Risk Assessments help to keep your assets protected

From time to time, every company or organization should carry out what is commonly known as a risk assessment. A risk assessment is an exercise carried out at regular intervals that identifies areas that could put assets (people or otherwise) into danger. Once that danger occurs the risk potentially turns into a crisis.

A risk assessment should be carried out on all your assets. An assest can be anything from an aircraft to a person. It is literally anything that you might have within your organization.

What is risk?

Risk is the chance of exposing a potential vulnerability that might have an impact on the company or the individual assets in a certain situation. Each risk should have a level of impact, usually Fair, Medium or High. A high-risk situation would be one that puts the assets in serious danger, such as potential loss of life or destruction of an asset.

In remote areas of areas of conflict Risk Management plays an extremely important role in keeping crisis at bay. Risk management is a preventative measure that is designed to prevent Crisis from happening. Although Risk assessments are carried out it is also highly important to ensure that Crisis Management plans are put in place. Crisis Management plans are executed in the event of a risk being breached.

As you can probably image Technology plays a role in Risk Assessment. For example, in Maritime, just by monitoring weather conditions risk can be measured and assessed on a regular basis to avoid potential crisis should a boat run into a storm. On the ground, the location of a military convoy can be monitored using GPS technology to effectively assess risk levels in terms of potential hijacking or breakdown. In remote locations even a simple breakdown could quickly turn into a crisis situation if the risk is not monitored and managed efficiently.

Risk management assessments can often pave the way for the introduction of GPS technology for people working in remote locations.

In extreme situations Risk Management procedures and technology can save lives. It’s not just about looking for potential threats, it’s ultimately about reducing the chances of something going wrong and preventing a crisis.

How GPS Technology in Convoys helps to avoid potential Crisis

Convoys that operate in remote locations are often up against the risk of potential crisis. Crisis in this situation could be simply breaking down in the middle of nowhere with trucks full of food, or even worse, it could be in the form of a hijack putting both the goods and personnel at risk.

Although its very difficult to put measures in place to prevent these types of things happening a risk assessment will be carried out prior to any potential journey. In the event that a risk is breached the situation turns into a crisis, and it’s down to a crisis management team to act quickly to avert danger and keep the convoy moving in one piece.

GPS Technology has been a huge plus in convoy and transportation, especially in high-risk situations such as war and remote aid work.

By simply fitting a small device to a lorry, van or truck, a central location can manage and monitor the position of the convoy throughout its journey. Satellite technology is of huge importance in remote locations, where there are no cell towers, and the line of sight to the Satellites is largely uninterrupted making it a very reliable and powerful tool.

A GPS Crisis Management solution can also be used as a risk management tool. For example, it should be fairly easy to locate the position of an enemy approaching the convoy and advise the drivers via a satellite communications device, usually known as a satellite phone.

Essentially Crisis Management is all about reacting to a hostile situation once it has occurred. The Risk Management element is how the potential crisis is avoided. Naturally if everything goes to plan with the risk management then a crisis may never occur, but a crisis management plan should always be put in place just in case.

Convoy Tracking is just one of many applications of GPS tracking and Crisis Management technology in remote locations. The use of this technology is limitless and can usually be adapted to any situation where there is a risk of hostility towards people or assets.

Convoy Tracking aids Crisis Management

Remote working is not only lonely, but sometimes also dangerous. From time to time convoys of commodities and people will set out from one point to another and its vital that these are tracked using GPS technology in order to avoid potential crisis.
Crisis Management is an essential part of military tactics. It is much better to prevent a crisis then react to one.

Convoy Tracking can be performed by GPS Technology, usually by installing GPS transmitters with the vehicles themselves. It is also possible for people to have personal tracking devices on them whilst they are in the vehicles. A combination of convoy tracking technology and personal tracking devices would be ideal, as in the event of a hostile situation the individuals could be tracked if they were separated from their convoys.

The GPS technology on the convoy would relay the position back to a central communications hub. This hub would have access to intelligence, potential risk and help crisis management in order to avoid conflict situations. The intelligence available at the central hub would be able to advise the convoy of directions to their destination, but also if any potential conflict was up ahead. This would enable the convoy / fleet to adjust their course and find a different route to their destination.

The potential dangers with convoys include theft of commodities, but probably more important is loss of human life. This is why convoy tracking is so important, especially in remote and hostile situations and environments.

The cost of a convoy tracking solution should be measured against the cost of what is being transported. Not only in terms of the goods involved but also the number of human lives that it could potentially save. When you look at it from this angle there is really no excuse for not putting the technology in place.
Convoy Tracking helps with Crisis Management – and it can help to save lives.

GAC (Ground Assault Convoy) Tracking

A GAC, or Ground assult team is effectively a tactical road march used to relocate units and troops from one area to another.

Often, the control team knows only which unit is in each convoy and not where the vital equipment or personnel are. This lack of knowledge may result in key equipment being destroyed and key personnel being killed during initial entry operations. If the BCT develops a tracking mechanism for locating personnel and key equipment, the GAC flow can be manipulated to impact the fight. For example, if an Avenger is destroyed, a second Avenger can immediately be placed in the next departing GAC.

This is where a Convoy Tracking solution can help.

Fixed to the vehicles in the Convoy, the GPS Tracking device helps a central team or unit monitor the exact location of the Convoy. This not only helps to identify the location of the team but also help to avoid any potential crisis situations.

For more information on Convoy Tracking and Crisis Management solutions visit the Track 24 Web site.

Convoy Tracking Solutions

Through the modern day proliferation of communications technologies, even the world's most hostile environments are often served by high-quality GSM networks. The RoadRunner is an in-vehicle convoy tracking, security and crisis management device intended for use in GSM service areas. As such it represents a reliable and cost-effective alternative to satellite tracking technologies. The RoadRunner is integrated into the Track24 crisis management software, the C4i platform, giving monitoring staff and operations centres up-to-the-minute information on the status and location of their organisation's vehicles and the rapid notification needed to react to an incident.

Tracking Whatever operational requirements dictate, the RoadRunner global tracking solution is able to transmit regular position reports at time intervals - from two minutes upwards - or distance intervals, using GPRS and/or SMS protocol. The reporting rate and method can be reconfigured remotely through the Track24 C4i platform. Positions are calculated using the latest generation GPS technology, with the last 900 being stored as a backup record in the internal memory.

Panic alarm Crisis management is a fundamental component of the Track24 solution.

If a vehicle crew triggers the panic alarm, a visual and audible alarm appears on the C4i risk management software system in less than a minute and automated e-mail and SMS notifications to the relevant people are initiated. The RoadRunner's integral rechargeable battery ensures that even in the event of a vehicle power failure, the unit is always capable of sending emergency reports if a user pushes the panic alarm.

The RoadRunner vehicle tracking device has advanced geo-fence capabilities designed to improve both security and operational control. Server-based geo-fences are defined and activated on the C4i platform by an organisation's monitoring centre. Uniquely, this unit also features an immediate geo-fence function. By simply pushing a button, the vehicle crew can activate or deactivate a circular geo-fence of a pre-determined radius. When activated, the vehicle's current position is recorded. If the vehicle moves out of the geo-fence zone, an alert will be transmitted to the C4i platform.