RapidReach on Cruise ships
RapidReach has two major applications on a cruise ship. The first use of RapidReach is as an emergency notification system to notify different teams of an emergency or incident onboard and the second use is for staff messaging on the ship. The same app is used for both emergency notification and messaging.
RapidReach is an internal system on the ship and not dependent on satellite communications.
Case: Princess Cruises
RapidReach, is being utilized by Princess Cruises to improve their onboard emergency response.
RapidReach is used for both emergency and non-emergency alerts. Below are some examples of alerts:
- Medical Response Team
- First Stage Response Team
- Pre-departure Call
Emergency alerts also include Deck Officer Call, Engineer Call, MOB, Steering Gear, Rescue from heights and more.
Other non-emergency alerts are Tax Call and Casino Open
Emergency Notification
Most Cruise ships currently use local pagers to notify personnel in the event of an emergency. RapidReach replaces these pagers with a secure, reliable and monitored smartphone app using the existing WiFi networks on the ship. The key benefits of using RapidReach instead of pagers are:
Ease to use
The alert is initiated from an easy to use touch screen with a clear user interface.
Clear message
The recipient gets a clear message on the screen with all necessary detail.
Who is responding
The initiator can see who is responding to the alert.
Documented
The whole communication process is documented in an audit trial.
Quicker response time
Response times are reduced since the process of alerting is simplified
Support several devices
RapidReach reach the recipients, by App, by Phone Call and by Private Radio
Customized
Each alert has it own message. Each touch screen Panel can be configured individually.
Monitoring of devices
The Smartphone devices are monitored to make sure all are operating.
Integration
Integrated with other alarm systems such as lift alarm, man trapped alarm, temperature alarm.
Messaging
A common way to solve Crew to Crew messaging on a cruise ship is to use WhatsApp or similar cloud-based solutions.
The disadvantage of this is that they rely on satellite communication that is very expensive and in some cases unreliable.
Return on Investment (ROI) for the RapidReach messaging is in many case below 1 year.
RapidReach also has some functionality that cloud messaging systems lack. When using RapidReach you can include Private Radio Devices in the voice communication. Phones connected to the PBX can also be included in the communication. The communication is logged to facilitate subsequent analysis of the exchanged information afterwards.
Equipment used
In both Emergency Notification and in Messaging
RapidReach is able to communicate via:
smartphone app
– emergency text alerts with sound
– chat messages
– emergency voice calls
– non-emergency voice calls
fixed phones (connected to PBX)
– chat messages
– emergency voice calls
– non-emergency voice calls
– emergency voice calls
– non-emergency voice calls calls
– non-emergency voice calls
Notification Panel
– emergency text alerts with sound
