- Communications and Information Management
- Supporting Technologies
- Summary
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Supporting Technologies
Through the use of various technological systems such as voice and data communication systems, information management systems, and data display systems, essential technology is delivered and processed to support incident management activities within the NIMS framework. Processes are researched, tested repeatedly, developed and refined to ensure that everything goes smoothly when the systems are needed. Moreover, as new technologies come to light, they're evaluated for future implementation.
Consider today's outbound notification systems, which are designed to get the word out after a catastrophic event. In past articles, we've repeatedly stressed the need for 4Ci (command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence) for a military level of control in any disaster response. It's no coincidence that these concepts originated during the Cold War. At that time, responders had 20 minutes to decide whether a heat bloom in Siberia was a gas well or something really terrible. Set in that context, a false positive and a false negative were equally unacceptable. Today, given the war on terror and other factors, responders have caught up with things that only the military needed in days past.
The challenge of deploying an effective outbound notification system is a growing concern facing nearly every commercial business, school, community, and municipality today. All organizations need the capability to detect a crisis situation, develop an effective communication method, disseminate information, and track response in a timely manner. A successful solution that proactively delivers relevant, prompt alert communications in emergency situations saves time and resources, ensures productivity—and, most importantly, saves lives.
Many such systems are available today (run a web search to see for yourself). All of these systems can help keep you from reinventing the wheel, and many are downright affordable for the control and peace of mind that they can bring to your organization. An ideal notification system enables an organization to respond appropriately to all sorts of emergencies—tornado, hurricane, or tsunami warnings; terrorism events; Amber alerts; campus alerts; hazardous chemical spills; medical pandemics; and so on—with communications to all stakeholders, anytime, anywhere.
Almost all of these products have features that are desirable in setting up and maintaining 4Ci, and they're not all based on telephone systems. For example, one product offers a means of delivering content-triggered alerts and web-based applications for emergency notification. This same product monitors National Weather Service feeds for all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean, utilizing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Commerce information. This information is then dipped against an alerting database developed with the specific customer to determine precisely how the information is to be disseminated, under what conditions, and/or what the triggering event is. For example, a listing of callers who tried to call a 911 center but couldn't get through due to a cut cable or flood could actually be text messaged to another working device, such as a wireless phone or VoIP phone. Such interesting and useful technologies were available in the past only to the military, but are increasingly appearing in the commercial and public sectors.
Other interesting technologies:
- The NIMS Incident Resource Inventory System (NIMS-IRIS) is a support technology that transmits data to laboratories using standardized analysis processes. This inventory software based system allows for accessing critical resources for a given event. It's simple, easy to use, and tracks everything from equipment to people. (No license fees are involved, which is a big plus.)
- The NIMS Compliance Assistance Support Tool (NIMSCAST) is a self-assessment tool that follows an event from preparation to final recovery.