Page 36 - GCN, Oct/Nov 2016

on the user interface layer and takes advantage of whatever IT systems are al- ready in place. “That is why
Big Data, Analytics and Visualization
Getting medical equipment
to wounded warfighters
The Air Mobiliy Command uses RFID and an innovative asset management system to ensure the military
has the right medical equipment on hand to help any wounded warfighter
The faster that wounded warfighters can be treated, the more likely they are to survive. That means coor- dinating medical teams and tens of thousands of special- ized equipment items among more than 100 aeromedical evacuation service sites.
The Patient Movement Items Asset Tracking System (PMI-ATS) — which com- municates across networks operated by the Army, Navy, National Guard and Reserves — uses RFID tracking and
an innovative enterprisewide asset management system
to ensure that the military has the medical equipment
it needs, when and where it needs it, to aid any wounded warfighter.
When the wounded need transport, personnel assem- ble critical care and inflight
it is so fast and impactful,” Mancher said. “It mim-
ics the user with the same security, same IT, same poli-
kits made up of supplies and PMI equipment tailored to mission requirements. Team members use RFID technol- ogy to track each piece of equipment on its journey to the patient and then on to its next mission.
Randall Rodgers, the lead for the project and deputy chief of medical readiness at the Air Mobility Command, said PMI-ATS directly influ- ences the survivability of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen.
The system can also help during civil emergencies. “Just this month, [Air Mobil- ity Command] was called on to support a humanitar- ian effort for a hurricane potentially advancing on Louisiana,” Rodgers said. “Within hours, the PMI staff scrambled eight preconfig- ured, deployable PMI track- ing kits to designated PMI tracking teams prior to their departure.... The flexibility of the system and the RFID technology being used make this system particularly ef- fective in supporting these emergency events, assisting with location of devices and [helping] to recycle those assets back to support more urgent requirements.”
The system has increased the speed with which the miltary takes stock and delivers medical assets by 15 percent, and swiftness can mean better medical care. PMI-ATS also im-
cies and same governance that already exist in the environment.”
— Suzette Lohmeyer
proves inventory accuracy at a time when many other departments are still using printouts and spreadsheets to keep track of millions
in assets. A recent tracking system audit at one PMI site showed a 99.5 percent ac- curacy rate.
— Suzette Lohmeyer
A portal
for secure intelligence requests
The Homeland Security Information Network Exchange gives fusion centers a free, secure
tool to share and track information requests from law enforcement agencies
After the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security de- veloped a communication network to make it easier
for agencies to share intel- ligence related to terrorism. Operational since 2006, the Homeland Security Informa- tion Network (HSIN) recently added a capability that sim- plifies the way fusion centers handle requests for informa- tion from law enforcement agencies.
Those requests involve pro- viding analytical assistance or information that could identify emerging criminal activity, processing encoun- ter notifications, assessing
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GCN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 • GCN.COM