Learn how Tromsø Municipality is using RAYVN to improve emergency preparedness and critical event management for the community.
RAYVN is a game-changer for our crisis management efforts. The system's intuitive design and comprehensive features enable us to streamline communication, organize tasks and collaborate more effectively during crisis situations.
Kent Vegard Evjen
Emergency Response Consultant, Tromsø MunicipalityIn the face of natural disasters, cyber-incidents and global crises, communities today are under increasing pressure to strengthen emergency preparedness. Thanks to RAYVN’s easy-to-use critical event management solution, communities across Norway are now able to align and coordinate their local plans and procedures for incident management with regional and national levels of government to deliver the right response to any situation.
For Tromsø Municipality, the RAYVN solution offers many benefits for improved emergency preparedness, especially because it is easy to train users, supports geo-mapping and enables finely tuned sub-event management and reporting. Read on to learn more about the insights provided by Kent Vegard Evjen, Emergency Response Consultant, and Maria Karlsen, Emergency Preparedness Advisor, from the Unit for Community Safety and Emergency Preparedness at the Tromsø Municipality.
Easy to Train Users and Run Exercises
In the summer of 2023 Tromsø Municipality rolled out the RAYVN solution in less than a month, including the deployment of the software and training of approximately 100 users. For Kent Vegard Evjen,deployment and training were simple partly because the solution itself is intuitive. 'The RAYVN solution is easy to navigate and use, even for those with limited technical expertise,’ said Evjen. 'An intuitive system is crucial for our team, to ensure that we can effectively communicate, collaborate and manage tasks during critical situations.' In fact, the solution is so easy-to-use that teams have required less training time than originally estimated: he budgeted 500 hours for the implementation, but it only took 27 hours in actuality. Consequently, the time-savings and productivity gains for everyone involved have already been considerable.
Running drills and exercises is an important aspect of emergency preparedness as this puts policies, practices and roles and responsibilities to the test. 'Training exercises have allowed us to test our crisis response capabilities as well as identify areas for improvement,’ said Evjen. 'By working together to resolve scenarios, we enhance our emergency preparedness to ensure that we are ready to respond to any incident that may arise in the future.' Participating in a number of exercises and drills has helped the team to prepare the team to manage real-world incidents with greater confidence.
Maps Create Instant Situational Awareness
According to Maria Karlsen RAYVN is packed with features that make critical event management easier, such as the support for running RAYVN on a mobile device, the collaboration feature for working with external stakeholders and the geo-mapping capabilities. 'I particularly like the map function and the ability to add sub-events,’ Karlsen said. 'It makes it much easier to understand the situation. I also think it's great that we can share the maps and other information easily with other municipalities and the county governor.'
Geo-mapping is a particular highlight for her as it enables critical event managers to visualize the situation instantly and identify any areas of impact quickly. For dispersed teamwork, the mapping feature is especially helpful because the team has all the information they need to allocate the right personnel and resources easily. 'The map function is invaluable for delivering a real-time incident response,’ summed up Evjen, ‘because it provides a clear overview of the situation and helps us prioritize our actions.'
Sub-Incidents Simplify Large-Scale Incident Management
Looking to the Future
For Tromsø Municipality, RAYVN is already helping the community to achieve improved emergency preparedness. Looking forward, intermunicipal collaboration is a strategic priority because the ability to pull together is essential for managing events with regional and national impacts. Externally, partner organizations, such as non-governmental organizations, will be invited to use RAYVN.
Integration is another key aspect of the RAYVN solution that will benefit everyone. The ability to leverage information easily, such as from the road authority system and the Varsom warning system for weather-related incidents, will lead to further improved efficiencies.
For today and tomorrow, RAYVN offers a comprehensive suite of benefits, including:
- a user-friendly and intuitive interface that is simple to learn and navigate, enabling rapid adoption and productivity
- integrated maps, sub-incidents and collaborative tools to streamline critical event management and enhance overall efficiency
- support for real-time communication and coordination between municipalities during crisis events, fostering seamless collaboration and response
- a mobile app that provides easy access to RAYVN's capabilities from any location, ensuring uninterrupted engagement and information sharing
- reporting features to document events easily, share information quickly and create custom reports as the basis for effective post-incident assessment and review
With RAYVN's user-friendly interface, location-based features and ability to facilitate collaboration, Tromsø Municipality is now ready to manage crisis situations more effectively. As the municipality continues to roll out RAYVN to other departments and organizations, they are confident that the system will further strengthen their crisis response capabilities to ensure the safety and well-being of citizens and the community.