Air Evac Lifeteam Uses SkyWeb To Enhance Air, Ground and Office Operations June 10, 2014 Air Evac Lifeteam utilizes SkyTrac Systems state-of-the-art technology to enhance safety for its crew and patients, and to increase connectivity and situational awareness during critical air ambulance missions. Extensive use of SkyWeb throughout communications centers ensures real-time flight following and communication among aircrew, dispatch and management, optimizing efficiency throughout the organization. 1. Air Evac Lifeteam The medical evacuation (Medevac) industry provides critical air transport for patients between trauma scenes and medical facilities when ground transport is less efficient due to location, severity, or timing. Air Evac Lifeteam is the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air ambulance service in the United States, employing more than 1,900 people. Currently, it operates more than 110 bases across 15 states and focuses on serving medically underserved small or rural communities. The organization has more than 1.3 million members and provides rapid access to emergency care for everyone in their time of need. Air Evac Lifeteam chose SkyTrac for its flight tracking and dispatch needs in 2004 and has since equipped its fleet with SkyTrac s ISAT transceivers and cockpit display units. In 2013, the company entered a service contract with SkyTrac that helps to streamline the day-to-day fleet management workload. The organization has two centralized dispatch offices, called Communications Centers, in O Fallon and West Plains, Mo., equipped with multiple screens that display different views in SkyWeb so Communication Specialists can monitor the latest mission, weather and situational data for their large fleet of aircraft. 2. SkyWeb Air Evac Lifeteam s Communications Center, monitoring SkyWeb across multiple screens SkyTrac is the world s premier provider of solutions for the business of aviation providing information to help executives, managers, maintainers and operators make the right decisions quickly with clean, realtime data. SkyWeb is SkyTrac s web-based aircraft tracking and system management program, accessible anywhere with an internet connection. The program is essential for safe and efficient aviation operations and is the single source for flight data, business data and fleet situational awareness. Air Evac Lifeteam uses SkyWeb to monitor its fleet, communicate with aircrew, configure equipment and accounts and run flight reports around the clock. The systems reporting module generates flight reports, detailed position reports, violation reports and account session reports. J U N E 10, 2014 1
SkyWeb is utilized throughout the organization s communications centers to provide a cohesive communication and dispatch tool that includes access to critical current and historical data. Of utmost importance to medevac operators, the software also offers worldwide weather overlay capabilities to monitor conditions surrounding missions in real time. SkyWeb can also forward information to other organizations and analyze and export flight hours, manifest data and billing information. SkyWeb s additional software features are designed to further streamline operations. These include Duty Hours, to support fatigue risk management plans; Aeronautical Charts, for SkyWeb with Weather Overlay increased situational awareness; Rendezvous, to allow assets to track one another; High Resolution Data, for highly accurate 1-second position reports; and NOTAMs, to filter and provide relevant notices in real time. A smartphone application, SkyWeb Mobile, is also available, to connect with and monitor aircraft from one s pocket. SkyTrac offers unparalleled data security and storage reliability with redundant, environmentally controlled, geographically separated, and secure Data Centers. Data is stored for one year ensuring access to historical data. 3. In the Air Aircrews working in medevac operations, including pilots, nurses, doctors, and medical staff, know that lives depend on mission success. Given that the circumstances they operate under are of an emergency nature, aircraft sometimes need to fly, land and take off in less-than-desirable conditions and unfamiliar areas. Air Evac Lifeteam s top priority is patient and crew safety, and the company has been recognized by Helicopter Association International with the Operator s Safety Award in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011; by the FAA with the Diamond Maintenance Award; and is gold rated by the Aviation Research Group (ARG/US). SkyTrac enables pilots to communicate with ground crews using minimal effort through SkyTrac s ISAT transceivers. Conditions and weather are monitored and reported in SkyWeb, allowing any detours and changes to be efficiently decided upon and communicated. The ability to see every lift, land, and position by the minute leads to unparalleled peace of mind, commented Brandi Henson, Air Evac s Communications Center Director. This peace of mind extends from the Communications Center out to the field where Air Evac flight crews know that many dedicated individuals are keeping their eyes on them at all times. Because the SkyWeb software is Internet based, communicators may continue tracking aircraft in disaster situations anywhere there is an available Internet connection. The Air Evac helicopters are also equipped with an emergency switch that is tied to SkyWeb. In an emergency situation, a pilot Air Evac Lifeteam Pilots simply needs to press the emergency button in the helicopter and the entire Air Evac Communications Center is immediately alerted to the emergency through SkyWeb. This allows the Communications Specialists and the Air Evac Operational Control Center to provide immediate assistance to the flight crew. Air Evac Lifeteam s crew members rely on consistent and reliable communication with ground crews to increase mission success. With SkyWeb they can feel assured that surrounding conditions are being monitored to enhance safety for themselves and their patients. J U N E 10, 2014 2
4. On the Ground Dispatch plays a critical role in medevac operations by coordinating and assigning units and personnel, assessing weather and flight conditions, and finally, determining and communicating destinations and changes in conditions. Air Evac Lifeteam s two Operational Control Centers employ more than 100 Communications Specialists, as well as eight Operational Controllers who provide up to the minute data from SkyWeb and assist pilots with decisions surrounding weather, aircraft and regulatory issues. The company was the first air medical operator to position EMS pilots in their Operations Center around the clock to provide real-time flight risk assessments. SkyWeb equips this team with real-time fleet situational awareness, data monitoring and communication capabilities that enhance the safety of both crew and patients. SkyWeb with flight following Henson commented, SkyWeb provides Communications Specialists with high quality mapping tools. When an individual has an emergency the Communications Specialists need to be able to pinpoint his or her location on a map, obtain GPS coordinates and relay those coordinates to the flight crew while en route to the scene. SkyWeb s integration of Microsoft and Google maps provides access to two routinely updated maps of the entire Air Evac service area. Without this important feature, the Communications Center would be forced to rely on mapping software that is updated less frequently. When coordinating fleets, especially those as large as Air Evac Lifeteam s, having all flight and weather data in one place allows for ease of operations while also simplifying the integration and training processes. SkyWeb s ease of use allows for optimization of resources. Henson continues, SkyWeb is a very user friendly, easy-to-learn program for new Communications Specialists. The basics of the program may be taught by an instructor in approximately one hour. Matched with hands-on practice with SkyWeb, communicators are able to find scene locations on the map, obtain GPS coordinates, obtain helicopter tracking data and recognize emergency situations in only one day. The integrated maps are a bonus as most everyone has used either Google or Microsoft maps at home! Because of SkyWeb s ease of use the Communications Center Instructors are able to spend more time teaching other valuable aspects of the Communications Specialist position. Air Evac Lifeteam Communications Specialists monitoring flights on SkyWeb SkyWeb is central to Air Evac Lifeteam s Communications Centers, enabling unified and simplified communications throughout the organization. Operational Control Centers utilize SkyWeb to direct, monitor, and coordinate its many flights spanning a vast geographical region. J U N E 10, 2014 3
5. In the Office WWW. S K Y T R A C. CA Managing Medevac operations includes minimizing risks while maximizing efficiencies. The use of SkyTrac s systems throughout Air Evac Lifeteam s fleet drastically enhances safety for flight crew and patients as situational monitoring and communication capabilities are optimized. SkyWeb also aids in reporting and documenting regulatory compliance and company requirements. Efficiency is further enhanced as the organization utilizes SkyWeb for billing purposes, as the instant transmittal of flight time billing through the program ensures the efficient use of accurate, real time data. Additional business benefits include enhanced fleet awareness in real time. Overall, SkyWeb is a must-have tool for efficient operations at the Air Evac Lifeteam Communications Center, Henson said. SkyWeb enhances safety and situational awareness for the entire fleet of 115+ aircraft. SkyWeb s integrated maps allow Air Evac to continue providing rapid access to individuals in emergency situations where ever they may be. SkyWeb is an easy-to-learn program that allows Communications Specialists to perform their duties to the best of their ability. SkyWeb is the aircraft tracking/mapping software of choice for Air Evac Lifeteam. Air Evac Lifeteam s operations are highly dependent on real-time, reliable data being monitored by experts. The use of SkyWeb and SkyTrac s systems optimizes system efficiency as the organization uses one reliable system for flight awareness and a multitude of flight data throughout its operations. 6. Summary With more than 110 aircraft servicing 15 states and the responsibility to support over 1.3 million members in their time of need, Air Evac Lifeteam utilizes SkyWeb to meet its flight tracking, dispatching, communication, billing and data monitoring needs. With such emphasis placed on safety, the organization monitors aircraft and surroundings to ensure real time situational awareness. Crew members depend heavily on the ground crew s use of SkyWeb to arrange support at their destination, monitor impending conditions and respond in the case of an emergency. The use of SkyWeb facilitates these tasks while providing a communication bridge between air and ground operations. Air Evac Lifeteam Emergency Crew Operational efficiency is increased with the use of one reliable consistent database among control centers that aids in billing, compliance and emergency response. Air Evac Lifeteam is proud to partner with SkyTrac. The company s SkyWeb program provides Air Evac crews with an enhanced level of safety. Continual, around-the-clock helicopter tracking provides our Communications Specialists with ideal situational awareness of aircraft movement. Brandi Henson, Communications Center Director at Air Evac Lifeteam J U N E 10, 2014 4
About SkyTrac WWW. S K Y T R A C. CA SkyTrac Systems provides specialized flight support services and technology solutions to enhance flight safety and efficiency at every level in an aviation operation in the air, on the ground and in the office. With over 185,000 daily satellite transmissions to customers in 50 countries on 7 continents, SkyTrac s solutions offer unprecedented connectivity and access to vital aviation information. SkyTrac offers a comprehensive range of certified solutions that combine leading-edge software, firmware and hardware technologies. For more information go to www.skytrac.ca. About Air Evac Lifeteam Air Evac EMS, Inc., which operates Air Evac Lifeteam, is the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air medical service in the United States, conducting its operations through more than 110 mutually-supporting air medical bases across 15 states. The company has established itself as the preeminent provider of air ambulance services to communities in need of advanced emergency health care and rapid medical transport. The company operates the world's largest fleet of more than 115 medically-equipped Bell 206 Long Ranger helicopters, along with Bell 407 helicopters. Air Evac Lifeteam also offers fixed wing air medical services from two bases in Missouri and Kentucky. The current service area includes operations in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. In 2014, Air Evac Lifeteam was reaccredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems, and is the largest medical transport program under one name to achieve this accreditation. For more information on Air Evac Lifeteam, please visit www.lifeteam.net. J U N E 10, 2014 5