s.press 2006/2 En

September | 2006

www.swissphone.com

The Swissphone Magazine for Public Safety

Integrated Rhine Neckar Command & Control Centre Page 10

Mobile phone localisationBackground Page 7

Basic Principles ofElementary Alerting Processes Page 4

02 | 03INSIDE

EDITORIALLadies and Gentlemen,Dear business partners,

Secure alarming systems and modern command & control centres (C&CCs) are the basis of any emergency service. When these age or become out-dated, the time is ripe to start looking for new solutions that keep what is worth keeping, while inte-grating the newest improvements. The demand to provide ever better and more services with fewer re-sources is becoming increasingly prevalent.

If you wish to modernise an alarming system, you will need to carefully plan all processes and incor-porate everyone who is involved. What you will want is a technology partner with long-term experience who knows every organisation’s needs and require-ments and can develop tailor-made solutions.

We have subsidiaries in Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland as well as sales partners throughout Europe and the US, so there will always be an office near you.

As a provider of C&CCs, alarming solutions and ser-vices, as well as end-user devices, Swissphone offers full service in the area of public safety. We are also known for combined C&CCs for various emerg-ency service providers.

In our third edition of “s.press”, we would like to pre-sent some of the innovative projects we’ve realised for BOS (public safety organisations) customers.

Give us a challenge – and let’s plan together!

Helmut Köchler

CONTENTS

Helmut Köchler, President of the Board

Editorial 03

BACKGROUND

Basic Principles of Elementary Alerting Processes 04

Mobile phone localisation – the background 07

SOLUTIONS

Integrated Rhine Neckar Command & Control Centre 10

Digital alerting: Brandenburg is state of the art 12

PRODUCTS

I-SEARCH – a concept designed for flexibility 14

Falck goes for the DE920 15

GLOBAL

Maximum customer proximity through strong partnerships 16

Swissphone set to expand in the USA 18

EVENTS

Extraterrestrial event with Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard 19

Swissphone on location 20 National Congress of the French Fire Brigade

in Pau, France “Retter“ (Rescue services), Austria Security, Germany PMRExpo, Germany

02 | 03INSIDE

EDITORIALLadies and Gentlemen,Dear business partners,

Secure alarming systems and modern command & control centres (C&CCs) are the basis of any emergency service. When these age or become out-dated, the time is ripe to start looking for new solutions that keep what is worth keeping, while inte-grating the newest improvements. The demand to provide ever better and more services with fewer re-sources is becoming increasingly prevalent.

If you wish to modernise an alarming system, you will need to carefully plan all processes and incor-porate everyone who is involved. What you will want is a technology partner with long-term experience who knows every organisation’s needs and require-ments and can develop tailor-made solutions.

We have subsidiaries in Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland as well as sales partners throughout Europe and the US, so there will always be an office near you.

As a provider of C&CCs, alarming solutions and ser-vices, as well as end-user devices, Swissphone offers full service in the area of public safety. We are also known for combined C&CCs for various emerg-ency service providers.

In our third edition of “s.press”, we would like to pre-sent some of the innovative projects we’ve realised for BOS (public safety organisations) customers.

Give us a challenge – and let’s plan together!

Helmut Köchler

CONTENTS

Helmut Köchler, President of the Board

Editorial 03

BACKGROUND

Basic Principles of Elementary Alerting Processes 04

Mobile phone localisation – the background 07

SOLUTIONS

Integrated Rhine Neckar Command & Control Centre 10

Digital alerting: Brandenburg is state of the art 12

PRODUCTS

I-SEARCH – a concept designed for flexibility 14

Falck goes for the DE920 15

GLOBAL

Maximum customer proximity through strong partnerships 16

Swissphone set to expand in the USA 18

EVENTS

Extraterrestrial event with Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard 19

Swissphone on location 20 National Congress of the French Fire Brigade

in Pau, France “Retter“ (Rescue services), Austria Security, Germany PMRExpo, Germany

04 | 05BACKGROUND

Paging is going through a renaissance as a highly secure and fast medium for alerting processes. These must be put together very carefully. To meet the necessary demands, a whole bundle of different technologies needs to be employed.

In this age of information, our eyes, ears and brain are incessantly bombarded with endless data. This is why we have to be constantly attentive. We seem to be forever occupied with distinguishing important from useless information. If towers, horns, bells or lamps were enough to alert people to oncoming dan-gers in the Middle Ages, today’s alerting systems are disproportionately more complex.

What exactly is an alarm?

An alarm always addresses a predefined target group with the aim of provoking a concrete re-action. The recipient should not process the data inasmuch as it should provoke a sort of Pavlov reflex. These reactions and the sequence of certain actions create an alarm chain.

Someone in distress rings an emergency number and expects fast and professional help. In other words, setting off an alarm is always done relying on that the reactions provoked are of eminent importance, either to save lives or avert damage to property. Ex-perience with efficient alerting systems also raises the sense of security in the population or within a company.

By paraphrasing ‘alerting’ (see also box ‘The essential elements of an alerting system’) we can list the following technical demands for alerting systems:

rapid and simple transmission of alarm information without delay simultaneous alerting of the target group highest reliability (24/7) maximum accessibility of alarm recipients (inside

buildings, underground garages, cellars, etc.)

Alerting, people and processes

Alerting however, is not only a technical challenge. Without people the technology is useless. It is people that must receive and in a matter of seconds direct their whole attention to the incoming infor-mation. The device for receiving alarms should there-fore not get in the way of everyday life. The require-ments on personal alerting systems are thus high.

They must

be small, light, robust and portable use environmentally friendly rechargeable bat-

teries with a minimum duration of one week address as many senses as possible: eyes

(display), ears (signal) and touch (vibration) provide quiet and yet secure alerting be independent of other communication systems

(such as telephone conversations, which must not disrupt alerting)

Modern security pagers fulfil these demands. They are connected to alerting centres that act as the middleware in the alerting process and control the procedures and provide more flexibility. The alerting chain is not constant but rather matched to local cir-cumstances that can continuously change. Modern alerting systems are flexible. Capturing a swarm of bees, for example, requires completely different emergency services than extinguishing a fire. Emerg-ency teams change in size and strength depending on the time of day. The size and formation of a task force must be adaptable. Costs can be cut by the high accessibility and by reducing the team members on standby. Not only that, but voluntary organisations can be reached with paging technology to help to counterbalance sinking reserves.

Basic Principles of Elementary

Alerting Processes

04 | 05BACKGROUND

Paging is going through a renaissance as a highly secure and fast medium for alerting processes. These must be put together very carefully. To meet the necessary demands, a whole bundle of different technologies needs to be employed.

In this age of information, our eyes, ears and brain are incessantly bombarded with endless data. This is why we have to be constantly attentive. We seem to be forever occupied with distinguishing important from useless information. If towers, horns, bells or lamps were enough to alert people to oncoming dan-gers in the Middle Ages, today’s alerting systems are disproportionately more complex.

What exactly is an alarm?

An alarm always addresses a predefined target group with the aim of provoking a concrete re-action. The recipient should not process the data inasmuch as it should provoke a sort of Pavlov reflex. These reactions and the sequence of certain actions create an alarm chain.

Someone in distress rings an emergency number and expects fast and professional help. In other words, setting off an alarm is always done relying on that the reactions provoked are of eminent importance, either to save lives or avert damage to property. Ex-perience with efficient alerting systems also raises the sense of security in the population or within a company.

By paraphrasing ‘alerting’ (see also box ‘The essential elements of an alerting system’) we can list the following technical demands for alerting systems:

rapid and simple transmission of alarm information without delay simultaneous alerting of the target group highest reliability (24/7) maximum accessibility of alarm recipients (inside

buildings, underground garages, cellars, etc.)

Alerting, people and processes

Alerting however, is not only a technical challenge. Without people the technology is useless. It is people that must receive and in a matter of seconds direct their whole attention to the incoming infor-mation. The device for receiving alarms should there-fore not get in the way of everyday life. The require-ments on personal alerting systems are thus high.

They must

be small, light, robust and portable use environmentally friendly rechargeable bat-

teries with a minimum duration of one week address as many senses as possible: eyes

(display), ears (signal) and touch (vibration) provide quiet and yet secure alerting be independent of other communication systems

(such as telephone conversations, which must not disrupt alerting)

Modern security pagers fulfil these demands. They are connected to alerting centres that act as the middleware in the alerting process and control the procedures and provide more flexibility. The alerting chain is not constant but rather matched to local cir-cumstances that can continuously change. Modern alerting systems are flexible. Capturing a swarm of bees, for example, requires completely different emergency services than extinguishing a fire. Emerg-ency teams change in size and strength depending on the time of day. The size and formation of a task force must be adaptable. Costs can be cut by the high accessibility and by reducing the team members on standby. Not only that, but voluntary organisations can be reached with paging technology to help to counterbalance sinking reserves.

Basic Principles of Elementary

Alerting Processes

06 | 07BACKGROUND

If you wish to acquire an alerting system, you will need to carefully plan all processes and incorporate everyone who is involved. This is also true for com-munities that have to recognise risks early on and make necessary funds available – just as large com-panies do in modern risk management. What you will want is a technology partner with long-term ex-perience who knows every organisation’s needs and requirements and can develop tailor-made solutions. It’s not people that have to adapt to an alerting system. They have to be able to move freely on an alerting platform that integrates a range of different communication paths and technologies to cover not only the alarm but also the communication re-quirements which are involved such as coordinating the rescue.

Paging networks show their strength Catastrophes have in the past shown that the mobile phone networks cannot always cope with the pressures. This has recently also been re-confirmed by a study by the GSM Association (“The Role of Mobiles in Disasters and Emergen-cies,” 12/2005). The result of the study was that every phase of every crisis needs its own means of com-munication. And that mobile phones are valuable for spreading information but not suitable as a means for alerting. Only paging networks fulfil all requirements as an alerting communication network, such as:

fail-safety and redundancy consistent coverage separate transmission paths for

alarm messages and signals protection from overload and unauthorised

access closed user groups

Penetrating the information cloud

The proverbial “egg-laying cotton-milking pig” (an all-in-one device suitable for every purpose) does not exist of course and every technology network is appropriate for certain emergency communications. Paging – either terrestrial or via satellite – has the same alerting function as those medieval towers: the alarm resource of first choice. The dedicated end-to-end network is always free of interruptions and can cope with the highest data volumes.

And if implemented sensibly, paging networks also help to keep costs down. Alerts happen precisely and in a matter of seconds. Via pagers, confirmations are made possible, ensuring that exactly the correct number of people are called up according to the alarm plan. Acknowledgement messages (such as “I’m coming” or “I can’t come”) are more and more

in demand. As is the positioning of the person to be alerted. Such functions allow alerting organisations to further gain in flexibility.

Not only in terms of efficiency and effectiveness are paging networks convincing but also in the area of security. They do not permit abuse. At no point what-soever can there be the smallest uncertainty as to the sender’s identity, the seriousness of the notifica-tion or of the actions, which need to be triggered.

The essential elements of an alerting system

Security A unique source Use a range of different notification channels Protected from hackers Protected from message and network manipula

tion (influence, blocking) Prevent generation of false alarms and alerts by

third parties

Information security Alerts must be clear The fastest possible overview of the effectiveness

of the alert by the centre must be ensured, so that further resources can be deployed if necessary Life-saving essential alerts must have priority

Efficiency and effectiveness Speed Alerting the right people Course of action on completion must be exactly

defined and well-trained

Mobile phone localisation – the background

In July 2006 an order issued by Switzerland’s regulatory authority, OFCOM (the Federal Office for Communication), entered into effect, regulating the provision of data from emergency calls made from mobile phones. When dialling emergency numbers over mobile phone networks, command and control centres will now be notified of the respective caller’s whereabouts, making a more rapid and efficient recovery procedure possible. Swissphone, in cooperation with Swisscom, is the country’s first company to satisfy the necessary requirements for this pilot project with the "Sanitaet" ambulance service in Basel.

Author: Helmut Köchler · CEO and President of the Board, Swissphone

06 | 07BACKGROUND

If you wish to acquire an alerting system, you will need to carefully plan all processes and incorporate everyone who is involved. This is also true for com-munities that have to recognise risks early on and make necessary funds available – just as large com-panies do in modern risk management. What you will want is a technology partner with long-term ex-perience who knows every organisation’s needs and requirements and can develop tailor-made solutions. It’s not people that have to adapt to an alerting system. They have to be able to move freely on an alerting platform that integrates a range of different communication paths and technologies to cover not only the alarm but also the communication re-quirements which are involved such as coordinating the rescue.

Paging networks show their strength Catastrophes have in the past shown that the mobile phone networks cannot always cope with the pressures. This has recently also been re-confirmed by a study by the GSM Association (“The Role of Mobiles in Disasters and Emergen-cies,” 12/2005). The result of the study was that every phase of every crisis needs its own means of com-munication. And that mobile phones are valuable for spreading information but not suitable as a means for alerting. Only paging networks fulfil all requirements as an alerting communication network, such as:

fail-safety and redundancy consistent coverage separate transmission paths for

alarm messages and signals protection from overload and unauthorised

access closed user groups

Penetrating the information cloud

The proverbial “egg-laying cotton-milking pig” (an all-in-one device suitable for every purpose) does not exist of course and every technology network is appropriate for certain emergency communications. Paging – either terrestrial or via satellite – has the same alerting function as those medieval towers: the alarm resource of first choice. The dedicated end-to-end network is always free of interruptions and can cope with the highest data volumes.

And if implemented sensibly, paging networks also help to keep costs down. Alerts happen precisely and in a matter of seconds. Via pagers, confirmations are made possible, ensuring that exactly the correct number of people are called up according to the alarm plan. Acknowledgement messages (such as “I’m coming” or “I can’t come”) are more and more

in demand. As is the positioning of the person to be alerted. Such functions allow alerting organisations to further gain in flexibility.

Not only in terms of efficiency and effectiveness are paging networks convincing but also in the area of security. They do not permit abuse. At no point what-soever can there be the smallest uncertainty as to the sender’s identity, the seriousness of the notifica-tion or of the actions, which need to be triggered.

The essential elements of an alerting system

Security A unique source Use a range of different notification channels Protected from hackers Protected from message and network manipula

tion (influence, blocking) Prevent generation of false alarms and alerts by

third parties

Information security Alerts must be clear The fastest possible overview of the effectiveness

of the alert by the centre must be ensured, so that further resources can be deployed if necessary Life-saving essential alerts must have priority

Efficiency and effectiveness Speed Alerting the right people Course of action on completion must be exactly

defined and well-trained

Mobile phone localisation – the background

In July 2006 an order issued by Switzerland’s regulatory authority, OFCOM (the Federal Office for Communication), entered into effect, regulating the provision of data from emergency calls made from mobile phones. When dialling emergency numbers over mobile phone networks, command and control centres will now be notified of the respective caller’s whereabouts, making a more rapid and efficient recovery procedure possible. Swissphone, in cooperation with Swisscom, is the country’s first company to satisfy the necessary requirements for this pilot project with the "Sanitaet" ambulance service in Basel.

Author: Helmut Köchler · CEO and President of the Board, Swissphone

Cell-ID

A remote country road in the middle of the night. Hans W.* is driving in a car from Germany to Switzer-land when the headlights of an oncoming vehicle dazzle him and he suddenly loses control. His car shoots off the road, down a slope and collides with a tree. Stuck in his car and stunned by the crash, he dials the emergency number from his mobile phone. As he is unfamiliar with the area, he cannot give precise details as to his location. Consequently, a whole hour passes before the first recovery team arrives at the scene of the accident. It takes another 30 minutes before the injured man can be freed from his car and taken to the hospital.

Hans W. has been rescued, but the problem is obvious. Unlike landline connections, mobile phones do not transmit details of their position and so the emergency services often have to begin by looking for the scene of the accident and consequently the injured party. Approximately sixty percent of all emergency calls in Switzerland are made from mobile telephones and this trend is rising. If it had been possible for location details to be transmitted from the mobile phone in the case described above, the ambulance could have reached the scene in half the time. Fatal when you think that in such situations even a couple of seconds can be a matter of life or death.

*fictional incident

Virtually unambiguous localisation

Unlike GPS receivers, as anti-theft devices for fleet management for example, as yet there is no com-mercial use for mobile phone positioning. Only the police are authorised to use mobile phone locali-sation when searching for suspects.

On 1 July 2006, a step was taken towards improving this shortcoming. Swisscom will now be supplying a new emergency call database (NOT-DB) for all emergency organisations (112, 117, 118, 114 and REGA 1414), which will compile data not only on landline and mobile networks, but will also identify mobile phone locations for all network providers. OFCOM’s new regulation (see box) will ensure that not only call numbers and Cell IDs are transmitted during the emergency call, but also the relevant theoretical radiowave propagation values (ellipses). With the help of a Geographical Information System (GIS), this data can then be used to narrow down the area from which the mobile phone is sending the respective signals.

”Sanitaet“ ambulance service Basel: a successful pilot project

In a pilot scheme organized by Swissphone in cooperation with “Sanitaet Basel“, data from emergency calls is passed on to the command & control system and has been used for emerg-encies since the beginning of July 2006. However, as the depiction shows, it is not yet possible to establish entirely accurate positioning with the data available. The caller can be situated in the area

on either the left or the right of the ellipse. One option for creating a huge improvement would be to introduce Swissphone’s RoDin24/NERO24 system. This system independently recognises emergency calls even before a connection has been made and adjusts the positioning using TA values (duration, an-tenna, mobile phone) and GSM antenna field strength. NERO24 continuously updates status information from the GSM network so that the movements of mobile telephones on the traffic map appear clearly and, using the command & control centre’s on-screen GIS, are displayed and narrowed down even more exactly and realistically.

Making available a complete database of all mobile phone users – independently of the network pro-viders – that could be used in conjunction with RoDin24/NERO24 in command & control centres, would be a first important step towards optimising rescue procedures. At the moment however, net-work operators seem unwilling to invest, which is preventing rapid improvement in terms of data analysis in emergency cases.

OFCOM Regulation

An order issued by OFCOM, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Communication, in the form of a statutory provision entered into force on 1 July 2006, which regulates the provision of data from emergency calls made on mobile phone networks. It was decided amongst other things that Swisscom must operate an emergency call database, which re-cords caller information from all network oper-ators in Switzerland and must be made available to legitimate users. Implementation: GSM network 30 June 2006, UMTS network 30 June 2007.

Author: Rolf Schurter · IT Innovation Board/Member of Senior Management, Swissphone

Extremely simplified depiction.

BACKGROUND 08 | 09

Cell-ID

A remote country road in the middle of the night. Hans W.* is driving in a car from Germany to Switzer-land when the headlights of an oncoming vehicle dazzle him and he suddenly loses control. His car shoots off the road, down a slope and collides with a tree. Stuck in his car and stunned by the crash, he dials the emergency number from his mobile phone. As he is unfamiliar with the area, he cannot give precise details as to his location. Consequently, a whole hour passes before the first recovery team arrives at the scene of the accident. It takes another 30 minutes before the injured man can be freed from his car and taken to the hospital.

Hans W. has been rescued, but the problem is obvious. Unlike landline connections, mobile phones do not transmit details of their position and so the emergency services often have to begin by looking for the scene of the accident and consequently the injured party. Approximately sixty percent of all emergency calls in Switzerland are made from mobile telephones and this trend is rising. If it had been possible for location details to be transmitted from the mobile phone in the case described above, the ambulance could have reached the scene in half the time. Fatal when you think that in such situations even a couple of seconds can be a matter of life or death.

*fictional incident

Virtually unambiguous localisation

Unlike GPS receivers, as anti-theft devices for fleet management for example, as yet there is no com-mercial use for mobile phone positioning. Only the police are authorised to use mobile phone locali-sation when searching for suspects.

On 1 July 2006, a step was taken towards improving this shortcoming. Swisscom will now be supplying a new emergency call database (NOT-DB) for all emergency organisations (112, 117, 118, 114 and REGA 1414), which will compile data not only on landline and mobile networks, but will also identify mobile phone locations for all network providers. OFCOM’s new regulation (see box) will ensure that not only call numbers and Cell IDs are transmitted during the emergency call, but also the relevant theoretical radiowave propagation values (ellipses). With the help of a Geographical Information System (GIS), this data can then be used to narrow down the area from which the mobile phone is sending the respective signals.

”Sanitaet“ ambulance service Basel: a successful pilot project

In a pilot scheme organized by Swissphone in cooperation with “Sanitaet Basel“, data from emergency calls is passed on to the command & control system and has been used for emerg-encies since the beginning of July 2006. However, as the depiction shows, it is not yet possible to establish entirely accurate positioning with the data available. The caller can be situated in the area

on either the left or the right of the ellipse. One option for creating a huge improvement would be to introduce Swissphone’s RoDin24/NERO24 system. This system independently recognises emergency calls even before a connection has been made and adjusts the positioning using TA values (duration, an-tenna, mobile phone) and GSM antenna field strength. NERO24 continuously updates status information from the GSM network so that the movements of mobile telephones on the traffic map appear clearly and, using the command & control centre’s on-screen GIS, are displayed and narrowed down even more exactly and realistically.

Making available a complete database of all mobile phone users – independently of the network pro-viders – that could be used in conjunction with RoDin24/NERO24 in command & control centres, would be a first important step towards optimising rescue procedures. At the moment however, net-work operators seem unwilling to invest, which is preventing rapid improvement in terms of data analysis in emergency cases.

OFCOM Regulation

An order issued by OFCOM, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Communication, in the form of a statutory provision entered into force on 1 July 2006, which regulates the provision of data from emergency calls made on mobile phone networks. It was decided amongst other things that Swisscom must operate an emergency call database, which re-cords caller information from all network oper-ators in Switzerland and must be made available to legitimate users. Implementation: GSM network 30 June 2006, UMTS network 30 June 2007.

Author: Rolf Schurter · IT Innovation Board/Member of Senior Management, Swissphone

Extremely simplified depiction.

BACKGROUND 08 | 09

10 | 11

Author: Tanja Oudot · Customer Service and Training, Swissphone Systems

The integrated Rhine Neckar command & control centre has been operating since the end of April 2006. As the largest control centre for emergency and rescue services (ILS) in Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg region, which has a population of approximately one million, the ILS Rhine Neckar is a leading force in improving security standards in terms of its size, equipment and organisation.

Client

The densely populated Rhine Neckar region describes a triangle comprising the areas of Baden-Wuerttem-berg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. With a popula-tion of 2.4 million, Germany’s seventh largest economic region is one of the European metropoli-tan regions. The ILS Rhine Neckar, which serves the cities of Heidelberg and Mannheim as well as the Rhine Neckar area, is responsible for approxi-mately one million inhabitants.

In addition to emergency medical services, hospital transport and fire-fighting, the command & control centre (C&CC) also provides technical support services. The ILS Rhine Neckar also assists the police as well as the control centres of other service contractors in many of their operations.

Integrated Rhine Neckar Command & Control Centre

Project

The aim of the project was to merge three control centres in order to optimise the coordination of sup-port services. To achieve this, the Rhine Neckar/Hei-delberg and Mannheim branches of the German Red Cross and the Rhine Neckar area fire services were combined into a single control centre. The profes-sional fire service control centres in Heidelberg and Mannheim continued operation unchanged. The number of C&CCs in the Rhine Neckar area has thus been reduced from five to three.

Responsible for emergency medical services for approximately one million inhabitants Responsible for fire services for 540,000

inhabitants 175,000 call-outs a year (emergency medical

services and fire-fighting) Eleven dispatching positions, each with three

TFT monitors Six call-taker positions for major incidents Three data entry and system work positions Five positions in the operation command

and mission planning centre Large display screen at the C&CC

Solution

The new version 4.2 of secur.CAD command & control system is a modern and high availability system tailored to the specific needs of the ILS Rhine Neckar. The operational command tasks of each area of operation are integrated into the system.

The system enables a rapid and certain response to every emergency call, irrespective of where in the Rhine Neckar area the emergency event is happen-ing. All relevant information on all areas of operation is prepared and displayed as the respective situ-ation requires. The report on the current status of available resources in the vehicle status display and the geographical information system (GIS) are constantly updated which is a particular advantage of the secur.CAD command & control software for dispatchers.

Map sections in operation dispatch

The extensive operational area means controllers cannot be expected to be familiar with all the local features of every service area. This makes a modern GIS with appropriate functions and detailed map and data material all the more important in order to provide controllers with all the relevant geographical information.

secur.CAD// GIS enables the entry of a wide range of data containing important operational information. Aerial photographs, for example, or layers with house numbers, footpaths or building outlines. Floor plans of public buildings, such as schools or hos-pitals, contain important details, like the location of emergency exits on each floor and the position of fire hydrants.

In addition to the route, all important information regarding the operational site and a map of the location are printed at operation dispatch. Where buildings are endangered or present a specific potential risk, the following information can be provided with the dispatch:

Data on the main building and surrounding buildings Operational plans Information on operations in the vicinity Alarm plans for particular types of operation

as well as information on hazardous materials

Integration of subsystems

secur.CAD’s high level of integration has once again proven useful in the Rhine Neckar project. A large number of technical subsystems, which are essential for control centre work flows, have been optimised and integrated:

Fire alarm system ISDN voice communication system Radio messaging system (RMS), short message Alarm transmitter for analogue alarm

notification (5 tone) Swissphone digital alarm system Automatic telephone alarm system (text to speech) Radio clock DCF77 Alarm printer Fax print server Fax for the deaf Emergency call for lift systems Data interface linked to accounting system

High standards in terms of failure prevention

Multi-layer redundant technical equipment and a segmented back-up concept ensure maximum operational reliability and availability of the command & control system. This was achieved by installing a RAC (Real Application Cluster; dual system), a PO (Personal Oracle) database, a UPS system (un-interruptible power supply) and an emergency power supply.

SOLUTIONS

10 | 11

Author: Tanja Oudot · Customer Service and Training, Swissphone Systems

The integrated Rhine Neckar command & control centre has been operating since the end of April 2006. As the largest control centre for emergency and rescue services (ILS) in Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg region, which has a population of approximately one million, the ILS Rhine Neckar is a leading force in improving security standards in terms of its size, equipment and organisation.

Client

The densely populated Rhine Neckar region describes a triangle comprising the areas of Baden-Wuerttem-berg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. With a popula-tion of 2.4 million, Germany’s seventh largest economic region is one of the European metropoli-tan regions. The ILS Rhine Neckar, which serves the cities of Heidelberg and Mannheim as well as the Rhine Neckar area, is responsible for approxi-mately one million inhabitants.

In addition to emergency medical services, hospital transport and fire-fighting, the command & control centre (C&CC) also provides technical support services. The ILS Rhine Neckar also assists the police as well as the control centres of other service contractors in many of their operations.

Integrated Rhine Neckar Command & Control Centre

Project

The aim of the project was to merge three control centres in order to optimise the coordination of sup-port services. To achieve this, the Rhine Neckar/Hei-delberg and Mannheim branches of the German Red Cross and the Rhine Neckar area fire services were combined into a single control centre. The profes-sional fire service control centres in Heidelberg and Mannheim continued operation unchanged. The number of C&CCs in the Rhine Neckar area has thus been reduced from five to three.

Responsible for emergency medical services for approximately one million inhabitants Responsible for fire services for 540,000

inhabitants 175,000 call-outs a year (emergency medical

services and fire-fighting) Eleven dispatching positions, each with three

TFT monitors Six call-taker positions for major incidents Three data entry and system work positions Five positions in the operation command

and mission planning centre Large display screen at the C&CC

Solution

The new version 4.2 of secur.CAD command & control system is a modern and high availability system tailored to the specific needs of the ILS Rhine Neckar. The operational command tasks of each area of operation are integrated into the system.

The system enables a rapid and certain response to every emergency call, irrespective of where in the Rhine Neckar area the emergency event is happen-ing. All relevant information on all areas of operation is prepared and displayed as the respective situ-ation requires. The report on the current status of available resources in the vehicle status display and the geographical information system (GIS) are constantly updated which is a particular advantage of the secur.CAD command & control software for dispatchers.

Map sections in operation dispatch

The extensive operational area means controllers cannot be expected to be familiar with all the local features of every service area. This makes a modern GIS with appropriate functions and detailed map and data material all the more important in order to provide controllers with all the relevant geographical information.

secur.CAD// GIS enables the entry of a wide range of data containing important operational information. Aerial photographs, for example, or layers with house numbers, footpaths or building outlines. Floor plans of public buildings, such as schools or hos-pitals, contain important details, like the location of emergency exits on each floor and the position of fire hydrants.

In addition to the route, all important information regarding the operational site and a map of the location are printed at operation dispatch. Where buildings are endangered or present a specific potential risk, the following information can be provided with the dispatch:

Data on the main building and surrounding buildings Operational plans Information on operations in the vicinity Alarm plans for particular types of operation

as well as information on hazardous materials

Integration of subsystems

secur.CAD’s high level of integration has once again proven useful in the Rhine Neckar project. A large number of technical subsystems, which are essential for control centre work flows, have been optimised and integrated:

Fire alarm system ISDN voice communication system Radio messaging system (RMS), short message Alarm transmitter for analogue alarm

notification (5 tone) Swissphone digital alarm system Automatic telephone alarm system (text to speech) Radio clock DCF77 Alarm printer Fax print server Fax for the deaf Emergency call for lift systems Data interface linked to accounting system

High standards in terms of failure prevention

Multi-layer redundant technical equipment and a segmented back-up concept ensure maximum operational reliability and availability of the command & control system. This was achieved by installing a RAC (Real Application Cluster; dual system), a PO (Personal Oracle) database, a UPS system (un-interruptible power supply) and an emergency power supply.

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Author: Alexander Rauch · Product management and sales, Swissphone TelecommunicationsThe Swissphone Magazine for Public Safety

SOLUTIONS

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2,5 sec

3,75 sec

Digital alerting: Brandenburg is state of the art

What the operators wanted was clear: The new system had to provide continued high availabili-ty along with increased performance. A crucial issue was the long-term availability of new compo-nents and their easy integration into neighbou-ring networks. This was against the background of the continuous regionalisation of control centres and the accompanying move towards future large-scale systems. What could not be tolerated was any disturbance to the existing alert network during the changeover period.

The initial situation in Potsdam-Mittelmark was as follows: Based on a fully redundant DA network, the communication area was made up of two DAT III digital alert transmitters (server and redundancy server), two master base stations (DAC ITC 600) functioning as digital alert converters as well as a radio network with 19 slave base stations (type ITC 501). The alerting structure was based on a wave network with master base station and two trans-mission rings (see Fig. on the right). The first ring was made up of eight, the second of eleven further slave base stations that were distributed geogra-phically from Potsdam to Teltow and Wiesenburg all the way to Brück, Beelitz and Niemegk.

Sustainable implementation with ITC 2000

All demands were met by the ITC 2000 (Intelligent Transceiver Controller), the new generation of base stations representing the finest in base station tech-nology. The ultra-modern station is also a good in-vestment as it guarantees long-term use in addi-tion to the highest network availability. At the same time, system performance is boosted, among other things, by the new multiple status query feature. This considerably facilitates and accel-erates inspection of individual base stations,

which in turn prevents unnecessary network over-loads. Because of the ITC 2000’s complete proto-col and time compatibility, it can be integrated seam-lessly into any existing ITC 600/501 system.

Step-wise implementation

The changeover took place in two stages. First, the outer ring was modernised. Several project teams worked together with the control centre and replaced the old slave base stations with modern ITC 2000s and then tested them for their performance. The second stage was carried out in several steps so as to ensure the system’s unrestricted availability throughout the entire modernisation process. The first step was to replace the first master base station at the control centre. The new master base station was then integrated effortlessly into the existing net-work structure. After that, the first ring was tackled, which is the link between the master base station and the second ring. At the same time, all project teams set off to replace the existing slave base stations. And finally, the second master base station in the control centre had to be modernised.

The whole project – including preparation and planning phases – was carried out in just two weeks by Swissphone’s system partner DT Digitaltechnik GmbH in Dahlewitz. Lothar Boreck of the Potsdam Mittel-mark region is impressed by the results. “By changing over to ITC 2000 technology, we have made a concrete move towards a larger network in future, as this system technology is optimised for a region-wide network spanning several districts. The new multiple status query function as well as a number of comprehensive improvements have made our alerting technology much more efficient,” he says when asked about the decision to use Swiss-phone, and adds, “We‘re now state of the art again.”

In the early 1990s, the German state of Brandenburg as well as its neighbour Berlin introduced the Swissphone digital alarming (DA) system using a POCSAG standard two-metre band. Now, some fifteen years later, scores of operating companies have updated their system. In the course of modernising the network, both aging infrastructures and command centre technology were replaced with the latest DiCal components from Swissphone. As well as boosting the system’s performance, highest avail-ability for the future has been ensured. The Potsdam-Mittelmark district is a case in point.

Transmission 1Master, command and control centre, City of Brandenburg

Transmission 21st ring, 8 slave base stations

Transmission 32nd ring, 11 slave base stations

Master

12 | 13

Author: Alexander Rauch · Product management and sales, Swissphone TelecommunicationsThe Swissphone Magazine for Public Safety

SOLUTIONS

1,25 sec

2,5 sec

3,75 sec

Digital alerting: Brandenburg is state of the art

What the operators wanted was clear: The new system had to provide continued high availabili-ty along with increased performance. A crucial issue was the long-term availability of new compo-nents and their easy integration into neighbou-ring networks. This was against the background of the continuous regionalisation of control centres and the accompanying move towards future large-scale systems. What could not be tolerated was any disturbance to the existing alert network during the changeover period.

The initial situation in Potsdam-Mittelmark was as follows: Based on a fully redundant DA network, the communication area was made up of two DAT III digital alert transmitters (server and redundancy server), two master base stations (DAC ITC 600) functioning as digital alert converters as well as a radio network with 19 slave base stations (type ITC 501). The alerting structure was based on a wave network with master base station and two trans-mission rings (see Fig. on the right). The first ring was made up of eight, the second of eleven further slave base stations that were distributed geogra-phically from Potsdam to Teltow and Wiesenburg all the way to Brück, Beelitz and Niemegk.

Sustainable implementation with ITC 2000

All demands were met by the ITC 2000 (Intelligent Transceiver Controller), the new generation of base stations representing the finest in base station tech-nology. The ultra-modern station is also a good in-vestment as it guarantees long-term use in addi-tion to the highest network availability. At the same time, system performance is boosted, among other things, by the new multiple status query feature. This considerably facilitates and accel-erates inspection of individual base stations,

which in turn prevents unnecessary network over-loads. Because of the ITC 2000’s complete proto-col and time compatibility, it can be integrated seam-lessly into any existing ITC 600/501 system.

Step-wise implementation

The changeover took place in two stages. First, the outer ring was modernised. Several project teams worked together with the control centre and replaced the old slave base stations with modern ITC 2000s and then tested them for their performance. The second stage was carried out in several steps so as to ensure the system’s unrestricted availability throughout the entire modernisation process. The first step was to replace the first master base station at the control centre. The new master base station was then integrated effortlessly into the existing net-work structure. After that, the first ring was tackled, which is the link between the master base station and the second ring. At the same time, all project teams set off to replace the existing slave base stations. And finally, the second master base station in the control centre had to be modernised.

The whole project – including preparation and planning phases – was carried out in just two weeks by Swissphone’s system partner DT Digitaltechnik GmbH in Dahlewitz. Lothar Boreck of the Potsdam Mittel-mark region is impressed by the results. “By changing over to ITC 2000 technology, we have made a concrete move towards a larger network in future, as this system technology is optimised for a region-wide network spanning several districts. The new multiple status query function as well as a number of comprehensive improvements have made our alerting technology much more efficient,” he says when asked about the decision to use Swiss-phone, and adds, “We‘re now state of the art again.”

In the early 1990s, the German state of Brandenburg as well as its neighbour Berlin introduced the Swissphone digital alarming (DA) system using a POCSAG standard two-metre band. Now, some fifteen years later, scores of operating companies have updated their system. In the course of modernising the network, both aging infrastructures and command centre technology were replaced with the latest DiCal components from Swissphone. As well as boosting the system’s performance, highest avail-ability for the future has been ensured. The Potsdam-Mittelmark district is a case in point.

Transmission 1Master, command and control centre, City of Brandenburg

Transmission 21st ring, 8 slave base stations

Transmission 32nd ring, 11 slave base stations

Master

Downtime can be minimised if employees are in-formed of a fault as quickly as possible. Ideally, it would be even better to provide information about an impending operational anomaly in advance, allowing preventative measures to be taken. However, service employees are mostly spread across various locations within a company, making a radio communi-cation system indispensable. Time is of the essence: a noticeable interval between the appearance of the fault and its notification is unacceptable.

Can be integrated anywhere

I-SEARCH meets these requirements as the mandatory real-time behaviour can be directly influenced. Designed using standard technology, the system can be integrated into just about any company infrastructure. Its open design and nu-merous interfaces allow a variety of input modules to be connected as required. A conventional telephone thus becomes a personnel location device, e-mails can be received and forwarded, or a technical alarm activated.

Another advantage of I-SEARCH is the optionto initiate a national and international search via pager or SMS.

The innovative messaging system is used across Europe in the chemical and process industry, in clinics, hospitals and in the area of logistics. The following functions are available:

Connection to the company’s internal telephone network Message dispatch from browser interface Alarm contact Mobile sending and receiving of e-mails

I-SEARCH is constantly being developed in order to meet the client’s individual requirements even better in the future. Recent developments are the absence management option and individual user interface language selection. Another new feature is the absence function for the correspon-ding multiple charging station (MLG Professional).

Author: Patrick Wimmer · Product Manager, SwissphoneThe Swissphone Magazine for Public Safety

With its modular structure, the I-SEARCH radio transmission alarm and information system can be tailored to meet a wide range of requirements in a variety of application fields. It searches people, informs, organises and promptly reports serious anomalies and faults.

In the course of modernising their nationwide alarm network, Danish Emergency and Assistance & Security specialists, Falck, have chosen Swissphone as equipment supplier. The DE920 will replace all current paging devices by the end of 2008. In addition to its reliability and robustness, the new digital pager was a good choice on the basis of the excellent performance of its analogue predecessor, the RE429.

Nine out of ten ambulances in Denmark carry the Falck logo.The company’s insignia represents a range of vital services, such as ambulance, fire-fighting and human or animal rescue. Established in 1906, the company concentrates on emergency services, as well as on providing support and services for local communities, companies and individuals. For example, Falck provides public-sector services such as medical transport or rehabilitation for pa-tients in public healthcare institutions, it operates help centres and works together with the policeand highway authorities. Falck provides this ex-tensive range of health and security services, as well as other types of support, to over 1,6 million in-dividuals and companies in Denmark, Norway, Swe-den and Poland. Falck is the largest ambulance service provider in the EU and the only organisation to operate ambulance services in a number of different countries.

The company employs the same infrastructure of vehicles, stations, emergency operations centres and hospitals for both the private and public sector. Services are provided on the basis of contracts with the public authorities, insurance companies and private or company clients.

Heavily integrated private and public emergency medical services have resulted in significant qualitative and financial benefits for the Danish population.

Investing in the future

Falck is currently modernising its nationwide alarm network in Denmark. This process will include the replacement of the current analogue equipment with the new DE920 digital pager from Swissphone. At the same time, the analogue Storno base stations will be replaced by TP analogue/digital base stations and control receivers.

The choice of the DE920 was based on Falck‘s many years of positive experience with Swissphone pagers, together with their robustness, reliability, high input sensitivity and durability.

Another advantage is the ability to programme fre-quencies within a 1 MHz bandwidth, which enables the creation of a variety of user profiles. To assist rapid operation and eliminate misunderstandings, the DE920 has been especially localised into Danish for this application. A total of over 4,000 devices will be supplied by 2008. The company is planning eventually to use its new alarm system in conjunc-tion with the TETRA network currently being built.

The project was implemented together with Mørkedal Telecom A/S, Swissphone’s Danish sales partner of many years. Mørkedal will also provide local service and programming support.

Author: Daniel Feusi · Area Sales Manager, Swissphone

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Pager, e.g. DE920 Ex

Automatic Messaging

Direct Messaging

I-SEARCH 500

PRODUCTS

I-SEARCH – a concept designed for FLEXIBILITY

DENMARK:

FALCK goes for the DE920