SSi��providers of information gathering and sharing solutions for fire prevention planning and incident management - SSi Solutions Limited��A profile of the Company's Products and Services Offerings: Advertisement Feature

The use of information technology by the Fire Service has grown steadily over the years. The use of information can still be a piecemeal practice if it is not properly integrated. SSi Solutions Limited (SSi) provides software and services to help maximise the return on investment in information repositories held by a Fire Brigade.

The Company

SSi specialises in the provision of fire prevention and incident planning solutions to the Emergency Services. The company also offers a full range of drawing and document management solutions to both the private and public sector. SSi software is used by over 95% of the UK's Fire Brigades and is also in use throughout the Military, Health Authorities, Local Government and within many of the UK Corporate giants.

As the technology requirements of the Emergency Services have accelerated over the years--now more rapidly than ever--so SSi's innovative product portfolio has expanded. With an intimate knowledge of the market and a good understanding of the potential for future needs, along with close links with its customers (the people who really know what they want), SSi has developed a suite of highly respected applications.

Modular and Integrated Solutions

SSi has developed a modular and integrated suite of Fire Safety, Incident Control, Resource Management and Drawing and Document Management software solutions for the Fire Service.

The software has been designed so that each application module can either run stand-alone or be seamlessly integrated with one or more of the other modules, allowing users to develop a complete and fully integrated system over time. This approach also allows the appropriate mix of tools to be provided to disparate functional groups within a Brigade.

The portfolio includes Aquarius (a comprehensive incident control and resource management system) and FirePlan (for fire prevention planning). These applications permit the collection and management of risk information, which is then available both centrally and remotely at an incident location. Mobile access is provided via the Tracker application, a version of Aquarius with a modified front-end suitable for a mobile environment.

FirePlan--Fire Prevention Planning

FirePlan is an integrated Fire Prevention Planning CAD-based solution powered by Autodesk technology, which transforms the way fire safety plans and fire certificates are generated, updated and managed. It can be seamlessly integrated with Aquarius, and has been developed to provide all the tools needed to construct 2D and 3D building plans quickly and efficiently for use within Fire Safety and Operational environments.

Having captured or generated a 2D building plan within FirePlan, both traditional and ISO fire prevention symbols may be placed onto the drawings within the automatic layering structure. Schedule of Works and Fire Certificates are automatically generated.

3D models and real-time 3D walkthroughs of any building are easy to create from the 2D construction plans. Video files and still images related to the building and its contents can also be linked into the CAD drawing.

Key Features:

* Integrated CAD solution

* User defined symbols

* Generates Fire Certificates

* Generates Schedule of Works

* Links in multimedia files

* 3D walkthroughs

* Seamless integration with all other SSi software.

FirePlan is in use with over 95% of the UK fire brigades and also Ministry of Defence fire brigades.

Aquarius--Incident Management

Aquarius forms another part (along with FirePlan and DataViewer) of SSi's integrated suite of emergency services management software.

Aquarius is a map-based planning and resource management system, which not only offers comprehensive pre-planning facilities, but also allows a mine of tactical information such as high risk premises and building occupancy to be viewed in the field.

With the facility to record snapshots of a situation as the incident progresses, it can then be used to provide full incident debrief.

The roots of Aquarius lie within software now widely used and proven within the Emergency Services. It has grown to become a system invaluable to every organisation serious about safety, control and management, whether their consideration is an office complex, a major event, or high-risk facilities such as airports, docks, chemical plants or manufacturing works.

Aquarius is a fully modular, expandable, multi-user system that, as a core planning and resource system, can seamlessiy link with a wide range of information sources such as ChemData, Fire Safety Drawings and even 3D walkthroughs.

Key Features:

* Pre-planning of key resources

* Location and details of high risks

* Access to tactical information in the field

* Risk Property Management module

* Hydrant Management module

* Integration of ChemData

* Seamless integration with all other SSi emergency services management software.

The latest release, Aquarius2, introduces a host of new features along with a revamped user interface and utilises O/S Mastermap and Landline as well as other map formats, including raster. Aquarius2 now supports Access and SQL Server databases in both local and networked configurations.

The existing Risk Property and Hydrant Management modules of Aquarius are complemented in Aquarius2 with new Fire Safety and Open Water modules. The Fire Safety module deals with the collection of information and generation of FSR1-4 reports. The Open Water module holds information about water sources such as streams, canals and ponds etc., including seasonal capacity. A new query feature in Aquarius2 has addressed the new community fire safety initiative and the need for holistic information.

The spatial query feature throughout Aquarius provides a very powerful capability to search the Aquarius or other external databases and then map the results with user-defined icons. This can provide a range of map overlays for visual interpretation of statistical data.

Building on the strength of Aquarius, the new release provides productivity tools to many sections and departments of a Fire Brigade. The modular design of the product means that individuals and departments only need to purchase the required elements of the suite rather than the entire suite.

DataViewer--Drawing and Document Management

DataViewer is an out-of-the-box drawing and document management solution that grows with client needs. Using familiar Drag and Drop tools, DataViewer provides a secure and flexible document management system designed to handle practically all document types. DataViewer can be used by a single person, or scaled for multiple users over several networks with the integrity to ensure a reliable system.

DataViewer requires no database development experience and data retrieval can be accomplished quickly using Query By Example (QBE) tools by entering full or partial information.

Documents can be booked out for editing and revision control mechanisms ensure document revisions are incremented when documents are booked back in. Documents and drawings can be scanned into the system through a standard TWAIN-compliant interface.

Should a customised system be required, SSi is able to provide a complete solution to meet client requirements.

Key Features:

* Seamless integration with Microsoft Office products

* Control and security

* Web publishing

* Customisable user interface

* Advanced reference file management

* Colour streaming and compresion

* High speed viewer reads over 280 file formats

* Advanced Redlining

* Drawing comparison facility.

Bureau Services

The SSi Bureau has a very comprehensive range of hardware, which enables high-speed colour, greyscale and mono scanning, Aperture Card scanning, CAD drafting and head-up digitising of engineering and architectural drawings.

Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, as part of their programme of upgrading their high-risk property details, have asked SSi to assist them in converting building plans to AutoCAD format. Some of the information held by the Brigade consists of 30-40 year old architects' plans that are not easy to share in their current form between the different departments within the Brigade.

The service SSi is providing consists of scanning in the original drawings, tracing the outlines of the buildings and then inserting Fire Safety symbology to current standards. The output is then delivered back to the Brigade on CD-ROM as AutoCAD formatted drawings for use in their FirePlan system and other applications.

"Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service would wish to acknowledge the professional help, support and skills provided by SSi in the formulation of the Brigade's Risk Assessment Fire Safety Re-inspection programme. The provision of over 200 drawings provided from scratch within a two month period, to a very high standard, has enabled a firm foundation to the programme to be established."

How to Contact SSi

For further information on the products and services outlined above, please contact SSi on 01672 565300, mentioning this article, or visit SSi's web site at www.ssi.co.uk.

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group