| The Plum Line Approach
to Inventory & Information Systems
Information is the Key
Information is key to any management system.
Your system needs to generate, process, and store information on your goals,
the condition of your forest, and the performance of your operations. Modern
sustainable forest management systems depend on this information for monitoring
progress and reporting results. This information demand can add costs and
confusion to your management system, or it can be a source of cost savings
and improved performance. Effective information planning and design makes
the difference.
Unlocking Knowledge
All organizations have entered the information
revolution with a “legacy.” Legacy systems contain information about the
history of the organization built around the way the organization used
to do business. New information technologies offer new ways to do business
and, if well planned, continuity with past information that meets your
current knowledge needs. The Plum Line
is experienced in information system planning—and can work with other information
system specialists—to help identify your information needs and design systems
with the long-term continuity required for forestry systems.
Inventory
Forest inventory data is the heart of most forest
management systems, but what needs to be inventoried on what frequency,
by what means, and at what resolution? When can remotely sensed data do
the job, and when is on-site inspection needed? How can the system be both
easy to use and provide opportunities to add new information as it becomes
available? How should the information be checked, stored, retrieved, and
modified? The Plum Line
partnership can help.
System Integration
No information need stands alone, and neither
do components of an information system. Whether a link is manual or automated,
information integration is costly. When should two systems be reduced to
one? When should an automated cross-reference occur? When can systems
best stand alone with information passing on a formal or informally manual
basis? The Plum Line
partnership can work with you, your information specialists, and your existing
systems to provide the degree and type of information integration that
you need.
For
more information contact William Rockwell
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