CHICAGO, IL - April 23, 2003 - InStep Software, LLC, announced an agreement today in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended its contract with InStep for one year with an option for an additional four years. For the past two years, InStep has played a major role in the development of the FIELDS application for the EPA. Prior to and during InStep's involvement, the FIELDS application has involved a range of EPA, university and national laboratory contributions. InStep has operated as the systems integrator and lead developer for this project. The application is a set of software tools that provide timely characterization, analysis, and redress of environmental contamination. The application was developed with multiple development tools including Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft Visual Basic, ESRI's Avenue language for ArcView and a database connectivity package.
The FIELDS (FIeld EnvironmentaL Decision Support) Team is a collaboration of Region 5 employees and Research Associates centered in the USEPA Region 5 Superfund Division formed to provide the Agency with the internal capability for rapid and effective contaminated site characterization. Assistance is offered primarily to Superfund Remedial Project Managers, On-Scene Coordinators, and Enforcement Officers requiring decision support for environmental projects. Utilizing geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and customized computer software tools, the FIELDS Team has assisted in the characterization of over 50 contaminated soil, sediment, and water sites primarily in Region 5, but also in Regions 1,2,3,6,8, 9, and 10.
InStep supplied experienced staff to oversee the software development efforts for the EPA's applications. We reviewed the existing software and met with EPA staff to develop a list of desired enhancements. We created a development schedule and oversaw the implementation of modifications using a team of programmers from both InStep Software and the EPA. We coordinated with personnel at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to incorporate components from other software products within the EPA's tools. We performed a formal software verification and validation on the tools prior to their official release.
The benefits to the client are:
- Fully-functional, robust application delivered on schedule
- Increased productivity of existing programming staff (primarily short-term interns) by providing guidance and supervision
- Software configuration control system and versioning system setup for future development
- Upgrade path defined for upcoming versions using ArcView 8 and VBA development environment
About InStep Software, LLC
InStep Software, LLC, founded in 1995, provides engineering-based software products and custom solutions for engineering-centric industries and the U.S. Government. InStep leverages the latest technologies to develop real-time, fault-tolerant data acquisition, provisioning, and analysis systems. InStep is recognized for its flagship product eDNA; a historian that captures, analyzes and stores real-time data by monitoring equipment and business systems, enabling optimal decision support for increased productivity and efficiency. InStep has developed many mission-critical software systems for its clients. |
