Packaged as a mobile platform that runs on Android and Apple smartphones and tablets, SceneDoc allows investigators to type notes; record audio; draw, paste and store electronic sketches and maps; and record/annotate still photos and videos, all while at an incident scene. These reports are then transmitted and stored on SceneDoc’s cloud platform, where they can be accessed, shared, and collaboratively revised by subscribing SceneDoc agencies.
The ability to compile detailed reports while on scene is saving time for Robert Foresman, RCEM’s emergency management coordinator. “It used to take me an hour to take my field notes on a hazardous materials incident, and format them into an ICS-compliant (Incident Command System) report back at the office,” Foresman said. “Using SceneDoc, I’ve been able to cut this time, on average, to just 20 minutes per incident.”
To further streamline the paperwork process, SceneDoc is designed to use official ICS documents. The platform scales the ICS forms to make them easy to see and use on both smartphone and tablet screens, and then re-scales them to a proper 8.5"’ by 11" paper format. The result: RCEM’s employees say that SceneDoc has made it possible to produce final incident reports within 24 hours, compared to several days for traditionally compiled reports.
“SceneDoc’s goal is to eliminate as much after-incident paperwork as possible, while serving as public safety’s trusted digital notebook,” said Todd Oakes, the company’s vice president of customer success. “This is due to SceneDoc users’ ability to create detailed multimedia reports at the scene, using specific ICS-compliant forms that their agencies generate and load onto their employee’s mobile devices beforehand.”
By merging on-scene note-taking with after-incident report compilation, SceneDoc can speed up the overall reporting process while reducing time and improving accuracy, because the report is being written up with the incident scene’s details in plain view.
To enhance accuracy, SceneDoc automatically logs the time, date and GPS location of any photos and videos shot while at the scene, within a unique report file or folder that the user creates right on the spot. The SceneDoc-equipped mobile device can also be loaded with electronic copies of the jurisdiction’s relevant statutes and regulations, so that the user can have them right at hand while compiling a report.
The SceneDoc platform also tracks every access to reports, files, audio, photos, drawings, maps and videos created and stored in SceneDoc,” Oakes said. This means that data generated and stored in the system is admissible in court, because the chain of custody is documented.
