Symposium Technologies awarded contract to provide integrated CAD and Reporting System to Barrie Fire and Emergency Services and Surrounding South Simcoe Departments

Symposium Technologies is pleased to announce that it has been chosen by Barrie Fire and Emergency Services to provide an integrated CAD system for the City and surrounding seven rural departments, serving a total population of approximately 250,000, dispatching approximately 100 units from 20 stations throughout the region.

Advanced capabilities such as GPS-based vehicle tracking (using the City’s existing Motorola radio infrastructure) and a web-based dispatch monitoring component are also included in the overall scope of the project.  The system also features an extremely tight integration between the Symposium CAD and the Firehouse Record Management System – something which was very important to the client.

“We are extremely pleased with our choice”, says Sue Dawson, Manager of Communications for Barrie Fire and Emergency Services.  “Symposium provided not only the best technology, but the best overall solution in terms of implementation services and support. Their responsiveness and can-do attitude have resulted in the project moving ahead at a pace well-in-keeping with the time frame that was initially set; Symposium promised to deliver, and are delivering exactly what they promised, and then some.

System during live operation (click here for more live images >> )

Another advantage was the flexibility of the system, which has the capability to grow as the city and region grow, and can adapt to meet their changing needs.  Larry Bacik, Director of Information & Communications Technology for the City of Barrie, puts it this way: “It’s extremely important for us as a progressive municipality to be looking towards the future in all areas of our operations.  When we went about making our decision for the CAD system, it was important to the department that the system be able to seamlessly integrate into our existing installed base of technologies, and that it be capable of anticipating and accommodating advances in both technology in general, and the city’s needs in particular.  We needed a fully functional and reliable application that would provide the residents of Barrie and the greater Barrie area the responsiveness and information needed in time of crisis. The Symposium system fit the need, and is sufficiently versatile that we are actively exploring areas in other departments where we can deploy the same system, giving us one ‘Event Management’ software infrastructure that can be corporately shared.”

The Barrie project showcases many of the most progressive and practical applications of advanced technology in the public safety field, and we will soon be in a position to conduct site visits for prospective clients and other interested parties to see the system in action.  To inquire about participating, please email info@symposium911.com

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Symposium Technologies Chosen to Provide Combined AVL/Schedule Adherence System for City of St. John’s Transit System

Symposium Technologies was chosen by Maxtel Communications as project partner to provide the software and integration expertise required to deploy an advanced schedule adherence system for the City of St. John’s Transit Fleet.

Like many Transit Commissions these days, St. John’s was faced with the challenge of improving service while controlling costs and obtaining the active buy-in of staff.  The solution was to commission a system that would enable staff to more accurately and easily adhere to schedules, and enable bus riders to quickly determine where the bus was in relation to their stop – an important consideration in the city’s variable climate. 

After a competitive bidding process, Symposium partner Maxtel Communications was awarded the tender, and sub-contracted Symposium to provide the software solution, with Maxtel providing network connectivity and GPS hardware.

System during live operation (click here for more live images >> )

“Our company has been involved in integrating hardware and software systems for quite some time” says Tom LeTourneau, president of Maxtel.  “As a result, we’ve had extensive experience with any number of software providers. I can say without reservation that Symposium provides some of the most technically advanced systems, and some of the most capable implementation staff.  They’ve provided an invaluable contribution to the project, and have been very important in helping ensure that the client has remained fully-satisfied.”

With the new schedule adherence system, GPS receivers are used to plot the progress of busses in real-time, and this time-stamped positional information is compared to where the bus is supposed to be at any given moment in terms of its defined schedule.

This information is analyzed by the schedule adherence system, and broken down in terms of time ahead or behind schedule (in minutes/seconds).  This information is then made directly available to the driver via an onboard mobile data terminal, which enables them to make adjustments to their speed so as to better match the schedule.

As part of this project, Symposium was called upon to integrate the Horizon EME with any number of crucial third party technologies, including the city’s wireless radio network and GPS hardware, as well as the city’s EX™ route-building software, provided by Trapeze Software Group.

Using this system, Metrobus is able ensure the best possible route service by using real-time GPS and sophisticated software to keep riders, drivers and dispatchers aware of each bus’ status and anticipated arrival times.

                           System during live operation (click here for more live images >> )

The system compares the real-time position of the bus' GPS signal with where it's supposed to be in relation to each route's schedule, and notifies dispatchers of any notable deviations. A simultaneous alert is sent to the drivers and displayed on a small data terminal mounted in each bus that indicates how many minutes ahead or behind the bus is, thereby enabling drivers to speed up or slow down as required.

The system makes this information available to the ridership in two ways. The Metrobus Website features the TimeTrack interface, which displays up-to-date information on each bus’ status via a link located on the main page. For riders not hooked up to the web, the system interfaces directly with the RideGuide IVR system that provides an automated telephony message which is constantly updated to deliver the status of each bus.

The new system also provides administrators at Metrobus with full control of all data and configuration updating, enabling them to add, delete and modify busses, runs, routes and stops as required, directly from within the system. In addition, the system enables administrators to compile reports on historical bus and route information, resulting in better resolution of client complaints, and the ability to perform more in-depth service analysis and improvement.

The new system - which qualified for an ITS grant from Transport Canada - can serve as a good case study as to how to successfully implement Intelligent Transportation Systems in other municipalities. For more information and a project overview, please click here.

Symposium to deploy Horizon EME for COMM Fire District of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Symposium has been awarded the contract to provide an integrated fire dispatch system for the communities of Centerville, Osterville, and Marstons Mills, Massachusetts. Located on Cape Cod, these communities comprise a single Fire District (COMM Fire).

System during live operation (click here for more live images >> )

Symposium is very excited about this project.  As Jeff Connors, VP of Sales and Marketing puts it: “COMM Fire is typical of the clients we work with. They are an active department with a relatively high call volume, which up until now simply were not in a position to purchase a full-featured CAD system. No matter what the size of the department, the need is the same.  Our business is such that we can provide them with a complete, sophisticated solution that is easy to use, fully scalable, and delivers the very best that technology has to offer while respecting their budgetary realities.   This is something that no other company out there is able to provide.”

Paul Rhude of COMM Fire is also enthusiastic: “We were very keen to upgrade our capabilities in terms of dispatch and coordination.  We thought the best way to do this was through a technology-based solution that enabled us to better manage and track the whole response process.  That being said, we were hard-pressed to find a system that gave us the capabilities we needed at a price that reflected our budget.  Symposium was really responsive in that regard, and provided us with the exact solution we needed.”

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Symposium Technologies completes installation of integrated CAD and RMS for Town of Halton Hills Fire Dept.

Symposium is pleased to announce that the Horizon EME CAD system and FIREHOUSE Software® RMS are now live and running at Halton Hills’ Fire Protection and Prevention division. The new system provides the town with state-of-the-art call-taking, map-based dispatch, and record management, serving an area of about 285 square kilometers. The project was started in the first week of January and went live the first week of April – an unheard-of timeframe for a project of this scope. This achievement further cements Symposium’s established reputation for providing CAD solutions that are fast, simple, easy, and reliable.

Halton Hills Fire 911 Comm Center during live operation
(Click Here to See More Images >> )

With a population of just over 50,000 the town of Halton Hills is strategically located in the GTA just off highway 401, between Mississauga and Oakville to the south, Brampton to the East, and Kitchener and Guelph to the west. Like many fast-growing municipalities Halton Hills is highly diverse, including built-up residential and manufacturing areas as well as extensive rural districts. Because of the varied service area, the town required a dispatch system with the flexibility to handle a wide range of call types, from structure fires and chemical spills to traffic accidents and agricultural burning.

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Symposium Deploys New Schedule Adherence Component

Symposium Technologies is proud to announce the release of its new Schedule Adherence Component as part of the expanding Horizon Event Management Environment system of dispatch, vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions.

The Schedule Adherence Component was designed to address the needs of agencies and companies which have vehicles that follow time-sensitive routes.  Interfacing with GPS, the Scheduled Adherence Component simplifies the live-time and historical tracking of vehicle positions, and can be used to help drivers take corrective action to stay on time.

The component is very straightforward to use, and enables the operator to manage every aspect of vehicles, routes, runs, and stops, as well as accounting for special situations such as holidays.  Symposium has integrated the component with route-building systems such as Ex™ from the Trapeze Software Group, so the loading of pre-configured route data is simple and easy.  The Schedule Adherence Component is actively being used by transit clients, with several more installations expected in the next six months.

For more information on the Schedule Adherence Component, please refer to the Horizon EME Overview document.

Symposium Deploys New RMS Interface Module

Symposium Technologies has been an industry leader in the area of simplifying integration with third-party systems.  This is extremely important, in so far as the vast majority of clients want a system that will work with other technologies to provide a highly integrated solution for their event management needs.

The Symposium EME RMS Interface Component greatly simplifies the process of RMS integration, and provides full and easy access to RMS-based data required by the dispatchers or in-field personnel.  This is extremely useful in situations wherein detailed premise information already exists, and may have an important bearing on how personnel respond to any new incidents at the location in question.

The Symposium RMS Interface also has the advantage of being able to interface with many different types of RMS packages at once.  “We don’t try to pigeon-hole clients into using just one type of system” says Jeff Connors, VP of Sales and Marketing.  “In many situations you’re dealing with multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions.  Each one might have a favorite RMS software provider, or in the case of combined Fire-Police-EMS installations, very different needs. It’s our job to accommodate that reality and make the entire process smooth and simple for the client, as opposed to coming in and telling everyone that they have to live with a ‘one size fits all’ solution, or deal with an unnecessarily long and drawn-out implementation.”

Symposium Deploys new Web-Based Event Management Environment

Symposium is very excited to announce the release of its new Web EME Component, a module which greatly expands the overall capabilities of the EME as a platform for distributed event management. 

The WEB EME is an easy-to-use interface that enables staff to access the system without being in front of a traditional EME console, as is commonly found in a dispatch center or command headquarters.  This is extremely useful for managerial staff who may wish to monitor the progress of important calls from places aside from the command center; it is also extremely useful for responding personnel, in so far as it provides them with full information on any and all important ongoing calls, directly from their mobile data terminals, or from anywhere an IP-based connection can be established.

With the Web EME, in-field personnel have access to all the same information that the dispatchers have.  This includes such things as premise and event notes, surrounding locations of interest, hydrant position and status, other responding units and nearby incidents, standard operating procedures, HAZMAT info, and a host of other information.  For more information on the Web EME, please refer to the Horizon EME Overview document.