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For Immediate Release
MobileEyes™ Fire & Building Inspection Software selected to automate nationally
ranked Hialeah, Florida fire department
Fire inspectors receive user-friendly tools for on-site inspections
TROY, Mich. (February 4, 2008) Selecting a vendor to provide fire inspection software
and other tools to serve the complex needs of one of the country’s top ranked fire
departments has been a high priority, according to Chief Ray Perez, fire marshal for
Hialeah, Florida. The Hialeah fire department was one of the first in the country to
achieve the ISO Class 1 rating, and is currently one of 45 Class 1 fire departments, in a
total of 45,000 in the United States.
“For the past five years, we’ve been seeking a product that we can customize and grow
with us,” said Chief Perez. “We were impressed with MobileEyes™ capabilities and
confident about the company’s commitment to cooperate with us.” MobileEyes fire and
building inspection software is supplied by TradeMaster, Inc.
Although Hialeah covers only 23 square miles, the fire prevention team serves one of
the most densely populated regions of the country, including 29,000 building
occupancies. A staff of 15 part- and full-time inspectors is in the field daily, conducting a
total of 13,000 to 15,000 residential and commercial inspections each year. This is a
dramatic increase over approximately 3,000 annual inspections conducted in 2001 when
Chief Perez joined the department.
Included in the fire department’s list of requirements were the ability to quickly record
inspection results in the field, easy and convenient access to fire codes and standards,
and immediate wireless transmission of all information to designated parties.
“We inspect everything from manufacturing facilities to sites with hazardous materials,
120 public and private schools, three university branches, two major malls as well as
several public assembly and theater locations,” said Chief Perez. He also described
various types of inspections including plan reviews, system reviews and permitting for all
types of events.
MobileEyes™ runs on a tablet PC and includes handwriting recognition capabilities that
make note-taking as easy as writing on a yellow pad. It also includes the ability to easily
access all the required fire inspection and building codes, instead of carrying unwieldy
code books in the field.
TradeMaster also supplied the Hialeah fire department with SmartDraw™, a program
that aids inspectors in drawing pre-fire plans, using easy to read icons that indicate
where shutoffs, utility connections, control panels and other items are located for better
fire prevention.
MobileEyes™ Responder software was the third component selected by the Hialeah fire
department. It is installed in truck or command vehicles to give fire fighters instant
access to pre-plan and inspection information that they need onsite to increase safety
and to be more effective.
“All of the units at our eight fire stations have laptops with the MobileEyes™ Responder
icon ready to use,” added Chief Perez.
He reported that nearly 30 people are undergoing training on the new systems which are
scheduled for launch in early March. Chief Perez anticipates that other fire departments
from across the country will be monitoring their progress and results.
MobileEyes™ is also providing the Hialeah Fire Department with a customized program
that adds a billing feature to the inspection process. Hialeah has a history of invoicing
building owners to help offset inspection costs. The new program automatically
calculates an invoice based on the type of occupancy, square footage, number of
inspectors and other criteria supplied by the department.
When questioned about future goals, Chief Perez wants to enhance life safety even
more by having the fire inspection software interface with the building department’s
inspection software.
“Everything has been done manually since the 1920s,” he added. “We’re definitely
going to kick up productivity another notch.”
About TradeMaster, Inc.
TradeMaster, headquartered in Troy, Mich., is a leading provider of technical support
software solutions, including MobileEyes™ fire and building inspection software. The
company provides off-the-shelf, user-friendly products not only to fire departments, but
also to manufacturing companies that are struggling with equipment downtime and
throughput issues. In the manufacturing industry, TradeMaster’s tools simplify the repair
and maintenance of complex equipment and enable paperless data collection and
reporting of ISO, OSHA and inspection data. Customers include global firms such as
Ford Motor Company, DaimlerChrysler AG, Delphi Corporation, Merillat, Tower
Automotive, Fort Wayne Foundry, Land Rover and Comau Pico. For details about
MobileEyes fire inspection software, visit www.mobile-eyes.org, and for information
about TradeMaster’s manufacturing technical support software, visit
www.trademaster.cc.
# # #
(Photo attached)
Photo Caption: Hialeah Fire Inspectors Maty Garcia, at left, and Dennisse Guillen
demonstrate MobileEyes™ fire inspection software for Fire Chief Ray Perez.
Media Contacts Tom Gorman TradeMaster, Inc. 586-899-8651 [email protected] Margaret Blohm, APR Margaux & Associates, LLC 313-406-3467 [email protected]
