e-LAN. SITUATION MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS
Thanks to the connection to the customer’s existing incident command system, e-lan already provides a complete situation overview with filterable display of the overall situation on the start screen.
Using the incident data to determine overall situations allows agencies to track their own resource utilization and see interactions between planned events and the current incident.
Visualization in the e-lan module is based on geodata from public and official sources, which are integrated using WMS/WMTS, for example, or also directly imported. The geodata in metropolyNEO are stored in caches and are thus available offline – even without constant access to the data sources and, via the decentralized caches, without data transmission between central and remote e-lan systems. The significantly reduces dependencies and the required network bandwidths.
The organization chart view of the e-lan module combines the graphical command, communications plan and general orders of the operation sections and is, at the same time, a very simple tool for assigning action forces to sections. Organization charts can be structured by building, setting or task, or any combination thereof. The option of saving organization charts as templates allows existing, proven material to be re-used at the touch of a button and customized as required.
The navigation and zoom functions can be used to map and utilize efficiently organization charts of any complexity, including over several levels at the same time. Contact information can also be stored at each level – from the team seating plan to the local official responsible for an incident-related object in a subsection.
The e-lan situation map is just as flexible as the organization chart. The user chooses the desired view, deciding between an overview of the whole operation or only a section and whether to display only the units or all details.
If the vehicles and action forces send position information e.g. via Tetra, the situation map almost manages itself.
An extensive symbol library, including all the symbols from police service regulation PDV 102 and fire service regulation FwDV 102 as well as numerous other pictograms, and flexible drawing tools allow the central, mobile and fully networked visualization of any conceivable situation.
Objects are a key element of e-lan maps – these can include general information as well as documents, like operational plans, or Web links, to cameras for example. The protection class/security level of an object can be used to control authorizations and thus access to sensitive information.
The e-lan force overview helps staff and command group managers maintain an overview of the individuals in each section as well as their respective catering and deployment schedules. Quick answers to such questions are essential for force management, especially during large-scale operations. The e-lan force overview, which supports individual groupings and searches, delivers the desired information at the touch of a button.
Specifically for police use, e-lan supports the creation and display of a network of relationships, networked both at the staff workstations in the special organizational structure and ‘outside’ in the operation sections. Presenting the relationships of the people involved in an incident, such as the perpetrators, informants and relatives, gives everyone an immediate understanding of the situation and any interdependencies – the work of the investigators thus becomes part of the operational picture.
The time machine can be used for all views of the e-lan module and provides access to any historic status on the timeline of an incident, including while the incident is ongoing. Situation map, organization chart, force overview and relationships from the beginning to the end of an incident with all changes logged and retrievable at any time.
Additional services can be connected to metropolyNEO / e-lan besides the interfaces to incident command and geoinformation systems. A routing service provides routes or reachability spider graphs/isochrones, delivering answers to questions such as how far a fleeing suspect could have traveled by bicycle in 10 minutes.
e-lan – clear situational awareness is the indispensable basis for successful management of the situation.