A well-known Australian festival engaged Chronosoft to deliver an event wide incident management solution. Following discussions with the client, Chronosoft staff identified that multiple streams of data coming into the site were not being captured in their Event Control room. We found that information and intelligence generated by the medical centre, the lost and found centre, a community hotline, guest services and the patron welfare and eviction centre were not being centrally captured and recorded. During discussions the event organisers also indicated their desire to establish a patron SMS system to enhance their patron engagement and customer service.
To achieve these aims we deployed ‘Chronicler’ – our intelligent incident management program. Chronicler is built on a hierarchical silo model; it allows separate agencies to remain focused on their individual tasks while providing the unique ability to share information across jobs when required as it integrates all agencies. Chronicler allows the control room management team to have complete oversight of the event and allows authorised individuals to audit and monitor active situations by logging in from anywhere across the site, or from off-site.
The solution:
To commence we geo-mapped the standard event site maps into our system. This allowed all users in the control room to see the map orientated across the local terrain and let users to switch between multiple layers providing improved decision-making capabilities.
GPS trackers were allocated to essential security, medical and event staff which allowed the control room to track response teams across the site during active incidents. This saved vital minutes in incident response time and ensured the closest appropriate unit was dispatched. The control room staff could also provide verbal turn by turn directions to get essential backup to the scene of several incidents that were difficult to locate on the ground.
We provided staff from Guest Services, Lost and Found and the Community Hotline with individual siloed access to Chronicler. Each of these services was treated in the same way as an essential service within Event Control, however we modified the process by creating specific categories to group information, and we built prompts and questions that the system would ask the user depending on the situation.
For the Community Hotline we created a standard set of questions that the community hotline operator was required to ask each caller. Each time they created a new job the prompts would appear on the screen. This ensured that each caller’s information was recorded accurately so that appropriate action could be taken.
At Lost and Found we did the same but added the ability to record details of the item and add a photo.
All jobs entered into Chronicler across the site were recorded sequentially allowing management to search for the relevant information instantly.
We worked with the contracted medical provider and other industry experts to help improve the capture of patient information and disposition. Using the same standards utilised within Hospital Emergency Departments, the system allows patrons self-presenting to the centre or being brought in by Medical or Security to be triaged and treated according to their medical condition. The patient’s journey through the medical centre is recorded and can be tracked and measured.
Confidentiality of patient information is ensured in the way we record patient information, and by restricting access to those staff that needed to know.
The event organisers also wanted a more effective way to manage people who had interacted with Police prior to entry, including those who had illegitimately gained access to the event and those who were to be evicted including minors. We developed a customised form that captured all the necessary information. We were then able to monitor everyone within the patron welfare and eviction centre to ensure their overall well-being prior to leaving.
This information allowed a more streamlined approach to reissuing wristbands the following day and identified people who presented repeatedly.
We established a dedicated SMS number for the event which was marketed across the site. This number allowed patrons to send a text message through the system to make enquiries or report issues. Each SMS was recorded in the same way as every other job in the system therefore maintaining a central bank of information for the entire event.
The system recorded the phone numbers of patrons who had already texted and matched all messages to form a conversation which led to improved customer interaction.
This integrated event wide system allowed the festival organisers to improve their overall efficiency by streamlining information channels and allowing all their data and statistics to be presented in a single portal and report.
We continue to work with this Client and others to innovate and improve operations within mass gathering environments.