Equipping for Emergencies

Last week I posted about emergency communications planning, describing it as the critical, and often neglected, first step in any emergency preparedness effort.  Today, we’ll turn to the second step, equipping, which is probably the most over-emphasized element of preparedness.

Solution and Problem

While it is easier to disseminate emergency public information (EPI) today than ever before – thanks to e‑mail, SMS, telephone notification systems (i.e., 911 callback), outdoor warning sirens, public address systems, Web sites, electronic message boards, campus radio broadcasts, and ready access to the local media – in recent years, the over-emphasis on purchasing the latest and greatest emergency technology (including communications hardware and software) has resulted in innumerable millions of dollars spent on unnecessary, inappropriate, inadequate, and non-functioning equipment.

Buyers and sellers are both to blame for the waste.  Sellers are prone to pitching the technology they have on-hand, which in many cases presents solutions in search of a problem, instead of the other way around.  In other cases, vendors oversell their products, leading to the proliferation of expensive emergency vaporware.  Buyers’ reasons for their excessive focus on gear, gadgets, and gizmos appear to be more psychological than practical.  Aside from appealing to our desire to have the latest cool technology (i.e., the “wow factor”), equipment offers the (usually illusory) prospect of solving our emergency problems quickly and easily, at the push of a button.  Perhaps because IT and communications are so equipment-intensive, professionals in these fields seem particularly susceptible to marketing pitches for these ostensible “black box” solutions.  More importantly, many emergency technology consumers believe that investing in the latest technologies reduces or eliminates the need for good planning.  It’s easier to purchase than plan, right?

Plan First, Buy Later

Equipment is only as good as the plans it aids in implementing.  In the absence of well-developed plans, equipment will almost inevitably be under-used or misused.  Aside from the obvious waste of resources, during an emergency this mismatch between planning and equipping can lead to ineffective or inefficient delivery of emergency services, and in the worst case can lead to property loss, injury, or even death.

How do you avoid this outcome?  It’s not as difficult as it might seem:

• Develop plans, then find the equipment that can help implement those plans.  If you’re responsible for equipment, but not planning, meet with the planner to find out what his or her technology needs are.  Ask, don’t tell.  What problems need to be solved?  Do they lend themselves to realistic technological solutions?
• Don’t believe (all) the hype.  Vendor sales pitches are important sources of product information, but are not a substitute for talking with others already using the equipment.  In Chicago, after being charmed by an aggressive vendor, our IT director pushed for a large investment in a certain emergency management software package.  When I asked the emergency managers from other major cities what their experience with the software had been, they told me it was great, except for when it deleted their critical archival data files.  I told the IT director to keep shopping.
• Remember that if gear appears too good to be true, it probably is.

Of course, technological developments can allow you to plan to do things that you otherwise could not.  Staying on top of the latest in the equipment market is essential, but don’t put the purchasing cart before the planning horse.  Technological innovations can broaden and improve, but are never substitutes for, good planning.

EPI technology needs to facilitate your getting the right information to the right people at the right time.  As with planning, let questions guide your purchasing decisions:

• If you have pre-scripted messages, how are they stored?  Are they immediately available?  How will you control access to them?
• How will you broadcast your information?  Under what circumstances will you use the different means at your disposal?  How are they activated?  How will you control access?  Don’t forget special needs populations!
• How are you logging events?  Documentation is essential because the lessons learned from today’s emergency (or exercise) are the basis for tomorrow’s improved preparedness.
• Are your systems redundant?  What if the power, land-line phone service, or Internet connectivity is out?  What if cell towers are down or overwhelmed?  Do you have lo-tech back-ups like message boards, runners, notebooks, and megaphones?
• Do your solutions address the needs of a multi-lingual population?
• Do your EPI and other emergency systems integrate with those of other institutions, public safety agencies, and media outlets?  During an emergency is the worst time to try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Once you’ve identified and acquired the equipment you need to turn your plans into action, it’s time to train personnel on both.  Next week’s posting will focus on training.