James Dicks CEO of PremiereTec develops method of saving lives on the water through US Float Plan

Feb. 19, 2008 - PRLog -- Each year thousands of people find themselves in trouble on the nation’s waterways.  Many times, no one is aware these mariners planned to travel or when they planned to return to their home ports.  Unlike aviators who are required to file flight plans before they take off, boaters have not had the same requirements or the tools to do so.  James Dicks, President/CEO of PremiereTec Solutions LLC has developed a means that boaters can now use to file a “float plan” before getting underway.

USFloatPlan (www.usfloatplan.com) is available online to insure that someone knows where a boat and its crew are heading and when they plan to arrive at their destination.  This will allow friends, family and business associates to track the voyages of these boaters and should they not return or arrive according to the prescribed “Float Plan” schedule, someone back home will be aware of their delay and report it to the authorities responsible for search and rescue operations.  The benefit of the “Float Plan” is that it contains the trips itinerary with all the captains’ pertinent information. In the event that a search and rescue operation becomes necessary, authorities will have an idea of where to begin looking. A Float Plan decreases the search time, thus saving lives and at the same time, saving search and rescue dollars.

Dicks said he worked with a 21 year Coast Guard veteran who helped him develop the blueprint for the USFloat Plan. Once you open a float plan it is active until you close it.  If for some reason you do not check in by the overdue time listed on your plan, the system will automatically send an email to all the listed crew members and emergency contacts, requesting to close the open float plan. In some cases, the crew may have returned but simply neglected to close their plan. If there is no response within 30 minutes, an Emergency Action Message (EMA) is sent to all recipients on the plan’s emergency contact list.”

Dicks said the EMA has instructions for the recipients, letting them know about the Captains overdue trip and the steps to take next.  In addition, the EMA has the filed “Float Plan” attached so it can be forwarded to the appropriate authorities. USFloatPlan does not contact emergency services to initiate a search or rescue; this is conducted by the EMA recipients.

USFloatPlan is a free automated service, developed by PremiereTec Solutions for the safety of the boating public. Dicks continued, “Our wish is that USFloatPlan never has to be used but reality tells us that it will be and we can only hope that when needed, it will assist rescue crews in their search for those in potential danger.”

PremiereTec Solutions LLC is a service connected disabled veteran owned small business.  It provides business solutions through technology utilizing years of institutional memory in all aspects of operations and development.

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Premiere Tec Solutions LLC is a service connected disabled Veteran owned small business. Technologies include high-performance, client-server financial software platforms; fault-tolerant network, database and application infrastructures; secure network, database and operational environments; and custom software and database development. PTEC specializes in System Support, Full-Scale System Design and Development; Database Design and Management; Network Design and Maintenance.

Website: usfloatplan.com