SmarTech: Status and Phase 2
Activities
What is SmarTech?
SmarTech, the cornerstone NRCS science and technology information system, provides on-line access to natural resource technical information and tools. The SmarTech framework provides NRCS and States the means to organize, integrate, and manage our technology in an efficient, interactive, transparent, user friendly “One-Stop” concept. NRCS field employees, farmers, ranchers, partners and technical service providers use SmarTech to develop resource inventories and analyses, conservation plans, conservation practice designs, and other products. The foundation for SmarTech is the electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG). During 2002, state technical guide committees converted the legacy fivevolume paper FOTG to the new SmarTech on-line version. Chief Bruce Knight announced the Agency rollout on August 26, 2002. The eFOTG makes scientifically proven technology available instantly to anyone with Internet access. NRCS employees, partners, and the public since have made this effort one of the most heavily used NRCS web sites. The eFOTG consists of electronic documents, databases, computer programs, digital maps, and on-line spreadsheets. It is the first step to making SmarTech the web-site of choice in the country for natural resource conservation planning and application technology. The next phase will build on the foundation that has been established.
National Leadership Conference December 2002
ThunderBook – Digital Technology Briefcase (Jan 2003)
A ThunderBook is a user-defined subset of the eFOTG, frequently used materials such as standards and specifications, job sheets, cost lists, fact sheets, and design aids. Field office staffs have typically carried these in notebooks or briefcases for ready reference when working with customers. The SmarTech ThunderBook will enable each user to download eFOTG and other electronic material to a notebook or tablet PC, or hand-held computing device (PDA). The vision: my information…when and where I need it.
SmarTech Next Phase (FY 2003-2004)
· · · · · ThunderBook (Jan 2003) User Customized SmarTech Site (Mar 2003) Resource Data Viewer (Mar 2003) Dynamic eFOTG Splash Pages (May 2003) Conservation Technology Toolbox (Sep 2003, 2004)
Functions of the ThunderBook include: (1) content manager for saving and organizing documents; (2) ThunderBook viewer for access and viewing of documents; (3) off-line viewing and automatic refresh of documents using Microsoft Internet Explorer off-line viewing features.
User Customized SmarTech Site (Mar 2003)
NRCS provides a vast amount of technical information through eFOTG and other technical resources. A user may frequently use only certain parts of the guide, and therefore has a requirement to quickly access this content without several clicks of the mouse and navigation through an extensive directory. My.NRCS is an intranet portal for our employees, our partners, and authenticated users such as technical service providers to access NRCS on-line resources.
By the end of March, users will be able to customize their SmarTech site to place frequently used information and tools “at their fingertips.” The customized SmarTech feature will work hand-in-glove with the ThunderBook download to improve access to technical information.
resource assessments, developing conservation alternatives, estimating the effect of conservation treatment on resource concerns, and producing conservation practice designs. Using a Conservation Technology Toolbox, the user zooms to an area of interest, selects and displays applicable data layers, digitizes the point, transect, or area to be evaluated, selects and runs the tool to perform the analysis or design, and creates a report or design for the customer. The Toolbox is the part of SmarTech that makes the eFOTG come alive interactively. Users have a job to do and the Toolbox helps them process information and data in the eFOTG to develop solutions for their customers. The Toolbox streamlines the development and management of the available tools NRCS supports. The individual tools use common modules (services) for navigation, access to data, display, digitizing, and printing. The technology itself (rules, design criteria, algorithms, and equations) is organized and hosted in a common framework for shared use.
Resource Data Viewer (Apr 2003)
The Resource Data Viewer tool provides SmarTech users the ability to quickly access and display geospatial soil, land use, hydrology, orthoimagery, roads, and other resource data layers hosted in the agency web farm and referenced in eFOTG. Users zoom to an area of interest and specify the layers to be displayed for analysis and/or printing. In the longer term, the data viewer concept will be incorporated as a general SmarTech navigation feature to obtain all types of technical information applicable to the area of interest (for example, a customer’s farm).
During FY2003, the first components of the Toolbox will be delivered: · NRCS Runoff Curve Number · Pond Design (WINPond) · Field Survey and Plot · Hydraulics · Terrace Design · Soil Interpretations In FY 2004 and beyond, other tools will be added, such as: · Nutrient Management · Sheet and Rill Erosion (RUSLE2) · Wind Erosion (WEQ) · Pipeline Design · Waterway and Diversion Customer Service Design Toolkits · Cross-section Integrated Cost-Share Accountability Contracting and System Quantities NRCS · Water and Integrated Program Gateway Sediment Information Operation & System Information Control Basin Warehouse Tracking · Vegetative System Planting Management Design SmarTech Applications (VegSpec) eFOTG · Crop Budgets . SmarTech is part of the NRCS Integrated Information System
Dynamic eFOTG Splash Pages (May 2003)
This feature will make the eFOTG easier to use for NRCS field employees, technical service providers, customers, and the public. State technical guide committees will be able to post their own “What’s New” messages on their front eFOTG (splash) page. They will be able to manage other topical messages and quick links to eFOTG content from the splash page. At the national level, the main eFOTG splash page will contain space for What’s New and other topical messages and links.
Conservation Technology Toolbox (Sep 2003)
The eFOTG contains or references a large number of computer software tools that are used for performing