1. GeoFES
Operational guidance
system for unit
leaders, technical TF
leaders and crisis
management teams
based on GIS
Sources: Berliner Feuerwehr, Stefan Rasch, Detlef Machmüller
www.dhi-wasy.de

2. Motivation
• Mission control must be capable of overcoming the „chaos
phase“ and getting ahead of the situation quickly.
• The aim is to move from reaction to action.
• In order to act, sound information and reliable prognoses are
needed
Requirements
• Information must be • Prognoses must be
 comprehensive,  appropriate,
 current,  easy to generate,
 swift,  sufficiently accurate and
 accessible,  quickly available.
 summable, and
 interpretable in a decision-related way.
www.dhi-wasy.de

3. In „regular“ operations, an operations
commander may face the following
questions:…
www.dhi-wasy.de

4.  What are the surroundings of the operation
site like, are fire service plans available for
objects at risk, and where can I find them
quickly?
 Where is the closest hydrant?
 How long is the hose line needed?
 Where to place the booster pumps?
 Are any hazardous substances close by?
 How many persons are listed as residents in a
building?
 Which property is the operation taking place at
and who is the owner?
www.dhi-wasy.de

5. Technical TF leaders and crisis management
are confronted with various additional
questions …
www.dhi-wasy.de

6.  Where is a suited assembly area?
 Where do I best form my operation sections?
 Which extent could the threat take on (if a dam
fails, or in case of explosion or pollutant dispersal)?
 Is it necessary to evacuate, and if yes, how many
persons are inside the risk area?
 Where to evacuate to? (where are the closest
gyms, hotels, … what are their acceptance
capacities?
 Where do barriers need to be set up?
 Where should casulties be transferred? Where is
the closest hospital with a particular specialization?
 Which the operational vehicles to be supplied next?
www.dhi-wasy.de

7. GeoFES supports you finding the various answers – the
DSS for unit leaders, technical TF leaders and crisis
management teams
• DSS for daily operation, major and areal
damage events e.g. following accidents,
flood events and bomb alerts
• Mobile and stationary (server-based)
solution
• Desktop and web (vers. 5 or higher)
• As easy as google or bing, but with much
greater performance
www.dhi-wasy.de

8. Classification and data exchange
Control center - mobile command post - central
crisis management team
Central crisis
Control management
center team
(e.g. fire service,
county or utilily)
Transmission of operation Generel Information exchange
specifications with • Operation Overview (Map based)
• Number • Allocated Ressources
• Keyword • Overview of Damages and Risks
• Operation site • Status messages
• Operation time
Transmission of
specifications on
resources with
• Vehicle type
• Vehicle ID Mobile command post (unit
• Staffing leader or technical UL)
• Departure time
• Origin
www.dhi-wasy.de

9. GeoFES-functional blocks
Registration and configuration
Site info/factual info
Operation management
Localisation Analysis area Analysis
Operation info Operation guidance
Operation journal
www.dhi-wasy.de

10. GeoFES user interface
1: Task field
2: Tasks
3: Input field for
selected tasks
Werkzeuge und Schalter
www.dhi-wasy.de

11. Architecture
“Offline” Browser “Online”
WebServer
Services
Geodata server
Data (geo+
operation)
Internet Internet
Geodata local Operational and
geo data in
Export/replication
database server
11

12. Registration and configuration
Administration
Who should be
permitted which views
or actions?
www.dhi-wasy.de

13. Data integration by administration
www.dhi-wasy.de

14. Site information/factual
information
GreenInfo as high-
Map object related performance tool
information
• Selected
• Closest
• Inside analysis area
• Inside map area
• Text search
www.dhi-wasy.de

15. Operation
Operations …
• Create
• Administrate
• Edit
• Finish
• Continue
www.dhi-wasy.de

16. Localisation
Localising operation site by …
• addresses
• intersections
• stations
• objects
• water bodies
• motorways
But also
• interactive
• user specific
objects
Desirable:
Information about
interface from
control center
www.dhi-wasy.de

17. Analysis area
Define analysis area by …
• radius
• polygon
• region
• buffer
• modelling
(chemical substances
in the air)
Puffer
Modelling pollutants dispersion
www.dhi-wasy.de

18. Analysis area
HWSIM – Flood simulation
3
1
2
• Very rapid simulation of
water propagation due to
overflow, dam breach and/or
construction failure
• Complete integration into
GeoFES
• Ad-hoc adoption of flooded
areas as hazard areas
www.dhi-wasy.de

19. Analysis
Hazard areas can be analysed by …
• random themes and objects
• operation resources
• risks and hazards
• measures
www.dhi-wasy.de

20. Analysis
Analysis results can be …
• transformed into checklists
• sent by emails
• or printed
www.dhi-wasy.de

21. Situation maps
Creation of situation maps …
• per button
• send by email with another click
• smartboard support
• Interactive drawing
www.dhi-wasy.de

22. Operation
management
Administration of …
• action forces
• operation resources
• risks
• damage
• measures
• operation sections
www.dhi-wasy.de

23. Generating and publishing reports
Publishing in form of
printouts, email
attachments and/or
webservices, respectively
• situation maps
• forces and resources
• analysis results
• checklists
• object information
• operation journal
www.dhi-wasy.de

24. Operartion journal
Operation journal for …
• documentation
• analysis
• postprocessing
of the operation
www.dhi-wasy.de

25. What you may also find interesting:
• Fully server enabled (ORACLE, MS SQL server, DB2
together with ArcGIS server)
• New user interface (Ribbon style)
• Web browser enabled
• Integration calculation program for radiologic
Problems next to calculation programs for flooding
and chemical substances
• Integration of smart devices (ipad, iphone, w-
mobile)
www.dhi-wasy.de

26. New User Interface (Ribbon Style)
www.dhi-wasy.de

27. New User Interface (Ribbon Style)
www.dhi-wasy.de

28. New User Interface (Ribbon Style)
www.dhi-wasy.de

29. New User Interface (Ribbon Style)
www.dhi-wasy.de

30. New User Interface (Ribbon Style)
www.dhi-wasy.de

31. New User Interface (Ribbon Style)
www.dhi-wasy.de

32. The following
additional
features are
available 
www.dhi-wasy.de