Behar Mapping provides GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping to the death care industry. It has now launched a 3D GIS mapping solution built for cemeteries and mausoleums. The company, based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, announced the product on March 1, 2019.
The system runs on technology from Esri. It produces a web-based 3D view of every grave, plot, niche, crypt and mausoleum. Each one sits in its real-world location and links to a GIS database. Because the model recreates the grounds visually, users can see where a grave sits and how deep it is. Each cemetery decides which functions and data appear on its renderings, so no two products are alike.
Ronen Rybowski founded and owns Behar Mapping and holds the GIS Professional (GISP) credential. He said the company wants to give the industry the right tools to serve the public better. Behar also wants customers to run their cemeteries well while they keep full control of their own data, he added.
One project is already finished. Behar recently mapped Gethsemani Catholic Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. Tim Corbett directs cemeteries for the Archdiocese of Portland. As far as he knew, he said, Gethsemani was the first U.S. cemetery mapped with 3D GIS. The maps show every plot with its exact location and depth, he explained. They also cover the mausoleum crypts, the niches and the cremation garden. He added that the new view has made managing those assets much easier.
Behar Mapping is a family business now spanning several generations. It uses GIS to build true digital maps of cemeteries, and it relies on drones and GPS to collect the data behind its visual tools.
Esri, its technology partner, has made GIS software since 1969 and leads that global market. More than 350,000 organizations use its mapping and spatial analytics tools. Among them are the largest cities in the world and most national governments. The list also counts 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies and over 7,000 colleges. Esri also builds products for digital transformation, the Internet of Things and location analytics.
