Indra Collaborates in the design of the future european emergency management system

Indra, the top IT multinational in Spain and one of the leaders in Europe, has collaborated in the CRISYS project to define and propose a strategic plan for the Demo phase within the area of improving emergency coordination in the European Union.

The consortium of 15 bodies working on the Project has completed the first phase with the presentation of a plan to launch an emergency management system in the continent. It consists of an R&D project that was launched February 2011 and has been promoted and funded by the European Union within the 7th Framework Programme.

The overall objective of projects like CRISYS that form part of the 7th Framework Programme crisis response area is to equip the EU with the necessary abilities and technologies for managing the emergencies that affect member states, as well as their application in local, regional and national response scenarios. These abilities will facilitate the coordination of actions to be carried out to restore security in the event of a large-scale disaster with a European dimension.

Large forest fires, floods, industrial accidents or landslides can lead to situations that exceed the capacity of a specific country and extend beyond its borders. These types of emergencies require security forces, military personnel and medical teams to be coordinated, as well as for the authorities of two or more countries to work together. For this to occur, it is essential to establish interoperable crisis management systems and procedures.

The CRISYS work team has identified the necessary requirements for the demo, which will be rolled out in the upcoming years, and it has also suggested the work plan for setting it into motion. This demo will make it possible to verify on site that the proposed abilities and technologies for the future emergency management system are suitable.

The functions the system must comply with are to ensure the ability to gather precise information quickly, to facilitate coordinated decision making and to direct the deployment of the necessary resources for responding to the disaster and returning to normalcy.

Launching a system of this type makes it necessary to implement various technologies as well as to review the processes followed by the security forces and bodies involved, to train staff and to review how information flows and circulates.

For this reason, contributions from agents that currently respond to these types of disasters have been especially taken into consideration. Supervisors from numerous European security forces and emergency teams have provided their realistic vision about the needs and issues they detect. On the other hand, Indra has offered technological consulting and its experience in implementing solutions within the field of Citizen Security and Emergency Management.

Indra is a pioneer in the implementation of command and control centres for emergency management. After the attacks on March 11th, the city of Madrid hired Indra to design and implement a system of this type. Currently any incident that takes place in the Spanish capital is managed by the Centro Integrado de Seguridad y Emergencias de Madrid (CISEM, Madrid Integrated Security and Emergency Centre) that was designed by Indra. Afterwards, the company was responsible for equipping the Military Emergency Unit with an advanced command and control system from which it directs and coordinates all the actions of this body in Spain. This centre, known as SIMGE, has efficiently managed different types of crisis situations that occurred simultaneously in various parts of the country. Indra has also implemented an emergency management system for the Catalonia Government’s fire brigade as well as advanced solutions in Latin America.

In addition, the European Defence Agency hired Indra to define the future European Command and Control System to counter NRBCe Threats (Nuclear-Radiological, Biological, Chemical and Explosive), a consortium in which Indra participates.

Project partners

The entities involved in the CRISYS project include the European Organisation for Security (EOS), Edisoft, Centre for Security Studies, National Centre for Scientific Research, Altran BV, International Fire and Rescue Services Association, Teletron Euroricerche Security Engineering, Indra, Thales, Finland Ministry of Interior (Rescue Services), University of Central Lancashire, Societe Francoise de Medicine de Catastrophe, Instituto Affari Internazionali, Zanasi Alessandro and Transelectrica.

Indra

Indra is the number one IT multinational in Spain and a leader in Europe and Latin America. It is the second European company in its sector in terms of R&D, with more than €500 million invested in the last three years. Its 2011 revenues were €2.688 billion, and its international activities already represent 50%. The company employs more than 36,000 professionals and has customers in 118 countries.