At sea 24/7/365

Challenge

Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days of the year, the Swedish Coast Guard is on patrol along the entire Swedish coastline, ready to act, rescue and assist – and also to combat crime.

To help carry out this task and coordinate operations, the Coast Guard uses the Sjöbasis surveillance system. This displays information about all maritime traffic in the area and provides support for advanced analyses, such as those required for planning different types of rescue operation.

This information can be used by all of Sweden’s civil authorities and shared with agencies in other countries. When HiQ was commissioned to help, however, Sjöbasis lacked a number of functions with the potential to simplify work for the Coast Guard.

Mission

In conjunction with commissioning HiQ to maintain and develop Sjöbasis, the authorities made the decision to develop Sjöbasis Generation 2. The new monitoring system would make use of the latest technological developments to simplify the vitally important work of the Coast Guard – both at sea and in the air.

Solution

Sjöbasis Generation 2 is now operational. The system retrieves data from various sources to pinpoint vessel positions and monitor weather conditions and geographical data. Large amounts of information are processed in real time and presented in a new dynamic user interface. User-friendliness is crucial. Minimising the need for a manual, despite the system’s complex analytical functions, has been one of several key goals.

Result

During the development phase, Sjöbasis Generation 2 was used in tandem with Sjöbasis Generation 1. Test subjects linked up to the new generation of the system have provided regular feedback. By autumn
2016 most users had switched to Generation 2, and the new system was fully deployed on schedule on 17 January 2017. Users are very happy with the speed of the new system and the simplicity with which Sjöbasis can now be used by Coast Guard personnel, both far out at sea and in the air. The system also simplifies the work of the Command Centre. It is now much quicker to acquire the situational awareness needed to respond to a crisis.