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Commanding flexibility
This month, as part of our command and control series we take a closer look at what the use of VoIP is having on command and control systems...
Flexibility and improved communications are the key words which spring to mind when raising the subject of the impact that VoIP can have on command and control systems.
Furthermore, improved communication between the command and control room and emergency appliances is critical states, Matthew White, Senior Graphic Information Specialist, Ordnance Survey. Continuing he says, “These communications ensure that emergency vehicles are effectively routed to an incident, gain access to real-time data, information and tactical plans before arriving at the scene of an incident. There is an increasing need for vehicles to have the latest and accurate information already available or capabilities to gain access to information via the command and control room i.e. VoIP. Either way geographic information is critical to VoIP. Making use of accurate and up-to-date geographic information within a command and control system can have immediate positive impacts on the successful use of VoIP. However, it is imperative that location based information being used and communicated via VoIP is consistent across both command and control and mobile systems. There is a growing need for both systems to use a common data referencing framework.
“OS MasterMap Topography Layer for example, enables operators to associate information to buildings using unique identifiers and then share this data across different systems including command and control and VoIP. In order to integrate emergency response systems there is a growing need for emergency services to use geographic information which is both consistent and common across different systems.”
David White, Sungard Vivista adds, “Command and control is largely an IT application that is used to manage incidents and resources. It runs alongside communications equipment for receiving and making telephone calls, and communicating with resources via radio; this is typically presented through an ICCS such as SunGard’s DS2000.
“These two components have traditionally run separately with limited interoperability between them. However, the boundaries are becoming more blurred. For example, SunGard’s Integrated Control Room solution provides a seamless interface between its Command and Control and the DS2000 ICCS: this enables communications to be initiated directly from command and control, and command and control actions to be initiated from the ICCS, thus enabling the user to perform actions in the context of their current activity without having to turn to a separate application. The next generation is likely to see closer integration such that communications functionality becomes an integral part of command and control. Technology such as VoIP helps to achieve this because it moves communications from hardware to software, thus enabling better integration with other software applications such as command and control.”
Kelly MacMillan, market specialist, Mitel points out that the use of VoIP brings many benefits to the command and control room, particularly since now with the growing integration of CLI (Caller Line Identification) applications, not only does the address data become visible, but it also allows you to see past history of the caller. As we move towards open standards within VoIP applications it allows for greater integration thereby giving increased flexibility to the control room operator.”
“In addition, we are seeing greater flexibility in the use of networked resources providing the same control room services but potentially from other organisations. For instance in the event of a flu pandemic, staff could be affected and be unable to man the control room, by taking advantage of broadband other agencies could seamlessly answer and manage the control room functionality, or even outworkers if necessary.”
VoIP also provides the ability to ‘bulk’ notify large groups of people in the event of a major incident. MacMillan suggests, “In the event of a major explosion, such as that of Buncefield, for instance, emergency details and notifications could be sent out via text and automated voice recording. This can have a major impact on the control room since it could potentially reduce the number of incoming calls.”
In concluding our point about the impact VoIP is having, Dr. Mark Bentall Chief Technical Officer, EADS DCS & SDC adds, “The flexibility of the common infrastructure and the ability to embed telephony as a service provide improved integration. This is true for many streaming services and not just limited to voice. The augmentation and synchronisation of different information in different formats provides improvements in robustness of information and knowledge transfer providing effective understanding and reducing errors or delays in decisions.”
