Amy Sebring: Welcome to the EIIP Tech Arena! Today we are featuring RAMS: Responder Assets Management System. Amy Sebring: For the benefit of any first-timers, if you see a blue web address, you can click on it and the referenced Web page should appear in a browser window. Amy Sebring: After the first one, the browser window may not automatically come to the top, so you may need to bring it forward by clicking on a button at the status bar at the bottom of your screen. Then you will need to bring your chat window back to the top in the same way. Amy Sebring: We will start with a presentation, and then follow with a Q&A session for your questions and comments. Right before we begin the Q&A portion we will review the procedure. Amy Sebring: Please do NOT send direct messages to the speaker or moderator as it makes it difficult for us to follow the discussion. Amy Sebring: Background information for today's session may be found at http://www.emforum.org/varena/010131.htm ... Amy Sebring: Now I am pleased to introduce Bob Hunter and Scott McKenney from the RAMS Project Office, at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and co-creators of the RAMS system. Scott is joining us from Washington, D.C. Amy Sebring: Scott is the founder of the Special Projects Office, which develops and manages technology application projects for customers in the arms control, intelligence, special operations, and public safety communities. Amy Sebring: Bob is not only co-creator of RAMS, he is also the webmaster for the Department of Energy's Environmental Management Website (over 35,000 pages, receiving approximately 3 million hits/month). Amy Sebring: Welcome to you both gentlemen. We appreciate your taking the time to be with us today. Bob will start us off with the presentation. Bob, I turn the floor over to you. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide1.htm Bob Hunter: What is RAMS? RAMS is public safety software. It's designed by and for local responders (police, fire, EMS, and the city Emergency Management office). It supports crisis and consequence management, as well as the whole spectrum of responsibility through planning, training, and operations. Bob Hunter: The heart of RAMS is its suite of "daily use tools", and we'll get to this in a few minutes. It's vertically and horizontally integrated and optimized for all levels of crisis response, has automated decision support features, and perhaps most importantly is customizable for each city or county user. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide2.htm Bob Hunter: RAMS is being developed by the Army's Soldier & Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) in Edgewood, Maryland, and now also by the Department of Justice. It's a $3 million software project. Bob Hunter: RAMS addresses the need to automate the daunting complexities of managing a mass casualty weapons-of-mass-destruction terrorism event (nuclear-biological-chemical). But, the system scales for all sizes of incidents. Bob Hunter: RAMS is being made available to each of the 120 cities participating in the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Domestic Preparedness Program, and to any other municipalities or counties interested. In a few minutes we'll show you an early stand-alone RAMS tool that you can have now. The rest of RAMS will be available in July. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide3.htm Bob Hunter: We have four primary goals for RAMS. 1) Enable our customers to dramatically improve crisis response, for the whole scale of possible events facing them. 2) Save them time and money, and very likely save lives - responders and victims. Bob Hunter: 3) Literally revolutionize the management of daily operations. And, 4) free our customers from the burden of being computer experts. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide4.htm Bob Hunter: RAMS grew out of a software system developed for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The Atlanta Police needed the capability to deal with the complexities of managing security for the Games. An RFP was issued and the best private sector response was 36 months, $3 million. Bob Hunter: With a little over a year until the Olympics, Atlanta turned to Oak Ridge and its experience developing command & control systems. The Olympics system was delivered in 12 months, in time for the Olympics, and under its $700,000 budget. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide5.htm Bob Hunter: RAMS is organized into seven integrated modules, targeted at the areas shown on the slide. Each module has several tools. There are a total of 22 tools. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide6.htm Bob Hunter: As we mentioned earlier, the "daily use tools" are the heart of RAMS. Local public safety agencies managing a major mass casualty situation will turn to the tools that are familiar - systems they use daily - not to software that is sitting on the shelf and that maybe they trained on months ago. Bob Hunter: Our goal is to provide enhanced daily value with tools such as timekeeping, automated scheduling, equipment management, and so forth, so public safety agencies will be comfortable using RAMS, and use it on a daily basis. Bob Hunter: By doing this, they not only save time and money and enhance their response to daily operations, but automatically provide accurate and timely information needed to respond to major crisis or disaster. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide7.htm Bob Hunter: We're all becoming Internet literate, so RAMS is designed to look and operate like your web browser. The seven RAMS modules are positioned on the left bar, and a click on a module will display its tools. Bob Hunter: RAMS operations and resources in a standard Windows "Tree" to the right of the Module bar. A Geographic Information System (GIS) map of your jurisdiction, and other RAMS displays, are viewed on the far right. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide8.htm Bob Hunter: We're not going to spend a lot of time on each Module, we just want you to get an idea of what's available in the 22 RAMS tools. Bob Hunter: Autobrief was developed for the military. It enables a decision-maker to schedule automatically generated PowerPoint briefings, and have them delivered on demand. The system automatically performs the desired analysis, builds the charts, writes the words, and builds the slides for the briefing. Bob Hunter: This is invaluable in an extended crisis situation. DispatchAnalyst merges CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) information from whatever CAD systems are used in a city into a single CAD database. It also provides rapid analysis tools to support Responder operations. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide9.htm Bob Hunter: Exercise manager is an improved version of what Atlanta used in 1996 to plan, execute, and evaluate the complexities of Olympic security. It allows table-top exercises planners to develop scenarios within RAMS, Bob Hunter: using RAMS facilities to provide the inputs to the players during the table-top exercise. This module also allows users to receive input on the situation from RAMS in the manner they actually would during a real crisis or disaster situation. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide10.htm Bob Hunter: RAMS is linked to live local and national weather. Future versions of RAMS will use this information to automatically alert users of decision points (e.g., if it's rained two or more inches in the last hour, notify me so I can start closing roads that I know will flood). Bob Hunter: It also has a totally user-driven Reference Tree, where all of an organization's SOPs and other documents can be stored and cross-referenced in any manner desired. This information and be selectively deployed onto laptops as well. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide11.htm Bob Hunter: Borrowed and loaned equipment is managed in RAMS. Also, if equipment is being used during a response to a major disaster, this system can track which equipment was used and provide a report for accountability to FEMA for reimbursement. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide12.htm Bob Hunter: We already talked about some of the personnel tools. Atlanta is testing TimeMaster, which replaces their manual timekeeping system. Atlanta estimates savings as high as $1 million per year with TimeMaster. TimeMaster can account for time spent on any number of actions. So, if personnel were used to respond to manage the aftermath of a hurricane, TimeMaster can account for that time separately from regular duties, and provide a report for accountability to FEMA for reimbursement. Bob Hunter: The ScheduleMaster is an automated, hands-off, scheduling system, designed to do both normal and emergency scheduling. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide13.htm Bob Hunter: RAMS has a traffic management tool that has obvious daily utility. In addition, if roads are closed for any reason (e.g., flooded), once the information is entered in TrafficMaster, it is automatically and immediately shared with all city responder agencies. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide14.htm Bob Hunter: The Operations Module contains ROG (Response Options Generator). ROG is the tool that enables local public safety agencies to plan for and deal with a mass casualty situation during its early stages, before outside help arrives, as well as the rest of the course of the event. Bob Hunter: ROG is dynamic. So, as the situation changes, the ROG solution changes. It's also scaleable. So, at one end of the scale ROG can deal with a biological terrorism event involving hundreds of thousands of casualties, or at the other end of the scale it can handle an event such as an aircraft accident, a snowstorm, or a fire. Bob Hunter: ROG can handle multiple events too. In addition to ROG, there is an internal messaging system that automatically updates the electronic status boards, and a Current Situation display that shows what's happening, where, what agencies are on the scene, etc. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide15.htm Bob Hunter: RAMS is horizontally and vertically integrated and linked. RAMS is configured for four levels of operations: city or EOC level, police or fire headquarters level, field command or precinct level, and a mobile version for incident command. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide16.htm Bob Hunter: As mentioned earlier, the one of the RAMS' tools, called SituationMaster, will be available starting Monday. So many cities have asked if they could get this tool in advance of the rest of RAMS, that we separated it from RAMS and made it a stand-alone application. It will also appear in the RAMS suite of tools in July 2001 when RAMS Version 1.0 is ready. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide17.htm Bob Hunter: SituationMaster is one of our "daily use tools". It provides a state-of-the-art solution to the dilemma facing all public safety professionals, "How can we be prepared to manage situations and incidents that can happen anywhere in our jurisdiction, at any time, at any level of intensity, and can occur in multiples?" Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide18.htm Bob Hunter: Six firefighters died in Worcester, Massachusetts. The findings were, they should have had a pre-incident plan. We all know that law enforcement was criticized for slow response to the Columbine tragedy. Bob Hunter: Why? They didn't have school floor plans and SWAT commanders did not have sufficient situational awareness to allow them to enter the school until over 45 minutes had elapsed. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide19.htm Bob Hunter: Unfortunately, the typical pre-incident plan in too many municipalities looks like this. We've had firefighters tell us that this doesn't provide enough value to warrant taking them out during an incident. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide20.htm Bob Hunter: SituationMaster combines the latest in custom computer software, integrated fire and tactical pre-incident planning tools, and state-of-the-art virtual tour visualization technology to revolutionize incident command. Bob Hunter: We wrote a special GIS engine to power SituationMaster that is lightning fast -- the map literally redraws in less than a second. The same people that said they wouldn't use a paper pre- incident plan explained that the combination of tools, information, and easy to create virtual walkthroughs of any building made this a whole new tool that they would definitely use. Bob Hunter: www.publicsafetysystems.com/Chat/Slide21.htm Bob Hunter: Fire and police departments using IncidentMaster will see immediate improvement in all aspects of incident command, as explained in detail on this slide. Bob Hunter: That concludes our presentation. Scott and I would be happy to answer any questions you have. Amy Sebring: Thank you Bob. Audience please enter a question mark (?) to indicate you wish to be recognized, go ahead and compose your comment or question, but wait for recognition before hitting the enter key or clicking on Send. Amy Sebring: We now invite your questions/comments. Jim Strong: ? Bill Radcliff: ? ray pena: ? Amy Sebring: Jim when you are ready please. Jim Strong: How can we get it for evaluation and what software database do you use? Bob Hunter: The full RAMS system won't be available until July, Bob Hunter: however you can get a demo of the SituationMaster software next month. Kenny Shaw: ? Jim Strong: ? Bob Hunter: Which were you interested in? Amy Sebring: Bob, where can they find out about the demo? Amy Sebring: The Website? Jim Strong: What is the cost for the SM module and for the whole package if we like it? Amy Sebring: Please wait Jim. Bob Hunter: Yes. If you go to www.PublicSafetySystems.com, you'll find contact info, etc. there. Amy Sebring: Ok, Bob, can you address the second part of Jim's question about the database? Wallace Colthurst: ? Bob Hunter: SituationMaster is using Visual Foxpro database in the stand-alone version, but Bob Hunter: the full RAMS version uses SQL Sever. Amy Sebring: Ok, Jim went out of turn on the cost question ... Amy Sebring: however I am sure many folks would like to know. Amy Sebring: Scott or Bob? Bob Hunter: Scott... scott mckenney: Total turnkey cost for SM is $25K Amy Sebring: That includes equipment and training does it not Scott? Mike Krumlauf: ? Bob Hunter: Yes Amy Sebring: Ok, let's go back to Bill Radcliff next please. Bill Radcliff: The security of information is vital, how does your system protect the information since it is designed for field use David Thomason: ? Bob Hunter: The system is designed to be used on Windows 2000, where security can be enforced. Also, Bob Hunter: the system allows no direct access to any data by the user. Amy Sebring: Ray is next please. ray pena: Mr. Hunter, Mr. McKenney - this looks perfect. Madison is one of the 120. When can we expect to see this? Will we get SituationMaster early? Do the original 120 cities have to pay $25k? Bob Hunter: As it stands right now, there are no programs in place to cover the original 120 cities... Bob Hunter: but we're working with Federal agencies and the private sector to try to find Bob Hunter: other funding to assist cities. Amy Sebring: Kenny next please. Kenny Shaw: Ray asked my question, thanks. scott mckenney: Ray. SM is available in February, the rest of RAMS in July. Yes, the 120 cities will be offered SM at $25K. Amy Sebring: Jim, you were next ... Amy Sebring: did your question already get answered? Amy Sebring: Ok, Jim wants to know ... Amy Sebring: is there an annual maintenance fee ... Amy Sebring: and how many users would be covered by a license. Frank Fiedrich: ? Bob Hunter: SituationMaster has an annual fee of $600/city. The maintenance and support fees for RAMS hasn't been determined yet. Amy Sebring: So would there be unlimited users per city license? Bob Hunter: Yes, but Bob Hunter: there is a license for one person to create data for SituationMaster, and Bob Hunter: any number of people to view the data. This is to Bob Hunter: ensure data integrity by not allowing everyone to overwrite other people's data. Amy Sebring: Wallace next please. Cam King: ? Frank Comer: ? Jim Strong: ? Amy Sebring: Please have your question ready to go when you are called on ... Amy Sebring: Wallace would like to know ... Amy Sebring: what method does the software use ... Amy Sebring: to share data with other applications? Bob Hunter: This is a combination of smart data replication and XML formatted data in email. We Bob Hunter: use both systems to share data to accommodate the user on a network and Bob Hunter: the user out in the field coming in over a phone or wireless connection. Amy Sebring: Mike Krumlauf next please. Bob Hunter: If I could, Mike Krumlauf: How much for the whole system? --- Only one data input -- how about Police - Fire - GIS - Traffic ---- Does one person have to manage all of that? Bob Hunter: Are you asking about SituationMaster, or the complete RAMS system? Mike Krumlauf: YES Amy Sebring: Complete RAMS I think he means Bob. Bob Hunter: One person managing the data for SituationMaster is not a problem, as it's limited data, Bob Hunter: in the case of RAMS, each user agency Bob Hunter: has their own RAMS system to manage their resources. Mike Krumlauf: Cost for RAMS Bob Hunter: So, dozens to hundreds of users. Bob Hunter: The price hasn't been set yet. The software is Bob Hunter: going to be bundled with a support contract to ensure the integrity of Bob Hunter: the system and security of the data. Until the final parts of the Bob Hunter: system are complete, a price can't be developed for that. Amy Sebring: David Thomason next please. David Thomason: What does the hardware suite look like for the complete RAMS system? Bob Hunter: Right now we are recommending that each building Bob Hunter: be on a separate server so if communication lines go down during a disaster, Bob Hunter: people can still work. However, in theory, Bob Hunter: a city could operate with a single server (might work for a small city with a good network). Bob Hunter: Everything runs on Bob Hunter: PC servers, so costs shouldn't be out of sight. Amy Sebring: Frank Freidrich had to leave, but he wanted to know more about the GIS aspects. What GIS system is used? How does the RAMS GIS work with other GIS applications, such as ArcView? David Thomason: ? Bob Hunter: RAMS works seamlessly with ArcView shape files, but Bob Hunter: is does not use an ESRI product as their products are too slow for most Bob Hunter: emergency responses -- they are designed for more analysis than presentation. Bob Hunter: So, Amy Sebring: Cam King next please. Cam King: Given the emphasis is on cities - would it be safe to assume the programmes would be usable in a Province (State) wide situation, e.g. a flood? Bob Hunter: we wrote our own GIS to get the performance necessary. Bob Hunter: Many of the tools in RAMS would be applicable. Bob Hunter: We currently Bob Hunter: are not funded to develop State/Province wide tools, but Bob Hunter: expect that will be coming in the future. Amy Sebring: Frank Comer next please. Frank Comer: Going back to the security point for a moment, you state that this is designed for a Win 2000 system (for the security function), yet you are showing comm ability in a mobile environment. How is that handled and how is the data passed (is that the XML interface listed above?). Finally please explain the comment that there is no direct access to the data? Bob Hunter: On the XML, Bob Hunter: that is encrypted for transmission to protect the information. Bob Hunter: As for the "no direct access" , Bob Hunter: the user has no login available that works with the database. All logins are internal to Bob Hunter: the system so some smart guy with Microsoft Access can't figure out how to get into the data. Frank Comer: So how do you authenticate users that are not in the win 2000 domain (mobile users)? Bob Hunter: Our desire is that mobile users use Windows 2000, as well, Bob Hunter: but in any case we will have userids and passwords for those functions that require it. Not all RAMS functions Bob Hunter: require access to sensitive data. Amy Sebring: Jim Strong next please. Jim Strong: why a license fee to "create data" and what about SM scalability for # of users versus license cost?? Bob Hunter: Essentially, there is one central SM database that is maintained on Bob Hunter: the licensee's machine. It could be many people using the machine, but Bob Hunter: it was important that we had one consistent database that the entire city could use. Bob Hunter: As for the viewers of the data, Bob Hunter: there can be an unlimited number of them throughout the city. Amy Sebring: David Thomason next please. Amy Sebring: ? Jim Strong: ? David Thomason: Ballpark the price for a full RAMS system please. $100-200K, 200-300K, more than 400K? Bob Hunter: I'd guess $100 -$200K. Amy Sebring: I am very interested in the ROG Bob. Can you explain a little bit about how that works? Is it a rules based system? Bob Hunter: ROG is a combination of two types of systems: Bob Hunter: in it's simplest form, it is an electronic checklist Bob Hunter: where the user can instantiate a copy of a checklist to be used in a specific disaster Bob Hunter: and capture all the responses, etc. This checklist data can be electronically shared, if desired. The other Bob Hunter: part of ROG is for more complex situations such as a hurricane. In this case, Bob Hunter: ROG leads the user through a number of questions to help clarify the situation, then 1357: ? Bob Hunter: present the user with a course of action based on the responses, or even Bob Hunter: provide a list of resources (personnel, equipment, medical supplies, etc.) needed to respond to the situation. In this case Bob Hunter: it is somewhat rule driven; but very complex rules and equations can be entered into the system . Also, Bob Hunter: ROG is totally user configurable; so a city and adjust the rules to fit how they do business. Amy Sebring: Jim Strong next please. Jim Strong: so we could have multiple authorized "data creators" under one license cost if we chose to - and what would you be maintaining annually for the as yet undetermined fee? Bob Hunter: The "undetermined fee" was for the full RAMS system. The full system would probably be used by several Bob Hunter: hundred people in the city (several hundred seats), as it is doing scheduling, timekeeping, operations, training, personnel Amy Sebring: ? Bob Hunter: management, etc. So, the fee would cover the support of all those people and upgrades, etc. We're you referring to SM? Jim Strong: both Bob Hunter: The fee for SM is $600; it would be possible to have more than one Bob Hunter: licensed, supported installation of the SM "creator" version (that creates the data), and Bob Hunter: those people would be supported. Currently, it's envisioned that the licensed person Bob Hunter: in the city is the one responsible for supporting the users of the "viewer" version, that's Bob Hunter: why there's no support fee for the viewer. The viewer is so very simple Bob Hunter: to use, that we think this is a viable approach right now. Amy Sebring: We have lost 1357. My comment was that the Certifications module seems to be very useful. Would it interact with other parts of the system to show qualified responders per incident type? Hazmat for example? Bob Hunter: Yes -- the cornerstone of RAMS is that it is a highly integrated system, so Bob Hunter: the results of scheduling is sent to time keeping; the results of certifications is sent to scheduling, etc. Amy Sebring: I am afraid that is all we have time for today... Amy Sebring: Bob and Scott, is there someplace folks can write if they have more questions? Bob Hunter: Yes, Bob Hunter: Info@PublicSafetySystems.com Amy Sebring: Great. Excellent presentation. Thank you very much Scott and Bob for being with us today. We very much appreciate your time and effort. Please stand by a moment while we take care of some business. Amy Sebring: We will have a text transcript posted later today, and reformatted versions with links to the slides at the end of the week. Avagene can you tell us what is on for next week please? Avagene Moore: Thanks you, Amy. Gentlemen, on behalf of the EIIP, I appreciate your time and effort today. This was a very informative presentation! Avagene Moore: Next week, we begin our February schedule with a topic of great interest across the country. Steve Austin will be here to share his insight via a session entitled "Understanding the New Fire Grant Program." Avagene Moore: Steve Austin is a Fire Service Advisor to the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) and Director of Governmental Relations for the International Association of Arson Investigators. Avagene Moore: Steve was one of the representatives from major fire service organizations that met with FEMA and USFA officials last week at the National Emergency Training Center to help develop the criteria for evaluating grant proposals. Avagene Moore: Steve's session will be a good one -- we appreciate him sharing his expertise with us once again in the EIIP Virtual Forum -- he will be online next Wednesday February 7, 12:00 Noon EST. Be here! Avagene Moore: That's all for now, Amy. Amy Sebring: Thanks Ava. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to receive weekly notices and our newsletter, please see http://www.speccomm.com:81/guest/RemoteListSummary/EIIP to subscribe. Amy Sebring: Thanks to all our participants today. We will adjourn the session for now, but you are welcome to remain for open discussion. You no longer need to use question marks. Please help us express our appreciation to Bob and Scott for today's presentation.