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To print the entire report as text-only, go to complete.htm
The chief recommendations which emerged from this
exercise were to increase staffing and to make the transition to an electronic environment
in the Emergency Coordination Center. Some physical layout changes to the ECC and
procedural modifications have been proposed as well. These recommendations do not
correspond exactly by section title to other parts of the report because some of the
recommendations encompassed more than one area (especially the recommendations related to
electronic systems).
Staffing
Recommend:
- Conduct a recruitment push to gain more staffing
support for the ECC
- Provide additional training opportunities for new
recruits
- Ask all supporting agencies to review their staffing
capabilities and make realistic adjustments
- Increase staffing in the Planning Section
- Consider dedicating a staff position to general ECC
operations/role orientation of incoming ECC staff
- Consider staffing the Planning Section Chief with a
non-CRCA staff member
- In an electronic environment, dedicate a staff member
to managing the electronic systems
Training
Recommend:
- Shift focus of Introduction to ECC Operations course
more to individual roles in ECC
- Allot more time to hands-on skills in subsequent
training sessions
- Develop a laminated "cheat-sheet" for each
section describing others' roles
- Update position check lists and manuals for each
section
Resource Management
Recommend:
- Ask Purchasing staff to commit to bring a laptop to
the ECC
- Order extra Clark County phone books for ECC, or have
CRCA staff collect Clark County phone books from the administrative areas for use in the
ECC
- Research alternative ways to update and catalog
resource information lists to easily keep them current
Public Information
Recommend:
- Initiate discussions with PIO staff on development of
a Joint Information Center policy or guideline
- Create method for flagging priority information for
PIO use
- PIO staff compose news releases to reflect and meet
specific communication objectives (such as omit minor details, include information from
other agencies in the ECC, etc.)
- ECC Manager authorize distribution or verbally
announce news release content to all staff as an update whenever appropriate
- Possibly use an electronic information database as
the source for news releases
- Use the internet as an additional method for
distributing public information
Technical Information
Recommend:
- Share GIS maps with all participants either via a
faster color printer, large map print-out capability, or through electronic means
- Technical advisors (GIS and Hydrology) develop
methods or acquire tools to refine flooding maps and hydrology models
- Switch from the hydrologic model predictions to
statistical modeling based on past flooding until hydrology models can be upgraded
- GIS research flood-stage/flood impact correlations
and catalog into a map reference for future events
- Clarify staffing source for hydrology experts,
whether from Public Works Planning or Water Resources Section
ECC Organization
Recommend:
- Transition messaging to a completely electronic
format, retaining manual system only as a backup in case of electronic systems failure
- Provide call-takers with headsets and computers to
increase speed of data collection and ensure complete information is obtained through
required data fields
- Provide whiteboard information to ECC staff
electronically. Authorized personnel not within the ECC, such as elected
officials, would also be able to view the information in real time with proper
log-in procedure
- Develop a system to flag priority events and priority
messages
- Move Planning section to rear of Operations table for
better coordination between them
- Move call-takers near ARES/RACES and Dispatch Liaison
to consolidate all incoming information sources into one area and reduce overall noise
through the use of wall sections
- Ask all ECC participating agencies to commit a
laptop, if available, to their staff in the ECC
Electronic Systems
Recommend:
- Reconfigure phone and computer outlets to match new
ECC layout and reduce the numbers of wires crossing walkways
- Shift the ECC from manual information sharing to
electronic transmission of messages and data
- Research software capable of handling the resultant
computerized ECC functions
- Identify and compare available computer resources
with projected needs
- Purchase additional computer hardware to complete the
transition
- Analyze audiovisual needs versus capabilities in an
electronic environment
- Explore internet needs and capabilities in the ECC
environment
- Purchase an easier domain name for publication of
information via the internet
- Incorporate live CAD views into the ECC electronic
information cache
- Dedicate a printer to the PIO section
- Contract for a backup service to the Xpedite
Broadcast Fax system
- Develop method for displaying GIS maps electronically
for all ECC staff to reference
- Keep an electronic record of all activity in the ECC
in a database for later retrieval
To view the web site version of this section, please go to recommen.htm
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