Turnout
Information Manager (TIM)
Although
pagers are an inexpensive way to deliver turnout messages to large numbers of staff
and volunteers they are limited in their ability to present the messages in a
human friendly form. Late at night and early in the morning it is difficult to
extract all the vital information while turning out an appliance.
The
Turnout Information Manger (TIM) is a computer program takes these same pager messages
and reformats them in a much more human friendly format (large coloured
display, printed copies with location map and spoken out loud). The display can
be presented on multiple (LCD) displays placed at strategic locations around
the station allowing crews to read them while getting dressed and while turning
out to an incident. By using generally available video splitters TIM output can
be sent to up to 8 displays from a single computer. Voice output is via the
computer sound card and piped into the station PA system. Maps can be printed
on any modern (inkjet or laser) printer. TIM is designed to run on standard
computer hardware.
The
major features of TIM are
1.
Display
pager messages on large/multiple LCD screens
2.
Colour
coded display timer to indicate SDS compliance
3.
Speak
pager messages with realistic voice
4.
Print
map of UBD reference
5.
Where
possible use existing brigade equipment
6.
Do
not rely existing CFS infrastructure
7.
Requires
no user intervention
8.
Many
features can be enabled/disabled with configuration settings
Sample
display layout Sample
printer layout
Sample TIM Voice message
Detailed Description of TIM screen layout
TIM
was developed by a CFA volunteer at the Hallam Fire Station and is based on a
review of station requirements. TIM is a second generation supplemental turnout
system that does more than simply duplicate the output of a pager on a screen
or over an audio channel TIM interprets the pager messages and generates
edited and formatted output.
TIM
is not designed to improve SDS, but is a tool to provide better information in
those vital seconds when turning out.
Computer Hardware
The
computing requirements for TIM are quite low. The Minimum Specs for the
computer hardware are as follows .
700mhz
Pentium Processor
512mb memory
4gb disk
Sound Card
1 x Serial Port
Mouse + Keyboard
Large Monitor(s) (19”+ LCD capable
of at least 1024x768 recommended)
Off Air Decoder (OAD)
VGA Splitter (If multiple monitors
to be used)
Printer (if Maps required,
preferably colour)
Spare input to the station PA system
(if voice over required)
Operating System Software
TIM
was developed in VB.Net the Microsoft recommended programming environment for
their current and future systems. The minimum software required to support TIM
is
Windows XP with Service Pack 2
.Net Framework v2.0
Voice
An
Austrialian voice is supplied standard with TIM.
Maps
Maps
are created from UBD images.
Contact
Holiwill
Pty Ltd
P: 0400 892 413
W: http://www.holiwill.com.au/TIM
Additional
Assistance
TIM
is essentially a piece of software to be run on a computer, if you require
assistance locating appropriate hardware or installing the hardware or software
required to run TIM, please do not hesitate to contact us as we are able to
assist with this too.
Copyright: Holiwill Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission
of the copyright holder.