From first alert to mission accomplished

The Command and Control Center in Venezuela’s premier city, Caracas, is the hub of  a unified public safety and health system. Conceived to process emergency calls and response to them in the most efficient way possible, the center’s robust technological platform was designed and supplied by Smartmatic. Its technology and infrastructure place the center among the five most advanced facilities in the world and distinguish it as undoubtedly the most modern in Latin America.

Based on its experience with large-scale integration projects, Smartmatic was engaged to design and implement a unified solution that automated the interaction of all networked devices, operators, end users and field personnel of all the civil agencies serving public safety and health emergencies. The precise scope of this formidable task included:

• The design, supply, construction and operation of a command and control center using cutting edge technology.
• Unified dispatch control of civil agencies such as police, fire, emergency medical, etc, regardless of the communication systems used by each agency, in order to facilitate the most efficient assignment and coordination of emergency responders.
• Automated detection of incidents related to public safety and natural disasters.
• Availability of statistics so that analysis of these could enable the implementation of real-time preventive measures.
• Constant monitoring of the availability and distribution of health service capacity, such as ambulances, civil defense, hospitals, outpatient and clinic resources in order to facilitate the most appropriate and efficient direction of citizens calling the center.
• Since implementing the command and control center, Caracas has realized a number of benefits in public safety and security.

Streamlined process

The system now registers incident details, prioritizes events and assigns the most appropriate unit to respond in one fluent emergency response.

Improved response

Because of the clear and simply organized user interface, operators are now able to coordinate the emergency solution immediately and greatly reduce the  time that it took under the previous system for responders to arrive on the scene.

Enhanced decision making

The statistical reporting and data presentation features of the USP solution has enhanced greatly the ability of senior management to make informed decisions when planning and formulating public safety and disaster management policy.

Optimized performance

Continuous evaluation functions have enabled constant improvement of operations and service delivery. 

Efficient administration

Personnel coordination and workload sharing has become much easier and more efficient since the implementation of the USP solution.

Flexibility

Because the solution could be configured for the specific requirements of the area with maps, road information and classification of incidents and procedures, users adopted the new solution very quickly and achieved a swift, smooth transition to the new system.

Interoperability

Efficient integration of all security agencies was  achieved because the USP solution facilitated interaction through any channel of communication

 
Optimal utilization of resources

The greater operating efficiency achieved with the USP solution enabled agencies to provide a higher level of service while using less of their budget allocation. This has made the citizenry safer and the agencies’ reputations stronger.

Improved quality of Life

The ultimate benefit has been the increase in public safety, not just from the faster response of the agencies, but also because system data has contributed significantly to the creation of policies that help with crime prevention.