Brice Bingman, a Computer Programmer with Northrop Grumman Corp., recently teamed up with San Diego Paramedic Jason Friesen to develop a Kelly/Platoon Schedule application for the iPhone.
Emergency Calendar (eCal) is a simple, user-friendly iPhone application that lets EMS & Fire Personnel design their own Kelly/Platoon Schedule with minimal effort. “I got so tired of losing my small, cut-out Kelly’s,” Friesen said, “and I’ve never been one to carry around a day-planner, so when I finally bought an iPhone it seemed like a no-brainer to make my own. That’s when I approached Brice.”
By working out the basic patterns that all Kelly and Platoon schedules are based upon, Bingman was able to put together a simple, clean calendar application in only a few months. “The formula behind the Kelly schedule is pretty simple, but because there are so many different versions of them, I thought it would be easier to create an application where the user only had to punch in one cycle of their schedule, and it would repeat itself forever, so you only have to buy it once.”
Since its release, updates have been added making it possible to add Notes, Pay Days, Vacations and Shift Trades. Bingman says that future updates will include capabilities to sync the application with the iPhone calendar – iCal – as well as others features like Training Days, Pay Period Calculations and other pertinent Fire/EMS information.
Additionally, Friesen likes to point out that the money spent on the Emergency Calendar application will also be going towards a good cause. “A considerable portion of the proceeds will be going to help fund my nonprofit organization ‘Trek Medics International.’ The way things are with the economy now, it’s getting harder to get the support we need through traditional fundraising, so pulling in revenue through a practical application like Emergency Calendar is a great alternative.”
The Emergency Calendar (eCal) iPhone Application is available on iTunes for $2.99(US). A detailed video tutorial is also available on the Trek Medics website: www.trekmedics.org
