Using the TODIM-FSE method as a decision-making support methodology for oil spill response

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 40-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aderson Campos Passos ◽  
Marcello Goulart Teixeira ◽  
Katia Cristina Garcia ◽  
Anelise Menezes Cardoso ◽  
Luiz Flavio Autran Monteiro Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Decision Making Support

METACOGNITIVE DECISION MAKING IN OIL SPILL RESPONSE-BEHAVIORAL BIAS IN RELATION TO PERCEIVED RISK

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 1453-1470
Author(s):  
LT Christopher M. Kimrey
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Behavioral Bias ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT 2017-205 Catastrophic events like Deepwater Horizon, Exxon Valdez, major hurricanes, and other such anomalies have a tendency to overwhelm the initial crisis management leadership due to the chaotic nature of the event. The inability to quickly and accurately make critical assessments about the magnitude and complexity of the emerging catastrophe can spell disaster for crisis managers long before the response ever truly takes shape. This paper argues for the application of metacognitive models for sense and decision-making. Rather than providing tools and checklists as a recipe for success, this paper endeavors to provide awareness of the cognitive processes and heuristics that tend to emerge in crises including major oil spills, making emergency managers aware of their existence and potential impacts. Awareness, we argue, leads to recognition and self-awareness of key behavioral patterns and biases. The skill of metacognition—thinking about thinking—is what we endeavor to build through this work. Using a literature review and cogent application to oil spill response, this paper reviews contemporary theories on metacognition and sense-making, as well as concepts of behavioral bias and risk perception in catastrophic environments. When catastrophe occurs—and history has proven they will—the incident itself and the external pressures of its perceived management arguably emerge simultaneously, but not necessarily in tandem with one another. Previous spills have demonstrated how a mismanaged incident can result in an unwieldy and caustic confluence of external forces. This paper provides an awareness of biases that lead to mismanagement and apply for the first time a summary of concepts of sense-making and metacognition to major oil spill response. The views and ideas expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Coast Guard or Department of Homeland Security.

Why Sample? - Understanding Common Sampling Objectives for Oil Spill Response

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 2561-2580
Author(s):  
Angeline Morrow ◽  
Christopher Pfeifer ◽  
Victoria Broje ◽  
Rachel Grunberg
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Alternative Response ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Worker Health And Safety ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Physical And Chemical

ABSTRACT #2017-204: There is a growing recognition of the role science plays in supporting oil spill response coupled with increasing reliance on data-driven management and decision-making approaches. Collecting samples for analysis of hydrocarbons and other chemicals potentially used during oil spill response (e.g., dispersants) has become common place on many spills. While the rationale and approaches for oil spill sampling may be well known to experienced chemists and environmental scientists, the response community is still gaining experience in integrating sampling programs into dynamic oil spill response and decision-making. This paper reviews common sampling objectives for three key aspects of spill response: operational decision-support, environmental impact assessment (including natural resource damage assessment), and source identification. These broad categories span a range of interrelated sub-topics including, among others, public/worker health and safety; understanding how physical and chemical properties of oil influence selection of response options; monitoring cleanup effectiveness, especially for alternative response technologies such as dispersants; identifying and differentiating between spill and non-spill pollution sources; and evaluating potential impacts to resources at risk. Methods for achieving sampling objectives, including development of Sampling and Analysis Plans, are discussed with the goal of increasing awareness among response managers and improving response capability among staff who may be tasked with sampling support during training exercises or actual incidents. Relevant considerations for study design, collection methods, and analytical parameters are also reviewed.

scholarly journals The Multi-Partner Research Initiative: A Scientific Research Network to Support Decision Making in Oil Spill Response

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Lee
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Alternative Response ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Research Initiative ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Partner Research

ABSTRACT The Government of Canada's Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) is a comprehensive, transformative $1.5 billion strategy to build a world-leading marine safety system to protect marine ecosystems, while enabling inclusive economic growth. A key component of the OPP is the Multi-Partner Research Initiative (MPRI), led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in collaboration with other federal agencies (Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Coast Guard, Natural Resources Canada, and Transport Canada), that aims to advance oil spill research by fostering a national/international research network that brings together scientific experts in the field. The core studies under this program are focused on the provision of scientific knowledge to support the development, validation and regulatory approval of Alternative Response Measures (ARMs) that include: spill treating agents, in situ burning, oil translocation and decanting/oily waste disposal. Additional research includes studies on key “cross-cutting” issues, such as natural attenuation and bioremediation of oil, assessment of toxic impacts associated with oil spills and the application of oil spill countermeasures, and oil detection and mapping by autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The deliverables from this research program will provide essential information to support Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) for decision making to select the optimal oil spill response option(s) to protect the marine environment and its living resources. With an emphasis on supporting the development of the next generation of scientists in the field through engagement with the private sector (i.e., spill response organizations and oil industry partners) and other international (e.g., USA, Norway, France, Australia, China) government agencies, MPRI is anticipated to have a profound influence on the oil spill research community and emergency response agencies within Canada and abroad.

Spill Response Decision-Making in Relation to Wildlife Resources and Oil Spill Applied Technologies

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 311-318
Author(s):  
Debra Scholz ◽  
Steven R. Warren ◽  
Heidi Stout ◽  
Gregory Hogue ◽  
Ann Hayward Walker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
The United States ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Limited Experience ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Us ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
National Marine Fisheries Service ◽  
Spilled Oil

ABSTRACT During a response to spilled oil or hazardous material, the protection, retrieval, and rehabilitation of affected wildlife is the jurisdiction of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the US Department of Interior (DOI), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the affected state resource trustees. Only permitted and trained individuals (Qualified Wildlife Responders - QWR) are allowed to directly handle the affected wildlife. QWRs are familiar with a wide range of actions that can be taken to minimize the adverse effects of spilled oil on fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. However, decision-makers and QWRs are not always familiar with the effects that various oil spill products and technologies may have on different wildlife resources. Applied oil spill products and technologies are listed under the National Contingency Plan (NCP) Product Schedule (40 CFR § 300.317) and are the focus of the Selection Guide for Oil Spill Applied Technologies. These applied oil spill products and technologies are relatively unknown and most decision-makers have limited experience in their use. To facilitate greater understanding of these products and technologies, the Selection Guide assists the decision-maker to evaluate the various spill response products and technologies for potential or suspected impacts to the environment, workers, and natural resources. Of particular interest is the evaluation of the use of various oil spill response

scholarly journals Time Window-of-Opportunity Strategies for Oil Spill Planning and Response

1999 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atle B. Nordvik
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Specific Response ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Oil Spill Response

This paper presents an integrated scientific and engineering strategy to improve and bring planning and decision-making for marine oil spill response to a higher level of knowledge. The most efficient, environmentally preferred, and cost effective spill response is dependent on the following factors: chemistry of the spilled product, quantity, location, response time, environmental conditions, and effectiveness of available response technologies at various degrees of oil weathering.Time windows is a highly targeted process, in which the selection of response technologies will be more efficient, cost effective, technically correct, and environmentally sensitive and appropriate. The strategy integrates dynamic oil weathering data and performance effectiveness data for oil spill response technologies derived from laboratory, mesoscale, and experimental field studies. Performance data has been developed from a wide range of viscosities of different weathering stages of transported oils into a dynamic oil weathering database to identify and estimate time periods, called "technology windows-of-opportunity." In these windows, specific response methods, technologies, equipment, or products are more effective during clean-up operations for specific oils. The data bases represent the state of the art for response technologies and research in oil spill response.The strategy provides a standard foundation for rapid and cost effective oil spill response decision-making, and is intended for use by local, state, federal agencies, response planners, clean up organizations (responders), insurance companies, tanker owners, and transporters. It provides policy, planners and decision-makers with a scientifically based and documented "tool" in oil spill response that has not been available before.

Field Evaluation of a Wireless Electronic Shoreline Cleanup Support System

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 859-861
Author(s):  
Alain Lamarche ◽  
John Ion ◽  
Peter Rubec ◽  
A.A. LaVoi ◽  
J. K. Winner
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Wireless Lan ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Satellite Communication ◽  
Directional Antennas ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Prototype System ◽  
Differential Gps ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT A prototype system was designed and assembled to electronically support all the steps involved in the cleanup phase of an oil spill response, from field data acquisition to decision making at a command post. The system included satellite communication, wireless Local Area Networks (LANs), Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and computerized Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) support software. Field data entry was done using a penpad linked to a wearable computer, including (1) creation of electronic shoreline oiling summary diagrams with the help of a GIS; (2) completion of electronic SCAT forms; (3) exact positioning of oil patches and other spatial information with a differential Global Positioning System (DGPS); and (4) recording of images with a video camera. Information from the field was transmitted through a wireless LAN to a portable computer, which relayed the data via satellite communication to a central facility where information was integrated and analyzed for decision making. The system was evaluated during a number of field trials with personnel from the Bureau of Emergencies Response (state of Florida), normally involved in oil spill response. The evaluation demonstrated that (1) a stand-alone system, including differential GPS capability, was optimal to support SCAT activities in the field; (2) the setup and operation of a wireless LAN was both cumbersome and not worth the improvement in peiformance (reduced transfer time), particularly due to the necessity of deploying unwieldy directional antennas; (3) a major limitation was that the wearable computer's display was not visible under bright sunlight; (4) communication by wireless LAN and satellite network proved feasible, but too difficult to do routinely; (5) the use of computerized software tools in combination with detailed base maps (digital orthoquads) proved to be a huge improvement over the use of pen and paper; (6) the use of an all-electronic environment substantially shortened the length of time necessary to produce decision maps.

Use of Dispersants in the United States: Perception or Reality?

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 389-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Cunningham ◽  
Karen A. Sahatjian ◽  
Chris Meyers ◽  
Gary Yoshioka ◽  
Julie M. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Unfavorable Weather

ABSTRACT Dispersants have been a controversial oil spill response technique since their introduction during the Torrey Canyon oil spill off the coast of the United Kingdom in 1967. Despite reductions in the toxicity of dispersants and improvements in their application since then, dispersants have not been used extensively in the United States because of logistical difficulties, unfavorable weather conditions, and a lack of demonstrated effectiveness during actual spill conditions. In addition, there is a widely held perception in the United States that dispersant use has been limited by complex authorization procedures. This paper reviews the dispersant policies of several European nations and Canada and compares them with those of the United States. Recent developments in U. S. dispersant policy are outlined, particularly those designed to expedite decision making. The paper concludes by examining some recent U. S. oil spills in which dispersant use was considered.

INNOVATIVE TRAINING: COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING

1983 ◽  
Vol 1983 (1) ◽  
pp. 243-243
Author(s):  
C. H. Peabody ◽  
R. H. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
River System ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Computer Assisted Learning ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT Response to recent oil spill incidents has shown the need to augment the training of oil spill response teams. At the spill site, the on-scene commander attempts to correlate all the available information to implement the optimum cleanup strategy promptly. In most cases, rapid decision-making is lacking. Traditional hands-on training supplies response crews with practical experience in oil spill cleanup but leaves the on-scene commander unprepared for the time pressures of a real situation. To simulate these pressures dramatically, a new technique using computer assisted learning has been developed for training on-scene commanders. The computer assisted learning system will not replace the hands-on training field exercises, but complement them. Two oil spill scenarios have been developed. The first involves a continuous leak in a fast-flowing river system, limited equipment and manpower constraints. The second involves an instantaneous discharge in the open ocean. This introduces the problem of determining the spill location, compounded by weather and equipment concerns. A 48-hour scenario is simulated in four hours actual time. The on-scene commander responds to the spill situation by interacting with the computer display terminal. He can request weather information and spill trajectories, deploy booms and skimmers, and be presented with problems to be solved in a time-pressure situation. These problems include the sighting of oiled birds, press conference, labor strikes, weather changes, and equipment breakdowns. On termination of the simulated response, data are provided on the amount of oil recovered, the percent of shoreline oil, and the total cost of the cleanup. Average values are compiled for comparative purposes. The computer assisted learning program has proven to be a useful adjunct to our usual training program and provides the on-scene commander trainee the opportunity to experience the time pressures of and decision-making required during an oil spill response.

UTILIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY IN MARINE OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLANNING, RESPONSE, AND TRAINING

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 993-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Champ ◽  
Atle B. Nordvik ◽  
James L. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Contingency Planning ◽  
Marine Oil ◽  
Windows Of Opportunity ◽  
Utilization Of Technology ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
And Training

ABSTRACT This paper discusses a newly developed scientific and engineering planning and decision-making tool, the technology windows-of-opportunity concept, and how it can be used for marine oil spill contingency planning, response, education, and training on a global basis. The “windows-of-opportunity” approach provides a common foundation for the development of a rapid and cost-effective tool for oil spill contingency planning and spill response decision making. It is intended for use by state and federal agencies, response planners, cleanup organizations (responders), insurance companies, tanker owners, and transporters. The “windows” concept has the potential for significant environmental and cost benefits in spill response. It will provide policymakers and decision makers with a scientifically based and documented “tool” in oil spill response that has not been available before.

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