ABOUT THE PROJECT
Panasonic FZ-G1 Toughpad tablets were installed in police cars across South Australia as a replacement for fixed in-car Mobile Computing Application (MCA) devices. The rollout which commenced in 2016 was completed by 2020. The state-wide deployment followed a trial in the Elizabeth Local Service Area. Every car in the Elizabeth area had one of the Toughpads fitted. The tablets allow police officers to undertake up to 95 per cent of their duties while in the field, delivering annual productivity gains estimated at $3.3 million by the state government. The solution eliminates the need for frontline officers to return to their stations to complete paperwork, providing them with technology where they have, in effect, a mobile office.

CLIENT REQUIREMENTS
Panasonic Toughpads were progressively rolled out as SA Police cars replaced, which occurs every 90,000 km. The state government earmarked $7.4 million over five years for the rollout, which saw the tablets fitted to some 680 cars; 175 extra tablets will also be available for police officers.

Project Location
AMIT rolled out the project across South Australia for 680 vehicles over three years.

Installation complexity
Advanced Mobile IT provided the Panasonic FZ-G1 Toughpads and also in vehicle design services and the specially designed vehicle docking stations for the project.

Solution Design and Architecture
The docking stations provide dual pass-through antenna capability. They also provide the best possible network coverage for SAPOL. NetMotion Mobility software was deployed to ensure seamless connectivity management and the optimal end user experience.

Integrations required
AMIT provides a fully integrated solution which gives the benefits of both ‘in-vehicle’ computing and the portability to capture, retrieve and submit information in the field. Data is entered into the system without the police officers having to return to a desktop computer at a police station.

Number and Size of Transactions
Integration/design/pre-configuration/installation/managed service/on-going system integration and support. Quarterly reviews and reporting on performance against SLA’s. Identification of hardware faults (and trends) that needed to be addressed. On-going updated asset register of deployed devices as units are installed.

INNOVATIONS
The devices were all installed in the vehicles to specification. No services (horn, blinker, air conditioning etc.) were affected during the installation.

OUTCOME
The solution eliminates the need for frontline officers to return to their stations to complete paperwork, providing them with technology where they have, in effect, a mobile office.

South Australian Police