The all new AED Locations website is now live, thanks to Sam. Check it out on your mobile, or desktop.
“It’s saving me hundreds of keystrokes every day”
Gareth Jenkins, Paramedic and Resuscitation Trainer at Auckland Hospital
Sam Gard has spent her university summer holidays working on a website that shows heart-attack bystanders where their closest Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is. She worked on the AED Locations app built by Abletech back in 2010.
The Problem
The manual entry required to add AED locations was time consuming. Gareth Jenkins receives an email when someone wants to register an AED on the site. He gets a flood of these emails. It creates a lot of work for him because the emails are unstructured and the data can have gaps in it.
We also wanted to simplify the website user’s experience, taking into account the stress of an urgent heart-attack scene.
The Solution
Sam’s job was to streamline the email process and to automate as much as possible. This involved creating a standard set of data to input. Gareth could then review and accept the data, instead of querying details and inputting them.
Sam also worked out how to clarify the information for the bystander needing an AED urgently.
“Now I get an automated message and simply click on a link. It’s pre-populated. I check details, add a region and the new AED is published”
Gareth Jenkins, Paramedic and Resuscitation Trainer at Auckland Hospital
What did Sam do?
Sam built the system and tested it. This was a technical build for Sam, but she also played a design role. She considered the data being captured and how it could be used best.
Sam introduced an Add Location Form where public can enter their data into MapMySites. Gareth says, “as people can enter more detail and opening hours it’s saving me hundreds of keystrokes a day”.
With good data on the opening hours of locations, Sam designed a feature that displays the current availability of the AED.
“We kept thinking about what is important in an emergency,” says Sam. “We made the information simple and clear for someone who is distracted.”
“Users can be located automatically or they can type an address. The app shows your closest ten defibrillators and gives driving directions for getting it.”
Sam enjoys the Abletech way of working. “There’s a real team approach so I got to work on a team with an experienced designer and a highly skilled front-end developer.”
Sam fitted in well with the collaborative approach that Abletech uses. Within a team there will be a number of areas of specialty such as User Experience, Geospatial Specialisation, Front-End Engineering or Mobile Development.
The new website works well on a mobile where people can use the website or the app.
Features:
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The site offers a ‘use my current location’ option which uses a GPS location to find nearby AEDs without having to type in an address. It shows you the 10 nearest AEDs to your current location. You can also type in your address if you want to.
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Suggested driving directions are provided. This is useful especially if you’re in an unfamiliar area.
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You can search by address, suburb, or a point of interest. This is helpful in an unfamiliar area where you may not know street names.
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Phone numbers are available for locations, along with opening hours.
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Maps have been improved visually. The graphics capability of your device are utilised to zoom in and out smoothly.
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Information has been simplified for aid the user.
During her second internship at Abletech, Sam has learnt a lot about maps. She’s gained experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data and techniques. This year Sam’s had a chance to apply more of her university design training, contributing to the design elements of this AED project.
She’s also gained experience with a new JavaScript capability called ES6. This JavaScript upgrade adds many new and significant features to the language.
That’s a summer well-spent! Thanks for spending time with us at Abletech again Sam. We wish you well for uni this year.
Read more about Sam from her first summer job at Abletech.
Want to know more about AED Locations?
An AED can increase someone’s chance of survival by up to 80% if applied immediately. AED Locations was built to help speed up your ability to find a defibrillator when you need it.
Wherever you are, find your closest Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in seconds.
Save this AED Locations website to your home screen now, or download the iPhone app or the Android app. All the technology, including the hosting, is provided by Abletech.
