SupportCY volunteers’ coordination system complete and operational

The pilot operation of the Bank of Cyprus SupportCY Volunteer Corps’ SUPPORTCY coordination system has been completed and is fully operational as of September 1, 2024. The aim of the system is to coordinate SupportCY Volunteer Corps efforts for better and more effective aid to relevant government agencies and services in the prevention, response and rehabilitation of natural disasters, crises and other emergencies.

The YPERION system in its full operation will include:

• Geolocation of all vehicles
• Geolocation of volunteers/three-person teams (hiking groups)
• Two-way communication with drivers
• Two-way communication with volunteers / three-person teams
• Sending instructions and action planning (water points, response instructions, etc.)
• Informing SupportCY Coordination Centre about fire trucks’ water levels

Emergency contact

Controlled centrally from the Nicosia Readiness Base, and if, and when necessary, the team managing it operates a forward coordination centre near the incident area.

The YPERION system was created exclusively for the SupportCY Volunteer Corps by Frotcom Cyprus. The latter is a certified partner of Frotcom International and provides vehicle tracking and fleet management systems in Cyprus. Its intelligent fleet management system, Frotcom, is part of the company’s offering to the SupportCY Network.

CEO of Frotcom Cyprus Michael Christodoulides hailed the cooperation with SupportCY. “As part of this partnership, we have equipped four vehicles for the YPERION system with the Frotcom fleet management system, which has been successfully tested in real-life emergency conditions,” he commented.

“In addition, we delivered personal monitoring devices to support the Volunteer Corps,” he continued. “We are in constant communication with SupportCY to improve and train the system continuously, and we are proud to support such important initiatives for the good of the community. We are committed to utilising the latest technologies to support important projects in partnership with Bank of Cyprus’ SupportCY.”

At the same time, in the context of SupportCY’s broader policy for the use of environmentally-friendly equipment, the promoted coordination centre of the YEPERION system is also in operation. More specifically, BIONIC Electronics, a member of the SupportCY Network since its establishment in 2020, has provided the Volunteer Corps with a mobile power station that operates with photovoltaic systems, to supply continuous electricity for the operation of the equipment.

Efficiency and safety for Volunteer Corps members

Christos Theodoulou, SupportCY Volunteer Corps Support Branch Commander, said the very careful work done between SupportCY and Frotcom in designing the system based on real needs was proven through the project’s pilot phase testing period. “The system was tested in operations (particularly in fire prevention and response and missing persons) both in Cyprus and Greece, with optimal results,” he pointed out. “Certainly, the system will continue to be upgraded based on our needs in the field.”

Andreas Leonidou, Operations Manager of the SupportCY Volunteer Corps Coordination Centre, underlined the necessity of having such systems for major crisis and disaster management purposes. In particular, he observed that “it is crucial, in an emergency, to know where your people are at all times; especially in large-scale operations”.

Continuing, he added: “it is crucial to know the forces you have in the field for effective management and for security purposes. The operation of the system was recently tested in Greece, by the team’s mission in the major fire in Attica.”