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In an emergency, every second counts. Thanks to a unique Norwegian register, rescues and emergency preparedness work along the entire coast are carried out in a coordinated and efficient manner.
Background
BarentsWatch is a programme that provides a basis for better cooperation, professional development and information sharing for public departments, industries and the public. The mandate for BarentsWatch, is to collect, develop and share information about
Norwegian coastal and marine areas and be a hub for authorities and decision-makers.
Through collecting and sharing existing data, BarentsWatch, for example, provides services such as the nationwide Wave Forecast and systems such as the Shared Resource Register.
Previously, information about private, public and voluntary resources, such as ships, helicopters, small planes and rescue dogs, was only available from different, non-centralised sources. Each operational department had their own lists and their data
may have been inadequate and/or out of date.
For decades, these resources along Norway’s long coastline and in Norwegian waters have been invaluable. Resources are deployed whenever and wherever they are needed and are essential to safety, security and emergency preparedness. With BarentsWatch,
this work can be continued with useful tools providing support.
How do we contribute?
In 2014, BarentsWatch entered into two contracts with Sopra Steria. One covered service and infrastructure development. The other tasked the consultancy company with developing a Shared Resources Register that would combine all Norwegian rescue and emergency
preparedness resources across departments, organisations and sectors.
Deliveries, from operation and development to strategic advice, have been made throughout the value chain to BarentsWatch. Sopra Steria has developed a Shared Resources Register from scratch, using flexible project methodology and in close cooperation
with the client and rescue and emergency preparedness operators. Good user dialogue has been crucial to creating consistent and well-functioning services based on relatively modest resources.
What value does this bring?
Sopra Steria has been a strategic partner of BarentsWatch for the past seven years. The most important individual project has been the Shared Resources Register; this provides rescue operators with a shared situational picture and shows all available
resources in real time.
Norske Redningshunder (NRH), a Norwegian organisation that uses search and rescue dogs, was the first voluntary organisation to connect to the service in 2015. Today, a large number of organisations have added their resources to the register, and these
are maintained on an ongoing basis. After having played an important role in its development, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres took full advantage of the Shared Resource Register in 2017.
In the future, Sopra Steria will continue its close collaboration with BarentsWatch. BarentsWatch has entered into a new strategic seven-year contract with Sopra Steria. In addition to the Shared Resource Register, this agreement also covers infrastructure,
operations and closed services.