Emergency Reporting

Emergency Reporting

DragonPoint’s client is responsible for reporting the status of over 10,000 utilities after an event such as a hurricane, tropical storm, or flood.  They needed a system that would make it easy for utilities to report status and request assistance during an emergency, when internet connectivity may be spotty or completely unavailable.

The solution includes:

  • Desktop application
  • Progressive Web App
  • Texting

The desktop application includes all administrative functions such as user management and maintenance of look up lists used throughout the system. Some of the custom functionality that exists only in the desktop application includes:

  • Home page dashboard with:

    • Message about an active event.
    • Map of the impacted area for an event
    • Status of each impacted county (based on the status of the utilities in the county).
    • List of assistance requests.
    • Quick links (buttons) to access frequently used system pages.
    • List of state resources (outside the system) with links.

  • Anyone with access to the system can create an email and choose recipients, selecting among options such as all utilities, only those impacted by an event, or specific counties. Although anyone can create a new email, only a few people are authorized to approve distribution of the email to recipients.
  • Text blasts. Authorized users can create a text message and choose its distribution, including all utilities, utilities of a specific size, those impacted by an event (hurricane, tropical storm, etc.), or members of specific groups.  Like emails, the texts are sent only after approval by an administrator.
  • Assignment of resources. One of the goals of the system is to allow utilities to assist each other by providing equipment or labor resources, such as generators or operators. Before the new system, the assignment of resources to utilities requesting assistance was managed with a spreadsheet; the system created a single page that allows administrators to see all needs for assistance and assign available resources to a need.  Needs and resources may be viewed as a list in a grid or on a map.
  • Get Help Now! Utilities can press a single Get Help button to open a page that allows them to quickly request assistance by entering a minimum of information.

The Progressive Web App (PWA) allows users to enter information with or without an internet connection; information entered when the internet is not available is synced to the main application as soon as a connection exists.  The functionality in the PWA includes:

  • Display member utilities near me on a map.
  • Set status.
  • Request assistance.
  • Offer equipment and labor assistance.
  • Reset user passwords or send new user emails (for authorized administrators).


To further simplify reporting of status and requests for assistance, the system generates texts to users who have signed up for this service.  The texts are sent at a predetermined interval after the event begins, and the conversation provides utilities with the opportunity to report their status and request equipment or labor assistance.

Before the new system, employees responsible for the response during and after the emergency spent hours collecting and organizing information to meet reporting requirements.  Now the system generates reports immediately, freeing people to spend time on more valuable response efforts.

Version 1 of the new application was developed and delivered ahead of schedule. After Go Live and the success of the system, the client continued working with DragonPoint to enhance the application with new functionality based on feedback from the people using it.

If your software requirements can’t be met by an out-of-the-box solution, call us at 321-631-0657 to find out more about how we can use our experience to design a custom software solution that exactly fits your business requirements.

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