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Singapore Civil Defence Force

Mobilization for Homeland Security

The Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) automates complex mobilization processes for thousands of reservists

The specter of September 11th looms over a world scarred by terrorists.

It is a silent reminder that in these times of uncertainty, no government can take their homeland security for granted.

For countries like Singapore, security has always been a matter of life and death. In a troubled region beset by a tide of rising fundamentalism, security is essential for the small city state dwarfed by far bigger neighbors.

The Mobilization Problem

But how do you mobilize thousands of Singapore reservists quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency? This is a major headache for the SCDF, one of the government organizations charged with Singapore’s security.

The answer: automation. Instead of manually contacting everybody in a mobilization, a computer system can do this automatically.

However, this system would require a robust rule engine that can define complex rules, because each mobilization process is a complex task.

For example, imagine a scenario in which a reservist is called back for a mobilization response exercise. If an automated SMS mobilization message is sent to a reservist, and he does not respond, what does the system do? Does it escalate to a different medium like an automated voice call? Does it fork a different process like notify his family members while concurrently trying to contact him?

How do the commanders see – in real-time – how well the mobilization is going? What if they need to suddenly expand the mobilization – for example in a real emergency – to call in more reservist units?

 

The Solution

Capturing all of this information in a powerful, flexible and real-time solution is not an easy feat, but Hello Technology’s mobilization platform proved capable for the task.

We helped SCDF automate more than 10 complex mobilization scenarios, each of which has dozens of different processes and variables to monitor. Some examples of the variables our system needs to take care of include:

Additionally, a centralized user interface dashboard allowed commanders to monitor the mobilization as it was happening in real-time. Also, the dashboard allowed them to change the mobilization rules on-the-fly if they needed to fine-tune the mobilization response.

The Benefits

The benefits are obvious. With the new system in place, human operators do not need to manually call through to reservists in a mobilization exercise anymore. Not only is it a far more efficient, it also saves on snail mail, phone lines and call centre resources.

For example, each mobilization letter sent out is 50 cents per letter, as compared to less than 10 cents per SMS. The system can also send messages to 22,000 reservists within 15 minutes, a number that cannot be achieved through manual processes.

One other key benefit is that the system is real-time and immediate. Reservists can instantly acknowledge via SMS that they have received the recall, allowing commanders to see in real-time how well the mobilization is going.

After all, speed is of essence in a mobilization exercise, and even more so in a real emergency. When it comes down to homeland security, a fast, robust real-time mobilization and delivery platform can make the difference between life and death.

Hello Technology’s real-time, powerful and flexible platform helps automate complex human processes

With functions like real-time scheduling, different mobilization channels, and centralized dashboard command centre, we have a robust mobilization process engine that can scale up and deploy a mobilization platform for thousands of people supported via a delivery engine that integrates seamlessly across multiple communication options.

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