Case Study "Independent fire stations in a network" MobiCall Alarm Server Solution Starting Position Several fire stations within the state of Zurich (Switzerland) are connected over a TCP/IP network and are looking for an alarming system that is spread over all fire stations within the network that run independent alarms servers but can mobilize personnel of different fire stations depending on the emergency situation. Alarming Requirements Launch redundant mobilization from any of the fire stations within the network over several locations depending on availability and competence. Backup scenarios must be available in case of overload of local nodes. Conferencing over several fire stations which can be started manually as well as calling into existing conferences. Alarm triggering can be done manually by calling the alarm system from anywhere, launching predefined alarms / scenarios, or different groups and/or fire stations. Each location has different technical alarms integrated into the alarm system. Fax: +41 (0) 58 750 11 12
MobiCall Solution Overview Several MobiCall Alarm-Server in different fire stations are connected through the PSTN. Each of the systems within the network can start alarms of another fire station in case the local node is overloaded or down. The system configurations are automatically synchronized. Location B Location A Location C PSTN GSM Location D Location E Figure 1: MobiCall Solution "Fire stations"
Overview individual location Technical alarms are connected to the alarm servers via Contact Controllers (IPBox) and distributed sequential to the technical groups. Fire alarms are sent to the responsible fire fighters in parallel. In case of a major mobilization one system can call another location and start an alarm in order to mobilize additional personnel. Skill based mobilization allows the notification of personnel according to the availability, last assignments and competence. Each of the individual locations are set up as follows: Web-Interface Conference PST Redundancy Technical alarms FIRE System overview - Technical alarms: 8-500 contacts free of potential - Fire Alarm System: Connection over or TCP/IP - Alarm triggering via telephone - Web-Interface - Web based messenger application - Configuring, Launching, Analyzing of alarms - Redundant Mobilization - Conferencing / Recording of conference calls
Benefits Each location can mobilize additional personnel by starting a predefined alarm for the preferred fire station. This allows to react fast to unforeseen emergencies where more personnel is required than are on stand-by by the responsible fire station. Different systems in different locations and buildings can be integrated cost efficiently with the local MobiCall Alarm Server without having to outlay high infrastructure costs. As far as possible, known and anticipated emergency scenarios can be pre-configured on the MobiCall Alarm Servers for an even faster response to the emergency situation and organization of the required personnel. Configurations are automatically synchronized between the systems in the fire station network. NO changes or additions required for current communication system. MobiCall was simply added to the existing systems in order to provide the required functionality by the client! Thus a cost efficient recording solution could be provided! All Systems were supplied with identical hardware. An additional spare system is stored in the most central fire station for emergency breakdowns of any of the MobiCall systems. It can also be used as a training or test system.
Integration Commander, launching alarms on the desk The Web-Interface offers the possibility for the commander to start a mobilization on his desk. As far as possible, known and expected scenarios have been pre-configured. Therefore in case of an emergency the reaction time is kept minimal using workflows that have been tested before hand. It is also possible to mobilize personnel using skill based mobilization where groups and/or individuals can be selected prior to launching the alarm according to the preferred competence and availability of people. External fire alarms External fire systems and SPC-Systems are connected directly to MobiCall. The alarms of the different system are directly taken over into the MobiCall Server launching the corresponding alarm. The mobilization takes place either sequential or in parallel depending on the escalation degree. Technical Alarms Alarms and strategic points that always have to be monitored in each individual fire station are directly or separate interfaces connected to the Mobical Alarm Server. The actual signals between all systems and interfaces are monitored and Watch-Dog concepts have been integrated where required. Redundant alarming If a great amount of personnel has to me mobilized in case of an unforeseen emergency, each of the fire stations can call the MobiCall Alarm Server of another fire station within the network triggering an additional alarm. In case the local node is overloaded any alarm can be started by any other MobiCall alarm server within the fire station network by the communication between commanders or access over the internet. The Transmission can also be done via SMS or over the Intranet. In any of these cases the reliability of the communication media has to be guaranteed. Automatic configuration synchronization exists between all the MobiCall systems within the network. Conferencing, alarming by phones MobiCall supports individual actions regarding the DDI + CLI. A commander then can call a certain number on the alarm server using a GSM or normal telephone activating an alarm according to the dialed DDI, mobilizing or starting a conference with the predefined group. The caller can record a specific alarm message which is played when the call is picked up. This can be before a conference in order to inform the group what the conference topic will be. All conference calls are recorded and can be played back at any time. The last conference call and alarm message can be played back by calling the alarm server. Older recorded conferences can be searched and replayed on the web interface. A white list is kept in order to give access to the conference calls only to authorized people. A password is required for any playback.