Storage technology bridging data gaps

The Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island stands as one of the great engineering and construction projects of this generation.

Equally impressive was some of the storage and scanning technology behind the megaproject. The bridge builders spent months turning their occasionally cumbersome paper-based documents into digital form using network scanning and CD read/write technology to store them on compact discs. By the time the dust had settled, about 30 bulky filing cabinets were reduced to 35 compact discs - each containing more than 600MB of data.

"Toward the end of the project, we had all our documents together - both design and correspondence - and we wanted to find a way to store them as economically as possible," says Ken Edwards, an information systems specialist with Strait Crossing Joint Venture, the Borden, PE.I.-based contractor.

"That's important, because we have a requirement by contract to turn all that material over to the federal government in 35 years." Under the contract, Strait Crossing will maintain and operate the bridge until 2032. At that time, the bridge - and all stored documentation, drawings and specs - becomes property of the Government of Canada.

Given the size and scope of the project, that's a lot of documentation. The bridge, which was completed in May 1997 after almost four years of construction, is nearly 13 kilometres long. By the time the last span was put in place, more than 6,000 workers laboured on the $1 billion structure, which crosses Northumberland Strait between Jourimain Island, N.B. and Borden-Carleton, PE.I. It's the longest bridge ever built over ice-covered water and stands as one of Canada's greatest engineering feats.

"There were literally tonnes of paper," recalls Edwards. "But now we can use these optical disks for accessing data, which are smaller and easier to handle. I couldn't believe how much paper had been generated by this project. Bridge drawings, specifications, manuals and correspondence - we scanned and stored it all."

While storage technology provides the means for converting paper-based data into electronic form, software gives users such as Edwards and his staff the power and flexibility to put this information to use. A network scanner extended this functionality by allowing users to use the network to distribute scanned documents. Once a document is scanned, they use the front control panel to select destinations like other users, network printers and user groups to send documents. Or they could send them to a desktop and from there redirect them to other locations using email or e-fax applications. The bridgebuilders were able to send scanned documents to each other using the company's messaging and collaboration solution. The scanners also connected directly to a network operating system.

Storage-market analysts today confirm that CD technology has become an ubiquitous tool for today's computing applications, and demand for CD products is growing at an impressive rate. Although figures weren't final at press time, Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp. (IDC) had gone on record projecting that about 84 million CD-ROM drives were sold last year, up from about 72.6 million in 1997. Nearly 2.5 million CD-RW and recordable CD (CD-R) drives were sold in 1997.

"CD-R media is the lowest common denominator for media interchange on the desktop, rivaled only by the 1.44MB floppy," IDC research manager Wolfgang Schlichting said in a statement. "Additionally, CD-RW media interchange is quickly becoming viable since most new CD-ROM drives have adopted MultiRead specifications, which allow these drives to read all CD-R and CD-RW media."

Industry analysts are unanimous in their forecasts that suggest the amount of paper will continue to grow, underscoring the importance for business to find an efficient way to store and manage data. Electronic communication is also growing, as evidenced by the proliferation of e-mail and Internetbased communication. But, as Strait Crossing has demonstrated, a bridge can be built between the two.

The author is business development manager, Information Storage, at Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd. in Mississauga, Ont.

Copyright Plesman Publications Ltd. Mar 1999
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