The EIM import module
includes data verification and consistency checks outlined in the Document
Type Definition (DTD) for Stage 2a, as well as forms for viewing the data
in the imported SEDD file. Both formats can be downloaded for free from
the Locus website at http://www.locustec.com/downloads.asp.
ABOUT LOCUS TECHNOLOGIES
Locus Technologies specializes in providing comprehensive information
management and consulting services for the environmental industry. Locus's
primary line of business is the integration of environmental content and
domain expertise with Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings. Its LocusFocus portal and
flagship product, EIM,
provides robust online analytical data management for Locus customers
around the world.
For more information, visit http://www.locustec.com or contact Heidi Thaw
at (650) 960-1640.
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Heidi Thaw
Locus Technologies
(650) 960-1640
Email Contact
Website: www.locustec.com