Subject: [NEXTEL-1] EOC Articles

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Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 03:10:27 -0400

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List of EOC Articles:

1.Why Have an EOC?

2.EOC Internal Communication Methods

3.Model for Processing Calls into the EOC

Why Have an EOC?

By

Clark Reynolds

Clark Reynolds & Co.

As an elected official have you ever wondered, "Why have an
Emergency Operations Center?" This is a good question.

A jurisdiction's Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, is a critical
emergency resource, as important as a fire truck. But, EOC's are not fully appreciated, probably because their purpose is not clearly understood. Having a clear purpose can have a direct impact on the design of an
effective EOC.

There are varying opinions about the purpose of the Emergency Operations
Center. Is it a control center? Is it a dispatch center? What is it?

I have discussed the purpose of the EOC with emergency managers across
the country. Most have agreed that the EOC has a two-fold purpose:

1. To develop and maintain awareness of the emergency situation for decision makers

2. To coordinate support for emergency responders

The first purpose, To develop and maintain awareness of the emergency
situation for decision making,
is critical. Why? Because, it is the basis for making critical decisions and for releasing information that could effect the lives of everyone in the jurisdiction. Making critical decisions without situation awareness borders on irresponsible; it can be dangerous and may become a potential legal liability.

Before we can understand the value of the EOC, we need to define some of
the terminology we use to describe the EOC.

Decision makers: We are not talking about the expertise in the EOC. We
mean chief elected officials or their authorized representatives who are responsible for making the critical decisions that may effect the entire jurisdiction.

Critical decisions: These are the strategic level decisions that chief
elected officials or their representatives must make. Strategic level decisions are those that may effect the entire jurisdiction. The experts running the EOC make the tactical level decisions.

Critical strategic level decisions usually reveal themselves as
difficult questions during an emergency. Can we handle this emergency? Should or could we declare a disaster or state of emergency? What are the public safety or legal implications of ordering curfews, evacuations,
deployments, and quarantines? What will it cost? What, when, how, or should we tell the public?

Emergency Public Information is the second important reason for having
an EOC. Emergency Public Information includes tools such as press releases and public service announcements, press conferences, etc. Chief elected officials can use these tools to affect how the public reacts to an
emergency and, consequently, affect the scope of the emergency.

In summary, if we are not adequately aware of the emergency situation,
then we do not know what to say to the public. We are gambling. In the absence of a steady flow of credible information from chief elected officials or their representatives, the public may seek its own answers in
rumors or from a speculating news media.

Now, let's look at the second purpose of the EOC: To coordinate
support for emergency responders. It is second behind situation awareness because, if you are unaware of the emergency situation, it follows that you cannot effectively and responsibly coordinate support. Again,
to understand this purpose, we need to define the terminology.

Support. This is a key term. It involves the supplying the resources
needed to sustain emergency responders and their activities.

Emergency responders. These are the people in the field who must deal
with the emergency, firsthand. The "field" could be outdoors or in hospital emergency rooms which become the "front lines" during epidemics.

Coordination. This is the process of linking requests for resources from
responders to providers of resources, or "match making," if you will. The process involves answering a call from a responder, finding and calling resources, arranging deliveries, following up on promises,
and monitoring results on behalf of the requester. Much of this is done by telephone, some by radio. By whatever means, coordination for a request should be the responsibility of one EOC staff member who reports a
result to the requester.

Coordinating is different from managing. Practically speaking, the EOC
does not manage responders or their resources. Response agencies have their own operations centers, or dispatch centers, for managing responders and their resources. The EOC is "behind the lines,"
monitoring the situation and "feeding the pipeline" by coordinating requests for support from responder operations centers.

An EOC that can develop situation awareness has the capability of
effectively coordinating support for responders in the field. These two capabilities make the EOC an essential tool and an integral part of the jurisdiction's arsenal of emergency resources.

EOC Internal Communication Methods

By

Clark Reynolds

Clark Reynolds & Co.

Before we can explore EOC Internal Communication Methods,
we need to review the nature of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). What sort of communication is going on in the EOC? Simply stated, communication in the EOC is about the
EOC staff processing information for decision makers and coordinating support with each other on behalf of anxious emergency responders who need help right away.

Therefore, quick reaction time characterizes the nature of
coordination communication within the EOC.

Communication is a broad term and its definition is the source
of confusion among information systems professionals and emergency managers who are striving for the same goal: improved communications in the EOC. Many information
systems professionals have a business world perspective. What distinguishes emergency coordination communications from the business world is quick reaction time.

In the business world, people have longer communications
cycles; more time to complete transactions, etc. For example, one or two days to fill an order is considered great turnaround time. On the other hand, EOC staff members have a much
shorter communications cycle, usually minutes or hours, because responders in the field need answers now, not tomorrow or the next day.

P. Bordia compared the results of 18 studies regarding
face-to-face versus computer-mediated communication in The Journal of Business Communication:

"Experimental studies show that, compared to
face-to-face communication, communicating through computers encourages participation but creates frustration and reduces performance in interdependent tasks when time is limited."(1)

"When time is limited" is the key phrase. Limited time in the
EOC demands the use of the highest quality communication channel which is defined by a hierarchy of communication channels.

Numerous management theory authors and experienced
emergency managers have known for years that when time is limited some communications channels are better than others. These channels can be ranked into a hierarchy. R. L. Daft in his
book, Organization Theory and Design (2), distinguishes the
following communication channels into the following hierarchy:

1.         Face-to-face communication. Face-to-face
communication is the richest medium. Communicating this way keeps communication cycles extremely short.

2.         Telephony. The telephone and related personal
electronic media such as voice mail are next in richness. Though the telephone lacks a visual channel, it is a relatively rich medium for communication because
feedback is fast and messages are personally focused (the only exception being group telephone meetings).

3.         Written, addressed documents. Addressed
documents such as letters, memos, notes, and faxes are lower still in richness. All operations on a message (composition, editing, transmission, reception, feedback,
and reply) take more time compared to the richer media.

The Incident Command System recommends that the
Operations Chief periodically conduct a face-to-face meeting of all EOC coordinating staff members because it is the fastest way to update everyone on the emergency situation and to
communicate, simultaneously, in both directions. This is one reason for having everyone in the same room.

Whenever possible, EOC staff members should use
face-to-face communication, which is the highest quality form and fastest method of communication, to coordinate with others in the EOC. Any EOC communications system you install should
preserve the quality of face-to-face communications.

(1) Bordia, Prashant, "Face-to-Face Versus Computer-Mediated Communication: A
Synthesis of the Experimental Literature," The Journal of Business Communication, 1997, vol. 34, pp. 99-100, 110-113.

(2) Daft, R. L., Organization Theory and Design, (West Publishing Company, 1992) (fourth edition)

Model for Processing Calls into the EOC

By

Clark Reynolds

Clark Reynolds & Co.

Much of the information that converges on the EOC during an
emergency arrives in verbal form as calls, mostly by telephone and some by radio. Some calls are more important than others which implies that all calls should not be processed the same
way. The steps involved in handling calls, from reception to delivery, is an important process. In this article we present an EOC call processing model inspired by observation and the concept of reengineering.

Since its appearance in the 1990's, reengineering has become
a standard method for improving processes in business. One of the lessons of reengineering is that effective processes are integrated. This means that the more steps one person can do
in a process, the better integrated the process. What emerges is a "case manager" who provides a single contact for the customer resulting in fewer misunderstandings and errors.

Processing calls coming into the EOC is a perfect application
for reengineering. In this article, the EOC is defined as the place where situation awareness is displayed and function coordinators work.

If some calls coming into the EOC are more important than
others and information accuracy is critical, then what is the best way to handle calls? Reengineering is part of the answer. The rest of the answer may lie in a study of call processing in the
EOC. The following observations are typical:

1. In the EOC there are roughly five steps in processing a
call: Receive, Prioritize, Route, Write, and Deliver. Some of these steps may be performed in a different order, depending on the process used.

2. Prioritizing is fundamental to correctly processing a call
coming into the EOC.

3. Incoming calls fall into two general levels of priority:
Urgent and Routine. Urgent calls include requests for support (coordination) or information, reports of major events, or other time-sensitive calls. Routine calls may
include reports of emergency statistics (damage, casualties), and status reports which do not need immediate delivery.

4. EOC function coordinators or similar staff members should process urgent calls.

5. People who work in the EOC are in a better position to
evaluate the priority of an incoming call because they are aware of the emergency situation displayed in the EOC.

6. When a person converts verbal information into writing,
the written message loses some meaning and is distorted because of human filtering and choice of words.

7. When steps in processing calls are physically
separated into different rooms, EOC complexity increases because more systems are needed to route calls and to deliver written messages.

8. When a written message must be delivered, manually or
electronically, the potential for lost, misdirected or overlooked information increases.

9. In an EOC with a separate message center the person
who writes a message may not be available to clarify it.

Model Design Factors

The list of observations above depicts a perilous journey for
calls working their way through an EOC. Verbal information coming into the EOC is subject to distortion by people and systems. People filter, fragment and, sometimes, misroute
information. However, certain design factors emerge from this mass of observations that can be used to develop a call processing model:

Human behavior will impact call processing.

The priority of a call will dictate how it should be processed.

The best process is the one with the least risk of misdirecting, distorting or losing information.

The call processing model we propose could be expanded
when needed and would have two operating levels depending on the volume of message traffic:

Operating Level 1:  A switchboard operator transfers all
calls, regardless of priority, directly to an appropriate function coordinator in the EOC.

Discussion: The switchboard operator refers to a one-page
directory of EOC function coordinators to transfer calls. EOC function coordinators are cross trained to take messages, regardless of function, so they can answer calls for each other
when needed. Each EOC function coordinator acts as a "case manager" for Urgent calls and as a message taker for routine calls.

Advantages:

This level is more integrated because it requires the fewest people in the call handling process. The switchboard receives and routes the call. The EOC
function coordinator prioritizes and writes the message. Little, if any, delivery is needed. This reduces the risk of information misdirection or distortion.

The system is simple, resulting in fewer routing procedures and delivery systems.

The system is flexible because a Message Center can be added, if needed.

There is no risk of misdirecting urgent or routine calls at the switchboard.

If a call is misrouted to an EOC function coordinator, a redirection can be made quickly because the call is already in the EOC.

The risk of incorrectly prioritizing a call is reduced. The EOC function coordinator who answers a call is aware of
the emergency situation or can draw on the collective judgment of other nearby EOC function coordinators to correctly prioritize a call.

Because messages are written in the EOC, there is little risk that a message writer is unavailable to clarify a message.

Message taking training for EOC function coordinators and message center staff can be identical. No special handling instructions are needed.

There is no risk of losing written messages between the EOC and a message center.

Disadvantages:

EOC staff handles both Urgent and Routine messages. If message traffic escalates, the EOC staff may be
overloaded. However, the overload threshhold may be quite high in practice. Note: an EOC with a dozen EOC function coordinators easily absorbed an incoming call
rate of 75 messages per hour during a recent exercise.

EOC function coordinators need training on message taking techniques. However, this should be an essential skill for coordination.

Operating Level 2:  Insert a message center to take routine
calls from the switchboard operator.

Discussion: The only difference between Level 1 and 2 call
processing is that, in Level 2, the switchboard operator must prioritize calls and transfer routine calls to a Message Center where calls are converted into written form. This written
information must then be delivered to the EOC staff. The switchboard transfers urgent calls directly to an EOC function coordinator as in Level 1.

Advantages:

Call processing steps for urgent calls remain integrated at the EOC function coordinator level.

EOC function coordinators focus on urgent calls while the message center focuses on routine calls.

Extremely high incoming call traffic can be absorbed.

Disadvantages:

This level inserts more people into the call handling process. Because the processing steps are split between
the message center, the EOC and a delivery system, there is increased risk of information misdirection, distortion, or loss.

More people need to be trained because more people are involved in processing calls.

There is risk of incorrectly prioritizing and misrouting calls at the switchboard. Because the switchboard is not aware
of the emergency situation displayed in the EOC and does not have the benefit of the collective judgment of EOC function coordinators, urgent calls may be transferred to
the message center by mistake. Misrouted calls increase the risk of information distortion, loss or delay.

Routine calls that go through the message center to the EOC will be delayed. Routine reports such as casualty
statistics or status reports may become urgent depending on the emergency situation. The switchbaord and message center may not realize the new urgency.

Message takers in the message center are not available to clarify written messages to readers in the EOC.

More specialized training in call processing is needed. The Switchboard operator must learn to immediately
prioritize calls. Routing and delivery systems are needed between the switchboard, message center and the EOC.

Recommendation: This article describes a model with two
operating levels which includes a message center. Try to maintain the simplest call processing situation. Keep EOC call processing at Level 1 as long as possible to reduce the risk of
distortion, delay or loss. Go to Level 2 when message traffic increases to an unmanageable level, but be aware of the risks that can degrade call processing.

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