Digitalization brings with it numerous innovations in piste rescue that improve safety on the slopes in the long term. In addition to simplified communication and coordination of the emergency teams, ski areas benefit enormously from a legal and economic perspective, especially through comprehensive documentation.
Lost paper slips, illegible contact details and incomplete mission reports - these problems often pose major challenges for slope rescuers and ski resorts. From missions that cannot be billed to missing evidence in court, this can result in financial losses or even legal consequences.
This is exactly where digital support for slope rescue comes in – and yet it can do so much more. From comprehensive documentation of operations to efficient coordination of emergency services and analysis of common types of accidents, digital tools such as the ARENA slope rescue offer a wide range of possibilities to improve the billing rate and make slopes safer in the long term.
Which areas of slope rescue can benefit from digitalization?
Basically, slope rescue relies on the highly trained and often volunteer members of the slope or mountain rescue team. Their specific knowledge of the dangers and peculiarities of alpine terrain cannot, of course, be digitized.
However, digital tools can provide even better support to slope rescuers in their delicate work. Uniform geoinformation systems, for example, improve navigation during location, arrival and transport, as well as communication within the rescue chain.
Logging using partially automated forms also ensures that illegible or incomplete paper slips are finally a thing of the past. The deployment documentation is password-protected and can be accessed with one click in accordance with the GDPR.
Location of the accident site
With coordination based on geodata, the rescue chain is given the best possible support from the very first second. Accident sites can be located quickly and the optimal access or boarding route can be seen at a glance.
At the accident site itself, the documentation of the operation continues with a photo of the incident. Situation images are saved directly in the slope rescue tool, including the exact geographical position and time stamp. The position, accident, weather conditions and the people involved at the scene are documented, as is the time at which the rescue team arrived.
Supporting the rescue chain
After caring for the injured, the emergency team can immediately coordinate further measures with the rescue service, emergency doctor or helicopter and transmit accident and patient data.
The subsequent links in the rescue chain thus receive important information during the journey, such as the type of injury, the medication already administered or the patient's social security number.
In addition to the oral handover conversation, important information is passed on in writing and in a way that is perfectly understandable, regardless of connection quality or dialect.
Complete documentation
During the rescue operation, every measure taken is recorded with a click or through digital input fields. An intuitive user interface enables quick and uncomplicated input even in hectic situations, which guarantees complete documentation of the entire procedure.
From the receipt of the emergency call to the journey, the accident and first aid to the handover to the other rescue teams and admission to a hospital, all steps are fully and securely documented. Authority and responsibility are also clearly defined by the geographical location of the rescue steps.
Legal certainty and higher offsetting rate
By digitally recording and storing the operational data, the slope rescuers and the ski area also have better legal protection. In the event of lawsuits or appeals by accident victims, the measures taken can be made available as evidence at the push of a button. This immediately takes the wind out of the sails of unlawful claims.
This leads to the best possible legal certainty for all rescue workers involved in the operation. Liability claims against individuals or legal entities such as ski resorts or municipalities are thus avoided in advance. Since digital operation logs are also audit-proof and thus protected against accusations of later falsification, they also serve as meaningful evidence in court.
In addition, complete documentation leads to a better billing rate. Handwritten operation reports on paper are often incomplete or illegible. Around 10% of the names or contact details of the accident victims are therefore often not visible. By entering the data digitally, this problem is solved once and for all.
Service
The operation of digital rescue tools must be simple, quick and intuitive. With an easy-to-understand user interface, smooth operation is always guaranteed, even in stressful situations. ARENA slope rescue uses specially certified smartphones that meet the high physical demands.
These fit easily into your pocket and can be easily operated even in sunlight or when wearing gloves. A battery life of at least 24 hours and an extended temperature range guarantee smooth use - even under extreme conditions.
Identification of accident hot spots
By geographically locating all accidents in a ski area, accident hotspots become visible over time on the linked terrain map. In analog accident documentation, these vulnerable points can only be assumed, but cannot be proven and evaluated with data and statistics.
If the operational documentation is digitalized, the accidents of an entire season can be called up at the touch of a button and filtered by location, time or origin of the accident victims. This allows decision-makers to act proactively and defuse any hot spots with appropriate measures.
Accident prevention
However, further insights can also be derived from the accident data recorded. For example, if a significant number of knee injuries occur in a section of the slope, the profile of the slope can be adjusted accordingly to reduce such injuries in the future. In addition, the ski area could offer appropriate protectors for the body regions that are statistically particularly affected.
If there are frequent accidents on a section of the slope or if certain nationalities are increasingly involved in accidents, targeted safety measures - sometimes for a limited period of time - can be taken or notices can be posted in the respective national languages. This increases the perceived and actual safety in the mountains and increases customer satisfaction.
Privacy Policy
Handling sensitive patient data requires the highest level of data security. It is therefore not advisable to use private mobile devices for slope rescue tools, but to rely on devices that also meet the highest data protection requirements.
Once the application has ended, all personal data is automatically deleted from the tool and the device used and stored in a high-security data center in Austria. This ensures that all personal data is protected from third-party access at all times and can only be viewed by a strictly limited number of authorized persons for processing purposes.
Wide range of applications
Digital rescue assistants such as ARENA slope rescue are not just limited to use in ski resorts. Thanks to their comprehensive documentation functions, the tool is ideally suited to all rescue operations in open terrain, both in summer and winter.
From mountain rescue to air rescue to personal tracking or rescue training, a digitally supported rescue tool can be used wherever rescue workers operate in open terrain and comprehensive documentation of the measures taken is necessary.
