Watchtower: An operational management system with integrated Telstra messaging and CSIRO data analytics for a smarter, more connected modern emergency service

Project Info

Club Platypus thumbnail

Team Name


Club Platypus


Team Members


Renee , Brian , Grace , Amy , David

Project Description


Australia has many emergency services, Vic SES, NSW SES, CFA, RFS, and so on. The duty officers of many of these services still rely on spreadsheets to organise their crews, and when a job is on they have to activate crew by manually typed text message.

"Current systems are fine for small emergencies, up to 200 crew, but it breaks down when you have a Black Saturday type event where you need crew from multiple regions to coordinate, and especially when state lines are crossed."

Natural disasters such as bushfires, floods, and cyclones occur frequently across Australia and are expected to get worse as a result of climate change. There are many resources from top government agencies such as the CSIRO's ERIC and Data61's Spark, but volunteer divisions find it difficult to keep up with the latest information.

To better prepare and cope with larger natural disasters, we need to provide communities with early warnings of natural hazards, improve consistency of information across jurisdictions, and create reliable authoritative solutions that people can rely on.

We have created an operational management system that can get the right message, at the right time, to the right people.


#state emergency services #bushfire #disaster management #disaster recovery #bushfire prediction #sms text #telstra api #csiro #spark data61 #climate change #pagers #paging #communication #ses #natural disasters

Evidence of Work

Video

Homepage

Team DataSets

ERIC: Improving disaster response effectiveness

Data Set

Telstra Messaging API

Description of Use Using Telstra Messaging API we are hoping to be able to mass SMS to pagers owned by SES staff for communication and dispatching.

Data Set

Spark: Predicting bushfire spread

Description of Use This will enable better disaster planning and management, deploying State Emergency Services by giving a prediction of bushfire spread based on data applied to fire models.

Data Set

Challenge Entries

Improving government services with open data

How can we improve government services by using open government data?

Go to Challenge | 14 teams have entered this challenge.

Engaging communities in hazard reporting & safety

How might we better prepare & deal with natural disasters in Australia?

Go to Challenge | 18 teams have entered this challenge.

Data-driven decisions for improved disaster planning, management or recovery

How might we equip decision makers with a data driven tool to support their communities in the face of climate change and natural disasters.

Go to Challenge | 15 teams have entered this challenge.

Connecting our community in an emergency with mobile messaging

How can our local leaders use mobile messaging to connect with citizens in a safe, reliable, and effective way for emergency communications?

Go to Challenge | 16 teams have entered this challenge.