The Finnish Emergency Response Centers have been undergoing reforms in terms of the emergency services structure. The 15 emergency services centers were reduced to a network of 6 centers. A case study document Managing Change: The Example of Finland has now been published, explaining how this change was achieved, addressing all public authorities foreseeing a similar reform.
Among other rearrangements, in 2014 the Finnish Emergency Response Centers started using the smartphone application Smart Locator, developed by XLAB, to facilitate finding people in distress. Since then Smart Locator has proven its effectiveness in successful rescue operations in several European countries, where it had been installed.
Smart Locator and XLAB’s 3D GIS software enhance public and officers’ safety, delivering accurate information and responding coherently to emergency needs. 3D GIS has been used by the Slovenian Administration of Civil Protection and Disaster Relief since 2009 with fully integrated Smart Locator since 2014.
In a most recent collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kosovo. XLAB’s 3D GIS software and the computer aided dispatch system will be integrated with the existing software in emergency centers for civil protection (112), the police (192), fire departments (193) and first aid (194).
