FCNSW – Map App

• App Onboarding – to familiarise new users with key functionality and user interfaces

• Easy to configure modules

• Offline First Architecture – 90% of time MapApp is used in remote locations without internet connectivity

• Capture and update of large numbers of spatial features – including trees, habitat, assets, flora and fauna collection

• Integration of spatial data and basemaps – uses FCNSW ESRI/ArcGIS platform

• Extended to integrate with other FCNSW planning systems including the Plan Portal work and task management tool

• Essential communication tools – in built sharing of documents, notes, and chats

• Extended to capture training information and provide notifications and warnings

• Dynamic Boundary Warning System – alerts users as they approach or cross harvesting boundaries and improves compliance

Forestry Corporation of NSW has an extensive collection of geographic data in its ArcGIS system, much of which is relevant or sometimes critical to tasks and jobs managed in its Plan Portal system.

These two systems combined are of great benefit to Forestry staff and contractors in the field, where there is often limited or no cellular network coverage.

Forestry wants field staff to be able to access, update, and annotate work as organised in the Plan Portal while in the field.

Some of the work Forestry staff and contractors do needs to have a very high level of awareness of geographical boundaries, such as harvesting trees where there can be severe consequences and penalties for harvesting even a meter or two over a boundary. These boundaries are in general, “invisible” on the ground, just being polygons of geographic regions defined by latitudes and longitudes. A Dynamic Boundary Warning System needs to alert users via push notifications when a boundary is approached or crossed.

Some app users will have high accuracy GPS receivers (currently Arrow100+ units), and the high resolution location data needs to be used. Some users work with machinery with a “reach” of up to 10m, which could mean the end of the harvester is across a boundary, even if the device is not. The Dynamic Boundary Warning System needs to be able to be configured to take these into account.

Authorised users will all be Forestry staff or contractors, and there is an existing AWS Cognito authentication and access control platform in place, and the app will need to use this.

FCNSW engaged Mobiddiction for specialist skills in application design and architecture, UI/UX design, project management, and for specialised developers with spatial integration skills.

The app required a mobile first approach, with offline access being an essential feature. The app is largely used in remote locations with limited or no internet access during harvesting operations.

A comprehensive review was needed of available FCNSW systems, including AWS Cognito for authentication and access control, ESRI/ArcGIS for basemaps and for geographic and spatial data, Plan Portal for work planning and communication, and high accuracy Arrow100+ GPS/GNSS receivers.

A bidirectional syncing process was designed to allow downloading of all information/data required for a planned day’s work before heading to a remote site, and then syncing all collected data, including captured spatial data as well as high-resolution GNSS tracks, back to FCNSW platforms when internet connectivity becomes available.

The platform would need to include application monitoring, testing with iOS/iPadOS updates, and awareness of new features or capabilities in iOS/iPadOS and FCNSW systems and infrastructure, especially during major updates or upgrades to the ArcGIS platform and the associated ESRI SDK used in the app.

1. Authentication and access control
MapApp integrates with existing Forestry Corporation’s AWS Cognito Single Sign On (SSO) to provide authentication and access control to Plan Portal and the ESRI/ArcGIS platform. Access control defines different app behaviours and menus based on user profile, for example, admin users, Forestry field staff, Forestry office staff, or external contractors.

2. Onboarding
Manages “first login” for the user/device and guides users through required app/device permissions. Sets app defaults and config based on authenticated user profile, and provides an overview tutorial for first time users.

3. Mapping and ESRI integration
Many of the app modules use maps, pulling data from Forestry’s ESRI platform. Maps in the app display features including Basemaps, Layers, POIs, polygons, and features from ESRI. The distance/bearing tool allows a user to define a location by using the current GPS location and the device’s compass with an estimated distance, for example, to report a fire “Approximately 700m bearing 73 degrees from me” which would calculate the estimated lat long of the fire.

4. Plan Portal
This is Forestry’s work and task management tool. Users can access and download “Plans”, which are organised sets of tasks, documents, and forms required for a piece of planned work. Chat and messaging is integrated into the Plan Portal module.

5. Dynamic Boundary Warning System
Forestry Corporation has legal and regulatory requirements about where they can harvest trees. The boundaries within which harvesting is permitted have not always got on-ground indications and are not obvious to the eye. The Dynamic Boundary Warning System generates a push notification alert when the user is approaching a critical boundary. This all works in offline mode using geofenced local push notifications.

6. Fire Module
The fire module provides app features specific to forest fire management. Location tools include current location and estimated locations based on observed bearing and distance estimates. The Fire Module maps default to a Basemap with fire-relevant overlays.

7. Emergency Meeting Points
This module displays your three closest EMPs. It provides a location display optimised for accurate communication over non-cellular data methods. SMS, voice call, or radio voice channels. Emergency Meeting Point descriptions include turn-by-turn directions from the nearest town, since many of them will not be Google Maps (or similar) navigation destinations.

8. Field-based training and competencies
This module provides online learning courses. It allows assigning a course to a user or to people undertaking a specific task or plan, and it records progress and completion scores for the online training.

9. Offline mode and data sync
Users are often in places without reliable cellular data connectivity. Maps can be downloaded for use without a network connection. Plan portal plans can be downloaded, and notes/comments/chat made while offline are uploaded/synced when network connectivity is reestablished.

Mobiddiction developers use Forestry’s source code repos (BitBucket) and ticketing system (Jira) while working on MapApp. This ensures full visibility by Forestry of work in progress, and secure ownership of source code for Forestry.

The app uses the ArcGIS SDK and connects directly to Forestry’s ESRI platform for high-quality location services, maps, and geodata. This ensures all existing data and processes are available to the app, and that no additional work is required to import or maintain that in a second system.

Forestry’s Plan Portal platform provides access via APIs (and authenticated user API keys for access control), and Forestry’s developers work with Mobiddiction when needed to extend APIs or any new ones.

The app has been in continuous development for over 4 years, with updates and upgrades as new iOS versions are released, and as new features are added.

This app is developed and published on behalf of a NSW Government owned corporation, and so is required to meet NSW Government procurement requirements, privacy and cybersecurity standards.

We use modern DevOps practices, with source control and code reviews, Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines to compile staging and production builds, and we have app monitoring and alerting to allow rapid response to performance or other issues.