Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England....

27 June 2009, 12:53pm

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, visits Ordnance Survey

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, visited Ordnance Survey’s head office in Southampton on Thursday 18 June to find out, first hand, about the new Ordnance Survey business strategy and the vital role geographic information plays in today’s world.

During the visit Chief Executive and Director General Vanessa Lawrence CB discussed the importance of Ordnance Survey’s work to the nation and showed Mr King how Ordnance Survey data is relied on by business, government and individuals.

As part of the visit, Mr King was given an overview of the new Ordnance Survey business strategy and an insight into the future direction and innovative work of Ordnance Survey.

Mr King was particularly impressed with the innovative work being undertaken with digital mapping and the contribution this could make to the mapping of regional economies.

While touring the head office Mr King was able to see the range of products and technologies on offer and shown real examples of how GI is used in business and communities. He received demonstrations on Ordnance Survey’s enhanced OS OpenSpace API and a look at OS MasterMap. As part of the OS MasterMap demonstration, Mr King was shown how the data has been used in the insurance sector to detect fraud and by local authorities to improve waste management efficiency. Mr King was even shown some aerial imagery of his beloved Worcester County Cricket Club and was impressed that the ground’s new pavilion had already been captured on OS MasterMap.

Mr King ended his visit with a demonstration from one of Ordnance Survey’s 300 surveyors. He was shown first hand how Ordnance Survey captures information and maintains the master map of Great Britain with 5,000 changes a day.

www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

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