Cyprus Airport Crisis Highlights Need for Emergency Management Technology, says Intermedix
(PRWEB) April 13, 2016 -- The Larnaka airport hijack has thankfully passed without injury; however this incident, along with the Brussels terrorist attacks, highlights yet again the need for global consistency in the deployment of technology to help airports respond to all manner of emergencies, according to Intermedix, a global leader in airport web-based emergency operating centre technology. It is critical that all airports have the right technology in place to be prepared for, respond to, and recover from such incidents. Crisis emergency incidents at airports are mainly unanticipated, usually unprecedented, and sometimes, catastrophic; ranging from a severe weather event, to a devastating terrorist or criminal incident with the potential to involve multiple injuries and fatalities.
“Airport emergency situations require rapid responses across multiple organisations and by multiple teams to be implemented simultaneously, amid what can often be a chaotic and confusing environment,” said Kim Frierson, VP Corporate Business Solutions at Intermedix. “This is where specially developed software takes over, acting automatically yet intelligently, to ensure that everything that needs to happen, does happen. Such preparedness tools do already exist, and it is possible to plan ahead for a wide range of possible scenarios.” continued Frierson.
Intermedix has been at the forefront of developing highly specialised crisis incident management tools for the airline and airport sector for the last 15 years, working in consultation with airport emergency planning and operations personnel. Its web-based tool, WebEOC, allows multiple airport personnel and external agencies to share status updates and recovery information in real-time; including the emergency services, trained counsellors and caregivers, call centres set up for friends and relatives of survivors, and local and national hospitals, and stakeholders such as aviation authorities and authorised media outlets.
“When you have to coordinate multiple airlines and government organisations and when the responsibility can fall on different parties, tools that can expedite this ensure any situation is handled as efficiently and safely as possible,” said Frierson. “The ability to set plans and checklists, track actions and provide a secure communications medium for staff and outside agencies are essential for airport operations or emergency management leaders.”
Already used by five out of ten of the largest airlines in the world, for both daily operations and emergency response, WebEOC is extremely configurable to suit individual airports’ needs and pressures.
“It’s clear that an information management system is vital during an emergency. However, can it also aid in daily airport operations and special events? The answer is a resounding - YES! A tool that allows users to manage daily processes in a configurable environment and doesn’t limit functionality to emergency response, offers users the highest rate of success when the inevitable ‘something’ does occur,” Kim Frierson concluded.
Intermedix launched a new UK and Europe base in 2016, headed by Ian Carr, Market Development Director, with specific expertise in the European airline and airport sector. To learn more visit http://www.intermedix.co.uk
Jon Gardner, BeyondPR, http://www.beyondpr.co.uk, +44 1142756996, [email protected]
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