Our technology

The NSRI makes extensive use of technology and is always looking at ways to further incorporate this where practicable and operationally effective. Recently, we have migrated our operational and incident database onto Microsoft CRM, as well as a software solution called Uniti (SeaWeb). This process enables real time, location-based incident capture and management.

During 2019, Sea Rescue also undertook a major IT project to replace the existing call-out system (MIS), which was an out-dated asset-based call-out system, rather than an incident-based call-out system. MIS was replaced by a dual solution to manage incidents in SeaWeb (an off the shelf, incident management system used by other disaster management organisations customised for Sea rescue needs) and volunteer data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, with an integration run between the two systems twice a day.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM has been in use at Sea Rescue by the fundraising department since 2016 for transactions and generation of non-profit documents. The strategy has always been to create a 360° view of our donors, volunteers, committee members and staff members, as an individual can have many different roles at Sea Rescue. Since the adoption of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, we have expanded the footprint to IT services, drowning prevention, operations and procurement.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 integrates with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, our ERP financial system. The project to integrate the two databases for procurement requests and the approval process to be handled in CRM was

“The adoption of new technology and systems also highlights the need for training at station level. To achieve this aim, we have visited most stations and offered training remotely where required. The strategy for 2020 is to ensure all volunteers are well trained in the new IT systems and to create a customer portal for all volunteers to access and edit their personal data.”

completed in 2019. Once approved, the purchase order number is issued from Dynamics Business Central.

During the MIS replacement project, we also created a Dynamics 365 CRM Operational Personnel application which streamlines CRM functionality to the role of the volunteer. This technology will be vital going forward when expanded to the call centre and face-to-face teams for capturing the information of new donors as leads.

Station connectivity project to ensure all stations across the country have a stable internet connection to access cloud-based solutions implemented at head office was completed in 2019. This development also ensures greater collaboration between head office and stations as documents and training material can easily be shared via Microsoft SharePoint. There is an asset replacement plan in place to refresh station assets, up for renewal in 2020.

A crucial project for Sea Rescue in 2020 is the replacement of the outdated IT environment at the call centre. This task requires a full hardware refresh and a strategy to align the call centre with the IT policies adopted at head office. In 2019, we began a thorough analysis of the call centre business procedures in order to document the functional requirements for the migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365.

We will also be moving the head office to new premises and require a solution for networking and connectivity.

The Sea Rescue crew uses technology to maximise the time available for practical training by making use of our online learning platform, eLearning.

Technology is furthermore assisting us in saving lives on various fronts – from AIS tracking on our vessels, to SafeTRX and What3Words for public use, to an online drift calculator for searching people and craft in the water, satellite tracking, Wi-Fi hotspots on class 1 vessels, and instant shore-linked engine and vessels systems monitoring. What3Words is an algorithm that divides the world into 3m x 3m squares that are each given a unique three-word address. The location description simplification implications for search and rescue at sea, and on land, are incredible with this tool.

Sea Rescue’s Operations Support Committee has a technology subcommittee, which investigates future technologies and has done extensive analysis and operationalisation of drone technology. It is currently investigating surface craft drones for unmanned or manned personal watercraft.

The next exciting technology frontier is probably the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, combined with high resolution webcams to automatically spot people in difficulty, alerting operational personnel to potential incidents far quicker and more thoroughly than current manned rescue systems.