MICROMATION
MOBILE OPERATIONS
CONTROL SYSTEM
Technical Overview
The Micromation Mobile Operations
Control Centre (MOCC) is based on a new and novel concept.
It contains a Disaster Management system, a
Call Taking and Dispatching system, extensive telephone and radio
communications, a digital voice recorder, a weather station, a GPS
staff
tracking system, electrical standby power systems, a Vehicle Computer
Monitoring
and Control system, a CCTV system, plus a number of other ancillary
systems. In fact, it has everything that
you would
expect to find in a fixed Emergency Control Centre.
The operators can even remotely start a
disaster "scenario" on the User's Emergency Notification System
from any
operational site.
The great benefit of a Mobile
Operations Centre Vehicle is that it can be placed in full view of a
potential
disaster and executive decisions can be made effectively at the site.
In the event of a potential
disaster which could obliterate a fixed control centre, the Mobile
Operations
Control Centre Vehicle could be speedily relocated to a safe site and
the
controllers
are then able to communicate with, and control the disaster management
service
providers.
Another use of the vehicle in South Africa is to
act as a control centre for the 2010 football games, where the vehicle
can be
used to service a number of different venues.
This is far more economical than building fixed Control Centres
in
each of the
stadiums.
It is obviously an ideal
situation if the decision-makers were always right at the scene of the
disaster, as a considerable amount of information can be gleaned by
viewing the
disaster in relatively close proximity.
However, the current use of a standard Incident Command Vehicle
(ICV) is
to employ the vehicle largely as a “remote station”.
Activities viewed from this remote station are
then transmitted verbally back to a main control centre where the
appropriate
actions could take place. This
methodology is not ideal, as the decision makers get the information
“second
hand”.
The Mobile Operations Centre
Vehicle can be used daily as a Command Centre, due to the fact that it
is
equipped with all the instrumentation and communication facilities a
fixed Command
Centre would normally use, but the staff can be comfortably
accommodated back
in the Disaster Management Centre building.
In contrast, one of the disadvantages of a standard Incident
Command Vehicle
is that it spends a great deal of time parked at a site doing nothing
other
than wait for a disaster to take place, due to its limited facilities. Like any other “standby vehicle”, the
batteries can run down, electrolytic capacitors can age, there can be
an ingress of moisture, etc. and no-one can be absolutely sure that all
the
facilities
will work as and when the vehicle is activated.
The MOCC is equipped to house 1 Supervisor, 2 Senior
Operators, and
3 standard operators in the vehicle plus a driver and co-driver, and
when coupled up to its docking
station
it can be used by 5 operating positions in the Disaster Management
Centre. However, when on site a
purposed built
inflatable module is attached to the vehicle and then inflated by means
of a small
compressor fan. This technology is
vital for use in situations where
high winds are likely, and standard lean-to tent would not survive.
The Supervisor and 2 senior
operators each have a dual TFT screen for the Call Taking &
Dispatching System
and the Disaster Management System, all other operators have a single
screen
per position for these systems.
In addition, all positions are
equipped with TFT touch screens controlling the radio/telephony system,
which
operates independently from the Call Taking and Dispatching Systems for
increased reliability. These two
systems
communicate with each other via a Computer Telephony Integration
Interface (CTI), but
either one
can crash completely without materially affecting the other.
The MOCC contains digital Primary
Rate ISDN interfaces, analogue Dial lines, GPRS speech and digital
communications, four channel Satellite Voice and Data communications,
and 8 Two
Way Radio transceivers, half of these using Simulcast technology. The
mast of the vehicle is
customed designed to accommodate the very restricted space
limitations
on the roof of the vehicle, as well as the problems posed by Simulcast
transmissions in marginal areas.
The Supervisor has a GPS system
which accurately tags all his staff in the operational area via their
handheld
radios at no transmission cost to the User, and without the radios
needing to work with a repeater which may have been disabled during the
disaster.
In addition, the vehicle has a CCTV system with a fixed PTZ
camera on
the roof of the vehicle, as well as a mobile CCTV camera and recorder
in the
immediate field. The CCTV system can
be
monitored on the vehicle’s large LCD screen mounted at the front of the
operational are, and visible to all staff working in the vehicle.
The vehicle is also equipped with
an “electronic whiteboard”, where strategy sessions can be
automatically
captured and printed out on the vehicle’s multi-function
printer/scanner/copier/fax machine. The
multi-function machine is also able to work with the fax channel on the
satellite modem.
All video as well as audio
conversations with all parties are digitally logged and archived on
DVDs in the
system, as well as logged at all touch screen consoles, which have
“instant
replay” buttons.
Excessive road vibration is
limited by the vehicle having air suspension, and all sensitive
equipment
having resilient mountings. A
number
of the computers used have solid state hard drives to avoid using
moving parts.
To avoid the vehicle swaying in a
strong wind, which would be exacerbated by the radio mast on the roof
of the
vehicle, the vehicle is equipped with hydraulic stabilizers on all four
corners, elctrically operated.
All the above facilities need to
be managed, and this is done by a unique industrial computer system,
that not
only oversees the operations, but in addition performs tests on the
vehicle electrics, constantly monitors battery voltages, and ensures
that the vehicle cannot be driven if the mast is up or the stabilisers
have not been retracted. it is also responsible for intelligently
controlling the charging of the vehicle's deep cycle battery.
The vehicle is
designed to
operate off 220 VAC power while it is in its dock, motor-generator
power
while on
site, and the vehicle's alternator power while driving to and from
site, therefore
power system design had to be all encompassing.
For exhaust gasses, noise, vibration and
easy handling reasons, the standby generators are housed in an
accompanying
power trailer, which can easily be parked some distance away from the
vehicle
on site.
The staff’s creature comforts are
also attended to – the vehicle has a toilet, as well as a compact
kitchenette,
and the entire vehicle is fully air conditioned when stationary.
When on route, the cab air conditioner is used.
The above gives
a thumbnail
sketch of the Mobile Operation Centre, but hopefully there is enough
detail to
expose you to the engineering design challenges that were overcome in
spite of
having very limited space considerations.
The multi-disciplined design team involved included
communications
control system designers, radio system designers, mechanical structural
designers, industrial designers, and whole host of other staff.
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