OMC Incident Management System

OMC SYSTEMS LLC
Cooper City, FL USA

The OMC Incident Management System (IMS) application was developed initially as a Microsoft Access 2007 application. We were developing the system at the request of a large health-care client who wanted to replace an existing application that no longer satisfied their needs. Very soon into the development process, I decided to move to a .Net based web application using Microsoft SQL Server for the database. I knew that a web based application would be the product to take us well into the future and something that would scale well for my clients. It would also allow for the level of user security and bandwidth needed to be able to offer an enterprise-class system that could handle potentially hundreds of concurrent users and thousands (if not millions) of records in an active database.

The IMS application provides a place to centralize, manage, track and report incident case data. It is designed to be easy to use and not overly complex to lend itself to be accessible by even non-technical users. The IMS helps improve quality by enabling access to current and accurate incident data and assists efforts to formalize an incident management and response program. Used by areas such as Physical Security, Risk Management, Privacy Officers, Internal Audit, and even IT staff, it streamlines the sharing of information and communication across distributed teams. It can also help regulatory compliance efforts by providing evidence of incident tracking and statistical reports.

IMS application users login using Active Directory or forms-based security and role-based access control. They have the choice of entering new incident data or looking up and editing existing cases. Users can capture required information for incident case management. This includes incident details, location details, persons involved, external agency information (such as police reports), file and photo attachments, associated vehicle data and free text entry fields for case notes. The application supports an unlimited number of subjects, vehicle records, and file attachments per incident. The screens can be locked down by role so that only appropriate staff see screens that they are suppose to see. Users can run reports and export the data to PDF, Word, Excel, or CSV. They can also run Web Reports that display data to the screen as needed on the fly.

Application size and scope

A typical install comprises a web server running Microsoft IIS and a database server (usually on the same box) running Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 database. A typical install normally comprises ten tables, several database views and nearly 200 total web pages!

While not every customer will use all 200 pages, they are included in the solution to allow for a very flexible user experience depending on the client's unique requirements. The number of pages available to certain users and roles and even the fields captured in the database can be customized to the client specifications.

The project

The application took me two about months to design. The Iron Speed Designer portion of the project took approximately one week, once all the database tables and the conceptual design were done. The nice thing about using Iron Speed Designer is that I can easily change database structure and re-build the front end web pages much quicker than if I were doing the development without the tool. This allows me to offer a level of customization to my customers that was not possible before.

Code extensions and customizations

I applied several code customizations. The most significant customization included implementing multiple dropdown fields that dynamically update each other. This customization was applied in two places, one for a 'category to subcategory' mapping and another for a 'site to location' mapping.

Page layout customizations

We used the standard Mount Redmond page style in Iron Speed Designer.

Iron Speed Designer impact

Within the time it took to develop the application, I believe I spent eight hours per week using Iron Speed Designer. This equated to a savings of approximately $15,000, which is what it would have cost us to build the application using a typical .NET Web developer and SQL DBA. The project would not have been feasible without Iron Speed Designer — I could not have done it with Visual Studio alone. I needed Iron Speed Designer!

Next steps

I plan to add additional web pages to the IMS application in the near future as customers require more functionality. I've also been asked to develop a Dispatch Module, Time Clock Module, and Staff Scheduling Module as add-ons to the core product. We also have plans to develop a PDA version of the system so that users can utilize a Windows Mobile enabled device to keep track of and manage incident data.

OMC Systems is now marketing the IMS application to other hospitals, schools, and corporate clients. We already have a second health care client signed up that is moving from paper-based reporting to electronic using the OMC IMS application. Besides health care clients, we see the IMS system as one that could be very valuable to schools that need to track incidents that happen on campus, such as bullying, fights, graffiti, theft, weapons on campus, etc.

About the developer

John Christly is a Security Professional with over 18 years of experience in Information Technology. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and an MBA. His industry certifications include the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Professional in Comprehensive Security (CPCS), Project Management Professional (PMP), Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), CompTIA SECURITY+ Professional, Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP), Administrator (CHA), and Security Specialist (CHSS), Florida Licensed Private Investigator (License#C2700919), and Florida Notary Public ID#1190727. He also holds the Six Sigma Green Belt designation from Villanova University.

John has formerly served as the Chief Technology Officer of a software development firm that designed online golf reservation, course management, and point of sale software. His wife and he started OMC Systems LLC in the summer is 2008, where he serves as CEO of the company. He is currently the only developer and does all the database and web development work with the help of Iron Speed Designer. John also works full-time as the HIPAA Security Officer and Manager of IT Security for a large health care system in Broward County, Florida.