Sapphire International Inc., the US arm of UK-headquartered solutions company Sapphire Group, won an $87,850 contract to develop a customised application for the Houston Police Department’s Helicopter Patrol, one of the largest law-enforcement departments in the USA.
The work will involve converting the Department’s old DOS-based system to a .NET solution that will allow them to better track their patrol, administrative, maintenance, inventory, budget, systems administration and training flight-management components.
The Helicopter Patrol provides a range of 24×7 public-safety services such as air support, search and rescue, and surveillance. They operate eight helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft, using 31 pilots, five observers and ten support personnel over a 15-county area that is home to 7 million people.
According to Houston Police Officer Pilot Roberto D. Saenz, the upgraded system will help ensure pilot safety by logging support and signalling alerts for maintenance utilizing efficient information retrieval and transfer.
The new FoxFlight system is being project managed by Naeem Ullah, Sapphire’s head of U.S. consultancy, who brings extensive experience within government and law-enforcement sectors. Sapphire worked with the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to provide software for tracking remains after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Using the company’s tried and tested systems methodology Naeem is working closely with Sapphire’s St. Petersburg office to develop basic coding for the application. After a thourough User Acceptance Testing phase the application will be ready for delivery with Sapphire providing hands-on training and support.
Saenz described the company as the quintessence of American business, emphasizing the high level of commitment Sapphire dedicates to their customers.
