Paragon Adds New Traffic Restriction Information to its Planning Pack for the Olympics

Dorking - 3 May 2012 - Paragon Software Systems has  updated its free special Planning Pack for companies scheduling deliveries  during the Olympic and Paralympic games. The mapping update to the route  optimisation software includes the latest traffic restriction information from  Transport for London (TfL) covering the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and the  Central London Zone (CLZ) and it will also highlight the impact of the various  road-based events.

The updated map and specially developed event  filters will enable Paragon users to identify the location of their customers’  delivery points relative to the Olympic-related road restrictions and be kept  fully aware of road closures and other changes that will be in force during the  games.  The filters can be fine-tuned so that users can review their  customers’ delivery points to within 100 metres of the ORN or a road event,  enabling a clear and convenient view of how their deliveries will be impacted.

Many Paragon customers are in the process of planning their transport strategy for the games.  This includes modelling routes and schedules that  will service the greater demand for consumables (FMCG) and for managing changes to delivery times, unloading times and delivery frequency.  

Paragon Software Systems  is a market leader in transport optimisation with over 1,500 routing and  scheduling systems installed in more than 33 countries. Paragon helps companies  reduce transport costs by up to 20 per cent through more efficient deployment of  vehicles and drivers. Headquartered in Dorking, UK and with US offices in  Dallas, Paragon is a respected pioneer in routing and scheduling with over 30  years of know-how.

Paragon is employed by transport operations ranging from just 10 vehicles at a single site to hundreds of vehicles operating from several sites. The system is used for routing and scheduling optimisation; managing transport resources; strategic planning; scheduling home deliveries continuously as orders  are being confirmed; and managing the execution of the transport plan in real  time using vehicle tracking technology.

Paragon assists many leading  companies with their logistics including ASDA, Royal Mail Group, Harrods,  Sainsbury's, AB Agri, CEVA Logistics, Wincanton, DHL Exel, Norbert  Dentressangle, Linde, Fuller's, John Lewis, Tesco, Keystone Distribution,  Raleigh and many others.

Paragon Launches Olympic Planning Pack

By a unanimous vote of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Board of Directors, the Society has issued a third resolution calling for immediate support and funding for the continuation of the Nation’s moderate resolution imaging program.  Due to a technical failure in the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) instrument on-board the Landsat 7 spacecraft in May 2003, and the recent decline of the Landsat 5 spacecraft, the continued collection of useful moderate-resolution, multispectral remote sensing data is now jeopardized.

Over 40 years of uninterrupted Landsat imagery has played a critical role in monitoring ongoing stresses on the Earth from population, industry, climate change, land use and other factors.  The continued collection of moderate resolution imagery is needed to provide an effective means to intensively and systematically measure the Earth’s vital conditions as food and water and energy resources become ever more scarce.
In the resolution, ASPRS cites the policy change made in 2008 by the Department of the Interior (DOI)/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to distribute all current and historic Landsat imagery free of charge to users anywhere in the world.  This has resulted in an explosive growth in imagery utilization, especially the global monitoring land surface changes.  In addition, the resolution points out the comprehensive strategy formulated by the White House in 2007 to ensure long-term stability for moderate resolution satellite land-imaging.
In 2011, the current Administration embraced and reinforced that strategy by seeking funding within the DOI/USGS budget to ensure its implementation.  Congressional appropriators have not agreed with the Administration's proposal to create and fund a separate DOI/USGS "Land Imaging" account and instead have provided $2 million for program development only with time in the year ahead for all interested parties to re-examine how to proceed with future missions.
The current ASPRS resolution outlines five points that ASPRS believes the U.S. Government must seriously consider:

1. The United States must commit to continue the collection of moderate-resolution land imagery and the free distribution of current and historic imagery.
2. The United States must establish and maintain a core operational capability to collect moderate-resolution land imagery through the procurement and launch of a series of U.S.-owned satellites, thus providing job opportunities for highly skilled, technically trained Americans and sustaining U.S. technical leadership and expertise in remote sensing.
3. The United States must build, launch and operate lower cost smaller satellites, using those proven technologies for our future operational land-imaging systems, and avoiding costly, one-of-a-kind imaging satellites.
4. The United States must pursue a strategy that includes collaboration with international partners, and with domestic and foreign commercial entities, to augment the core capability for meeting U.S. operational requirements and create opportunities for cost sharing and data interoperability. 
5. The United States must ensure adequate funding is allocated to DOI, which will continue to partner with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to meet U.S. civil land imaging needs. 

“For the past nine years, ASPRS has pressed the U.S. Government on the importance of planning for data continuity and a commitment to the establishment and maintenance of a core operational capability to collect moderate-resolution land imagery through the procurement and launch of a series of U.S.-owned satellites,” said ASPRS President Gary Florence.  “ASPRS continues to believe the most efficient, sustainable and cost-effective way to ensure the continuous flow of Landsat or Landsat-like data is for the U.S. Government to invest in building lower cost smaller satellites and to pursue international cost-sharing partners, starting with the European Space Agency, who have the same or very similar program objectives,” he emphasized.
Founded in 1934, ASPRS is an international professional organization of 6,500 geospatial data professionals. ASPRS is devoted to advancing knowledge and improving understanding of the mapping sciences to promote responsible application of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems and supporting technologies.