The FOD Volksgezondheid has an excel with +/- 19.000 AEDs.
Each AED has a number.
In the UK there is a central list “the circuit”. Openstreetmap links to it with “ref:GB:the_circuit”. See wiki and example.
Can we link the number in Belgium as a reference with tag ref:BE:FOD ?
See example.
Any remarks, ideas?
We could try, I guess. Some immediate issues I see:
It could still be useful though, if only just to mire easily detect missing AEDs in OSM
For context and transparency: I talked with @pieterpaul earlier this week to eventually setup an import process, if legally possible and data quality is high enough.
However, the first analysis of Joost indicates that this will probably not be the case.
AFAIK the list is not open data, so we can’t really copy from it
In the UK, RobertW got permission to use the official list; hopefully I can get it from the FOD too.
the number is not visible on the field, so it is very hard to spot mistakes
Good suggestion! The FOD is working on a new policy, I wil suggest adding the registration number visible on the AED.
quality issues
Certainly, but once there is a number and an address we can link, no one else should search for the link again if we keep a record of it in OSM.
Now multiple people search the list, doing the same work. With an export of all ref:BE:FOD
With some small scale linking between FOD and OSM, we could get a better view on feasibility of the import plan…
Blokcitaat AFAIK the list is not open data, so we can’t really copy from it
imho: FOD Volksgezondheid should change the data license for this data. This Should be open data.
the number in the list is meaningless we can just ignore it.
The list does have quality issues but a lot of them can be resolved with a few hours of work.
The postal codes are mostly correct. so we don’t need the municipality field. If we have a postal code, streetname and house number we can georeference the adresses. I already tried this in Qgis and it does work. This gives me two lists:
no georeferencing possible because the adress can’t be found: These need manual attention but with a few volunteers we can make this work in a reasonable time frame.
a georeferenced adres: These still need manual attention. I created a list of all adress points that are more than 50m from an OSM AED. These can be the basis for a maproulette challenge.
tldr; We can improve the OSM data in a lot in a short time frame by using existing OSM tools and a bit of Qgis.
I don’t see an added value in adding the FOD registration number of AED’s in OSM. It doesn’t help anyone to find an AED if needed. What helps is a place description and pictures.
Very often AED’s can’t be found based on the FOD list because of the poor quality. Owners of AEDs must register them with the ministry but no one there appears to check the accuracy of an address. Even if the address in the FOD list is correct they are often hard to find because AED’s are on and in big buildings as townhouses, churches, sporthalls, cultural centres, schools and other social facities that are hundreds of meters tall. AED’s are on squares and on poles that don’t have an address; in the FOD list they got an address of a service in the neighbourhood but far from where they are. Some AEDs are double in the list with different addresses. There is the map aedbelgie.be/ with the georeferenced addresses of the FOD list that is no reliable help to find an AED because inaccurate and missing extra information.
Many municipalities provide the location of AEDs in their areas on their websites. Those data are the primary source for me because more reliable. I also encounter many AEDs that are not yet on any list, such as at soccer and other sport clubs, gas stations and in social facilities for seniors.
Instead of importing data from AED, the only suitable alternative is to check on site where the AED can be found and add a place description and a photo.
Currently OSM has 4580 AEDs in Belgium (according to OpenAEDMap) out of nearly 17000 on the FOD list, many of which are private, inaccessible and unfortunately untraceable. In OSM, AEDs in Flanders are better covered, catching up is needed in Wallonia.
It helps with crossreferencing the FOD list and OSM, to find discrepancies, to compare the completeness of both datasets, to compare details. Obviously it’s not for manual usage in an emergency. But if in an emergency you still have to look for an AED on a map and load and look at pictures, you’re probably going to be too late anyway.