Canada, Chile and Mexico joined together during the 2006 Canadian Hydrographic Conference (CHC 2006) held in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 8, 2006 to announce the release by each of these three countries of their first paper chart produced using CARIS Hydrographic Production Database (HPD).

This announcement commemorates the successful transformation of these hydrographic organizations to a fully integrated hydrographic data management and production environment.

HPD provides a higher degree of consistency between product types (e.g. ENC and Paper Chart) because all products are derived from a common source. It also removes duplication of work and lowers maintenance costs relative to previously separate production lines. Updates can be done once on the source data and included into the appropriate products. Status of updates can be tracked from source to product and the history of changes recorded allowing better management of liabilities. New products which share some or all of the common data can be introduced (e.g. Additional Military Layers (AML)). Work can be planned and managed in a common multi-user environment allowing the agency to overcome the limitations of a file-based or segregated approach.

This announcement is significant and indicates the success of this revolutionary concept which will help modernize the hydrographic offices´ operations.