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Superfund Knowledge Management
The Southeast Superfund Division has invested substantial resources for almost two decades to understand how to effectively manage the large datasets that are generated during environmental restoration efforts. Our early efforts orbited around geographic information systems (GIS) which help create "intelligent maps". GIS is a potent tool, but over time, we have recognized that GIS is but one tool in the larger toolkit of Knowledge Management (KM). We have recognized that knowledge is a broad spectrum spreading from raw data collected in the field through strong scientific studies and all the way over to personal opinion. Knowledge always involves subjective opinions. For a citizen living near a potentially hazardous waste site, perceived risk is real risk. Regardless of each person's technical training, it is the EPA's responsibility to effectively communicate the consequences of various decisions to all stakeholders.
The Triad approach to decision-making for hazardous waste sites offers a technically sound methodology for managing decision uncertainty that leverages innovative characterization tools and strategies. The Triad approach helps to ensure that human health and the environment are protected, and helps reduce uncertainty in the cleanup and reuse process. The Triad refers to three primary components: systematic planning; dynamic work strategies; and real-time measurement systems. Region 4 Triad information is provided here.
As a result, we have branched out into four main areas of research and implementation. The first area is web conferencing. Web conferencing allows all parties to share voice and more importantly, web conferencing allows remote control of individual computers. As a result, an expert in Seattle can participatein a one hour conference call with other people in Atlanta. In addition to direct travel cost savings, this allows the expert to spend seven working hours in Seattle and one working hour in Atlanta all in one day! We do an average of ten web conference meetings a week, resulting in an average annual travel cost avoidance of $100,000. Also, calculate the quality of life improvements resulting from being able to attend a meeting across the country at noon and still make your kids soccer game at 5:00 p.m.
A second important area in which we have had great success is our web presence. The EPA generally, and the FFB as one of its leaders, has standardized our entire web presence so that visitors have the experience of getting answers that they need without having to search through multiple sources. As with this site, the EPA's web also carries a great deal of useful information related to the health of the environment.
Our third area of development is related to document management. We have developed web based access to documents that are currently under review. Because the site is secure, we can attach state, local and other stakeholders to the site as well, allowing all comments to be collected as well as creating a comment "pedigree". Understanding the history of how we came to certain decisions benefits us greatly as we move toward future projects.
The fourth area in which we are involved is research and development. Our work over the past couple of years has revolved around visualization of both hard knowledge such as the chemical analyses from a lab and importantly, soft knowledge such as an employee's memory or a stakeholder's opinion. For this purpose, we have used a variety of markup languages such as the extensible markup language (XML) and scalable vector graphics (SVG). We have already produced two tools from this research and have several more in the prototype phase.
As we move forward, we will continue to strive to blend currently separate
technologies such the laptop, personal digital assistant, mobile phone
and other devices into more portable devices. This direction aligns with
our business mission to make viable the idea that work is not a place.
Work is what you do each day. We are very encouraged by our success with
markup languages and will continue to research new applications for those
tools, especially in the area of data visualization which includes helping
the executive management visualize the business process. We are also reaching
deeper into document management tools to provide content management, the
ability to bore inside of individual documents to retrieve specific information.
Even though many of us become "change weary", the amount of technology innovation continues to increase. The mission of the electronic KM Team is to "develop, deploy and maintain useful and useable tools as a tool to assist EPA in its mission to protect human health and the environment." It is our job to meet the change wave head on; pick from it what seems useful, useable and maintainable; run down the path a bit and analyze the results for further development; take the best tools and bring them into general use. The web conferencing efforts are a great example of our success. When we first started, web conferencing was very exotic. Now, it is "forgettable". It just happens. It would be as meaningful to estimate the cost versus benefit of web conferencing as it would be to compare the cost of telephones to carrier pigeons. The argument is over. The technology is cheap, easy to use and produces extraordinarily useful returns. Our job is to search out the next web conferencing technologies and bring them to practical, everyday.