—Jorge Arias, ManTech
ManTech is engaged in several Information Technology initiatives within the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Chart Division (MCD). MCD's mission is to produce and maintain the official nautical chart products, which are tools for safe, efficient and environmentally sound navigation in U.S. waters. MCD's chart products support the maritime transportation system that moves over two thirds of all consumer goods purchased in the United States and serves commercial, Government agencies and recreational mariners. ManTech has been supporting the integration of the next generation Nautical Chart System (NCS II), which is based on Esri's PLTS for ArcGIS—Nautical Solution. This is a priority for NOAA and is nearing completion as a result of a five-year effort of a full life cycle of integration initiatives that commenced with requirements analysis to feed COTS Integration efforts including trade studies, selection processes, integration testing, interface and workflow development, and transition planning/execution.