What CAD actually does, and what it does not
Dispatch, unit recommendation, status tracking and the interfaces that hang off it — and why the answer to most integration questions is 'that depends on your CAD vendor'.
Incident command
The command post is where most technology either earns its place or becomes another screen nobody looks at. The bar is whether it works one-handed, in the dark, in the rain, with gloves on.
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Problems in this area
Our PAR process falls apart on large incidents
Passport boards work for a room-and-contents fire. At a third alarm with mutual aid companies the IC is reconstructing who is where from memory.
Our pre-plans are out of date and nobody opens them
Building information exists in a binder or a PDF nobody can find at 3am, so crews arrive without knowing about the standpipe, the roof structure, or the stored commodity.
Learning
Learning LabStill in development
Innovation LabAI incident command assistants
Systems that monitor radio traffic and incident data to surface missed benchmarks, unassigned tasks, or crews past their air-time window.
Why it matters
The promise is a second set of eyes on the things an IC drops under load. The risk is a confident recommendation that is wrong, and an IC who has stopped checking. Worth watching closely and adopting slowly.
Building digital twins
Structural models of high-risk buildings that a crew can navigate before arrival, fed by inspection and construction data.
Why it matters
The capture cost is the whole problem. If a twin can be generated from data you already collect on inspection, it becomes viable. If it needs a bespoke survey per building, it will not scale past a showcase.
Peer experience
Mutual AidHas anyone integrated Hexagon CAD with AVL?
We are being quoted a six-figure professional services engagement for what sounds like it should be a supported interface. Looking for anyone who has done this and what it actually took.