IMPROVING MANAGEMENT
OF CRITICAL INCIDENT
INFORMATION IN THE EOC
National Hurricane Conference
March 30, 2015
Agenda
Gap Analysis
Research and Scoping
EOC Data Management System
Best Practices
Gap Analysis
Hurricane Sandy in Philadelphia
City damage reports
 1300 incidents managed by PFD, including 400+ wire
responses
 Building collapses and building defects
 Over 1,000 downed trees (300 were duplicates or
unfounded)
 Numerous multi-day road closures
Biggest storm in PECO history
 At peak levels, 850,000 outages in the region
 65,000 outages in Philadelphia
 Numerous power outages to City facilities
Information Management Challenges
Observation



Key incident details not
reported fully and
consistently
No standardized method for
collecting reports
No ability to track status of
individual incidents
Implication



Analysis incomplete and
labor-intensive
Incomplete real-time,
common operating picture
Inability to provide
situational awareness to
field staff
Standardize incident reporting process,
establishing workflow, information requirements,
and protocol for tracking status
Operational Coordination Challenges
Observation



Large number of
incidents
Agencies determine
priorities independently
Lack of transparency
from utility
Implication



Challenges coordinating
incidents requiring multiagency response
Personnel on scene for
lengthy periods
Resources strained
Establish citywide priorities to guide agency
response efforts during EOC activations
Project Goals
By standardizing incident reporting processes and
establishing citywide priorities we sought to…
Empower agencies with information to coordinate field
operations
Unify agencies around a citywide common operating
picture
Improve resource management
Generate metrics to measure success
Substantiate requests for State and Federal assistance
Research and Scoping
Road Closure Priorities
OEM worked with public safety, public works, and transit
agencies to develop a list of priority roadways to guide
initial response efforts during a citywide emergency.
Tier
Definition
Approx. Mileage
RC1
Primary thoroughfares; routes providing 393 (14%)
access to public safety, hospitals, and
utility facilities; and SEPTA priority routes
RC2
Major arterials not captured in RC-1
396 (14%)
RC3
All other roadways not included in RC-1
or RC-2
2056 (72%)
Information Requirements
Incident Types Examples
Building
Damage
Electrical
Infrastructure
Damage
Street
Infrastructure
Damage
Vegetation
Down
Roadway
Closed /
Obstructed
Lead Agency(s)
Details
Description, owner,
Roof damage, basement,
Licenses & Inspections displaced residents,
foundation, collapse
damage class.
Wires down, pole
Power outage,
Fire Department
leaning/down, transformer
vegetation, road
PECO
damage
closure
Flooded roadway, rubbish
District, type of
Streets Department
on the roadway, signal
crews needed
damage, road damage
Limb down, tree down,
Type, size, power
Parks Department
stump removal, uprooted
lines, road closure
Bounds of closure,
Road Closure (RC) 1,
Police Department
travel lanes,
RC2, RC3
direction of travel
Identify Key Tasks
REPORTING
INTAKE
COORDINATION
ANALYSIS
Map the Process
Initial Paper-based System
Initial system
included paper
forms and an
excel-based web
portal. This was
lightly tested on
three occasions:
•
•
•
Dec 2013 OEM
exercise
Feb 2014 winter
weather EOC
activation
June 2014
PECO exercise
Web-based System
In spring 2014, OEM hired a GIS firm to develop a
web-based application…
 Build database and data schema
 Feeds from Philly311 and FCC
 Automated address verification and prioritization
 Integrated mapping
 Ability to configure settings
 Operations dashboard
EOC Data Management System
Technical Specifications
 ESRI based GIS environment
 Shared by OEM, Police Department, and
Delaware Valley Intelligence Center
 Java script based application utilizing ArcGIS
tuned servers and backing it with ArcSDE with
Microsoft SQL Server databases
 Service oriented architecture
 Windows authentication
Homepage
Map Viewer
Create/Edit Incidents
Status
311/Fire Feeds
Relationships
Layers: CIKR
Layers: Violations
Layers: Boundaries
Data Viewer
Dashboard
Admin Tools
Improved Situational Awareness
Accurate, real-time incident counts, details,
and status help facilitate:
Timely decision-making
Unity of effort
Effective response/recovery efforts
Efficient resource allocation
Enhanced opportunities for participation in
disaster assistance programs
Best Practices
Plan before you buy…
Scope your project…
Keep it simple…
Example A
Example B
Develop a good blueprint…
Develop a communications plan…
Identify your testing team…
Questions?
Ryan Abbott
City of Philadelphia
Office of Emergency Management
215-683-3255
[email protected]