IRSN conducts specialised assessment using Talend and Camptocamp

USA (SANEPR.com) April 16, 2009 -- The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) in France has teamed up with Talend, the first provider of open source data integration software and Camptocamp, a specialist in information processing and the implementation of dynamic mapping applications on the Web, to help conduct specialised assessments of nuclear and radiological risk in line with the launch of its new environmental website about radioactivity.

Using Talend and Camptocamp, the IRSN will be able to consolidate high volumes of complex research data including measurements taken from various source databases and present the assessment results online, in the form of graphs or tables. Web surfers will be able to search by keywords or by navigating on a map. Further still, Talend and Camptocamp’s software allows data to be disseminated via the Internet, making it available to the general public.

Camptocamp coordinated the project, which consisted primarily of ETL and data integration using Talend Open Studio and putting in place a second-generation interface, based on Web 2.0.

The IRSN performs research and analysis in major areas of nuclear and radioactivity in France including installation safety, radioactivity and radioactive material transportation safety, among others. Prior to the launch of the IRSN website, the public were restrained to having to access IRSN data via four websites.

Jean-Noël Mangin, IT manager and head of the scientific group at the Department of Environment and Intervention (DEI) said: “For uniformity and ease of use, the IRSN wanted to present all this data on a single website and used a cartographic approach to bring these four websites together. At first, the results website was only accessible to the IRSN staff, but by early 2009 it will be available to the general public,”
“We also wanted to present all of the historical data indefinitely, providing monthly, or even daily, updates, wheras each of the four websites showed only the data of the last 12 months,” added Jean-Noël.

The IRSN called for bids to consolidate data from heterogeneous databases and administered at different sites into a single website.

“Camptocamp was chosen for its ability to manage the entire project, including dynamic mapping,” continues Jean-Noël, “In addition to its solid skills, the company is perfectly positioned from a financial aspect. We wanted to free ourselves from proprietary vendors to simplify maintenance issues, while reducing costs. This is in line with new public directives favoring open source solutions. The data integration aspect wasn’t addressed in the initial bid, but Camptocamp suggested that we use Talend Open Studio to manage various aspects of processing and moving data. Over the course of the project, we realised how powerful it is.”

Today the IRSN is able to use its legacy data, which goes back to the 1960s. “The lack of licensing fees was of interest, although it was only one factor among many,” says Jean-Noël, “Support and training are also very important, as is the ability to purchase certain cartographic data. Our choice of Talend Open Studio wasn’t arbitrary; basically, we were looking for a solution that met our technical needs and we found it. Other than the cost factor, the most tangible benefit is the enrichment of our data. Previously, their diverse origins impeded broadcast. With standardised data types and a common terminology, users can save time while benefiting from the flexibility of web technologies, particularly for updates,” he concluded.

IRSN launch website: http://www.irsn.org/environnement/

About the IRSN

Created in 2001 the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) is the only French organisation in charge of controlling the risks linked to radioactivity. It provides public research and expertise and realises independent scientific and technical assessments compared with the designers and operators. The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety functions under the joint authority of the Ministers of Defense, the Environment, Industry, Research, and Health and comprises nearly 1,600 employees deployed over 11 sites across France and French territories overseas.

The IRSN Radioactivity Study and Surveillance in the Environment (SESURE) Division is tasked with observing and reporting on radioactivity in the environment (in metropolitan France and Polynesia).

More information: irsn.org.

About Camptocamp

Camptocamp is an active editor and integrator of open source software specialising in geographic information systems (spatial database, data catalog, mapping engine, 3D, Location Based Services, desktop SGIS), in information systems such as ERP (TinyERP), ETL (Talend), Business Intelligence (Jasper), Enterprise Service Bus (ESB Petals) and in Linux infrastructure. Camptocamp offers a complete software service package including research and development (certified R&D institution by the French Ministry of Research), consulting, customised projects development, training (certified training institution) and support. Camptocamp is a European reference in the area of Open Source software focusing on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Its team consists of highly qualified and quality-driven professionals, who inspire, master and challenge open source solutions.

More information: www.camptocamp.com.

Press contact:
press@talend.com