2023 Q1 Prism Update

We listen to your Prism feedback and the winners are in! Below are enhancements which aim to speed up data collection and eliminate friction points from the forest inventory business process:

  • We’re super excited to announce the mobile limiting distance tool. This tool indicates the distance from plot center to the face of a tree using tree DBH. On variable radius plots (prism cruises) this allows cruiser to quickly determine if a borderline tree is in the plot without having to consult a table. The limiting distance of a tree shows up – as shown in image below – after the cruiser enters a tree’s DBH. The limiting distance is written into the Prism geodatabase’s tree table. Please contact our team to quickly enable this feature during a time when there is a pause in your data collection. (released on Apple iOS and soon to be released for Android)

  • Addition of a ‘none’ option for all mobile picklists. Before if a user picked a value from a list of non-required data there was no way to set the value back to a blank.
  • Other minor fixes and usability improvements.
Other enhancements currently in development:

  • Change cruise configurations (plot types and data collection methods) on the mobile devices without logging out/in (when connected).
  • Support for more map symbology renderers to allow compatibility with Esri’s new map viewer and complex symbols such as those based on multiple criteria. Currently Prism maps support the ‘simple’ renderer which works from a single value in a map layer.
Tips to help you make the most of Prism in daily operations.

  • Stick with the classic map viewer in ArcGIS Online if you’re setting up Prism layer symbology at the item level. This can be configured within Settings in ArcGIS Online.
  • Setting Prism layer symbology in ArcGIS Online – Item – Visualization allows every map, apps like Field Maps and Prism to use the same colors and labels every time map layers are loaded. Setting symbols and labels on layer Items allows cruise maps to behave consistently for every user and every map.

2022 Q4 Prism Update

Below are some of the new features and enhancements recently rolled out to the Prism mobile and web apps:

  • Configurable equations for any market.
  • Configurable integration with Intuit’s Quickbase.
  • Improved nested subplot functionality.
  • Real time reporting in Microsoft Power BI.
  • Stratify and workup cruises with any polygon layer.
  • Report templates.
  • Support for dark mode on Apple devices.
  • Dozens of fixes and usability improvements.

Coming Soon:

  • Limiting distance calculator for mobile app.
  • Addition of none option for all mobile picklists.
  • Various performance improvements.

Important Planet Labs Update

Images streamed in real time and apps which are always getting better represent the best of cloud computing and software as a service. To improve the user experience, Planet has recently updated the toolbar (Add-In) for ArcGIS Pro.   The Pro toolbar is the tool of choice for foresters get to their Planet imagery into the same environment as business data like stands, harvest and site prep areas.

A few highlights on the update:

  • The whole interface is redesigned to be more visual and intuitive.
  • There is a new button for Planet Tasking to more easily find your SkySat requests.
  • Improved means to add good images into the map to make stand updates or measure acres.
  • Ability to save searches with criteria like cloud percent and overlap with the stand or tract of interest.

 

Get the New Planet Add-In
(note, you may need to log into ArcGIS Online to access the Add-In; those of you with groups shared with SFC will see the Add-In item in the group)

Grow and Thrive with Software that’s Alive!

By Mike Berzinis II, RF, CSM.

Running your business on dead software is frustrating. Dead software may be real hard to use compared to apps on your phone, or lack regular updates which keep it relevant. Software limping along on its last legs causes one to miss out on time saving automations, modern usability and increased information usefulness. Reliance on dead tech is particularly risky because it is not keeping with the times from a security standpoint.

“Redefining Forest Technology” is about living technology alternatives which reduce risks and meet the growing information demands of the business world.

As part of the Prism software user community, you automatically benefit from enhancements users like you have requested. As “alive” technology, Prism is up to date, secure and continuously provides new value over time. Hit the link below to see a video highlighting some of the hundreds of time saving capabilities brought to Prism just this year.

Welcome to Prism!

Redefining Forest Technology is about enabling forestry and natural resources businesses with the tools to function in the digital age – learn more at our website at the link below:

Redefining Forest Technology

Mike leads SFC’s Geospatial business line and is a military veteran with over 20 years experience in forestry technology.

Cloud Computing Part II – Meeting the increasing demand for useful information

By Mike Berzinis II, RF, CSM

In this post, we share practical ways cloud computing is helping forestry and natural resources organizations function in the digital age.   

The future of business will be information driven.

Business owners and managers are experiencing rapidly increasing demands for information – a trend that’s expected to continue.

A successful strategy for information supports growth, the ability to work from anywhere (like necessitated during COVID), the delivery of new services for existing customers or simply to increase employee quality of life by reducing tedious data entry.

Data is like a green log, information is like lumber which is ready to use.

Data rich and information poor.

Data which does not function as “useful” information for answers and decisions is a source of frustration and lost time. The quote “Data rich and information poor” (Waterman, R. 1982) refers to being rich with data which is not easily turned into information of value.

You may be information poor if your systems formed incrementally over time where the parts do not function together as a whole (e.g. they’re fragmented).

Are your personal digital photos “useful information” or just data?

Digital photos (data) on a hard drive in a desk drawer are of limited use, whereas photos on a smart phone are easily used by just about anyone.  A digital photo taken with a smart phone has utility which was difficult to “picture” 15 years ago when most people had point and shoot cameras.  For example, digital photos on a smart phone can:

  • Be shared with others through various social media like Facebook and Instagram.
  • Be stored in one place (you guessed it, in the cloud!).
  • Be accessed securely from anywhere via a user account.
  • Be texted directly to loved ones.

Smart devices are fundamentally powered by cloud computing.

How can businesses use their data like photos on a smartphone?

Would business data generate greater value if it were easily kept up to date and could be shared? While business systems are more complex than photos, many of the underlying digital capabilities for photos can be applied to meeting the growing information demands of businesses.   Such examples include:

  • Team members access a single, authoritative source of business information.
  • Staff with any technical ability level can share and get answers to every day questions like “what is the status of Smith Tract thinning job?”.
  • Data entry and manual processes are reduced and even eliminated.
  • Information can be shared securely inside or outside an organization.
  • Teams access real time information on smart devices wherever work is done: from home, the truck or the field.
  • Information security and trust standards are in place to reduce risks of hacking and ransomware.

In Conclusion:

Yesterday’s technology and approaches cannot meet today’s or tomorrow’s business information needs.  “Redefining forest technology” is about having choices for technologies where the parts fit into a whole to maximize the reach and utility of information assets.

SFC is a trusted technology partner and leading cloud solutions provider for numerous wood products and forest management organizations across the southeast.

Mike leads SFC’s Geospatial business line and is a military veteran with 20 years experience in forestry technology.

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