Putnam County’s new Geographic Information Systems Coordinator will help better map the area for emergency preparation.
Davis Roberts said his role as a GIS Coordinator involves event mapping, creating applications for emergency service responders and running the servers for those systems. Roberts said his job involves breaking down data sets in a consumable format for organizations. Roberts said he manages the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, which harvests a 911 caller’s name, number and location, allowing the agency to better locate the caller.
“Having somebody like me to come in and fill this role gives them a lot more time to focus on the things that matter for their job.” Roberts said. “And a way that that is important as well is all of our emergency services utilize GIS.”
Roberts said his role allows for EMS to focus on their positions, utilizing their time by having a role dedicated to this important task.
“It sounds somewhat simple, a Geographic Information System, a system that contains geographic information,” Roberts said. “But going beyond that it gets a lot more complex because it is a set of databases, computers, software all these parts together to allow you to store or host, manipulate or analyze and then view geographic data.”
Roberts said he will handle special projects for other departments requiring mapping or spacial analysis skills.
Roberts said he graduated from Tennessee Tech in May with a Bachelor’s degree. Roberts said he is grateful for the position, and his experience through the University helped him achieve his position.
