ElanTech has launched a groundbreaking mobile version of its Incident Management Decision Support System (IMDSS). The IMDSS iPhone App is free to IMDSS subscribers and available at the Apple iTunes store. IMDSS is a software tool that enables emergency managers to make better, faster decisions and coordinate the efforts of first responders in the event of a disaster or crisis situation.
“The IMDSS tool helps incident response teams more effectively and efficiently communicate, assess the situation, and respond,” said National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “Making this technology available on mobile devices increases its capabilities even more and provides even greater support for the responders.”
The IMDSS console brings together real-time information from first responders, citizens, and local and national government agencies to help emergency managers mobilize resources to save lives and protect property. The new IMDSS iPhone App makes the information and collaboration of IMDSS accessible through an iPhone or iPod Touch mobile device so that responders on the ground are fully connected to the IMDSS network. Mobile users can work on existing incidents, create new ones, and capture and share site photographs and video in real time. ElanTech will soon be releasing mobile apps for other device formats as well.
“Before we developed this app, on-site responders stayed in contact with the greater response team using text and voice. Now, they can not only access IMDSS information on their mobile Apple devices, they can share more robust information for damage assessment and situational awareness,” says Swati Allen at ElanTech. “Photos, for example, are a crucial tool for damage or injury assessment. The App makes it easy to share visual data and corresponding commentary across the entire response team, instantly.”
The new IMDSS iPhone App allows users to:
• Create new Incidents in the field for mobile responders and command centers to share
• Attach photos, video, and data
• View all documents, images, and reports that other team members have attached to an Incident
• View Incidents in a geospatial context with all of the related information on a map
• View a Common Operational Picture (COP) that includes all team members, Incidents, and other available data on a map
• Allows mobile team members to transmit critical information to decision makers
“This app takes IMDSS to the next level,” says Dr. James Gantt, at Murray State University. “It enables richer two-way communication on the ground, but in an easy-to-use, familiar format – that’s critical in any emergency.”
IMDSS was developed in cooperation with Murray State University through a contract from the Kentucky Critical Infrastructure Protection Program, managed by The National Institute For Hometown Security for the Department of Homeland Security. The NVFC partnered with ElanTech to raise awareness of IMDSS among the fire service.
ElanTech is a Maryland-based government prime contractor specializing in the development of geointelligence solutions.
Click here to learn more about IMDSS and register for the web-based tool. Stay tuned to the NVFC for information about the release of the IMDSS app on additional mobile devices.
