Orchestrating through Whirlwind: Identified Challenges and Resilience Factors of Incident Management Teams during Hurricane Harvey

While resilience in emergency management has been studied at the macro- (government) and micro-levels (individual field responder), little is known for resilience of incident management teams (IMTs). To investigate challenges and resilience factors of IMTs, this paper documents thematic analysis of 10 interviews with emergency personnel who responded to Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Themes emerged in four categories: goals, challenges, resilience factors, and technical tools of IMTs. Given similar goals but unique challenges during Harvey, IMTs sought to establish and maintain a common operating picture to make sense of evolving situations and make decisions adaptively. Various technical tools were used providing different functionalities, but a need for technology to reduce cognitive load was indicated. Findings of this study will inform the development of more resilient IMTs in future disasters.

Unmanned Air Systems: Technology and Regulatory Advances for the Oil Spill Response Community

Field testing small unmanned air systems (UAS) in marine oil spill response exercises began in 2006. Soon afterward there were multiple credible examples where uas's could complement the traditional roles which manned aircraft filled for oil spill observation. Testing stopped abruptly in 2007 when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration changed rules for the commercial use of uas's. Testing resumed in 2013 after the U.S. Congress mandated that the FAA finalize operating rules for uas commercial use. Exercise tests validated oil spill observation by uas's when an experienced aerial oil spill observer confirmed that properly equipped uas platforms and cameras could offer results equal to manned aircraft flights. Today there are a much wider variety of uas's and increasingly more capable sensors which can be utilized for creating highly detailed maps or data collection for geographic information system applications such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA). Radio technology advances have also improved the ability to transfer video/data over greater distance and faster speeds than initial tests. Mobile ad hoc networks of multiple radios can transfer uas data streams beyond line of sight and connect with the internet for even broader distribution. This same network can also be used by responders in the field to exchange video, voice and location data and be linked real time with command post map displays and data feeds creating a true common operating picture across the entire response effort. From an organizational perspective, uas's are not discussed in the 2014 USCG Incident Management Handbook. Despite this however, their activities need coordinated with manned aircraft through Air Operations for regulations and safety. Staging them at airports serves little purpose given their flexibility and small size. Better utilization would be achieved placing the uas and operators near the command posts or at staging sites alongside the boats or vehicles they would work from. Their unique differences would also support creating a UAS Group Supervisor in Air Operations to clarify their requirements and tasking. The Situation Unit would typically be the best central receiving point for incoming data and from there aerial observers and data specialists can route video / data to operations, gis users and display operators managing the common operating picture. Additional topics for final presentation:*See and avoid capabilities*Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) transmitters/receivers*Night flights approval*New operator regulations not requiring pilot's license

Developing a better Common Operating Picture (COP) using open source data in a web map solution.

ABSTRACT How can the responders of an oil spill operation make sure that the Common Operating Picture (COP) gives the situational awareness that is needed? How can the response personnel avoid producing and consuming so much data that the COP gets overloaded with information? How can the users differentiate the “need to have” from the “nice to have” data? And what type of information do response personnel need offshore, and is that same information relevant for the Incident Command Post? These are some of the questions that NOFO has discussed with the Norwegian Coastal Administration, our partner in the project “Web based map solution”. The project has so far developed a shoreline response tool, consisting of a web map solution and a mobile application (App). With the “Shoreline App” you can collect data in the field, take pictures and video, view oil contamination, and quickly communicate this to the web map-solution. This new technology enables the response organisation to document and act faster, more efficient with increased accuracy. The shoreline clean-up module includes SCAT, work assignments and daily reports from the field, as well as statistics and analysing tools. Inspired by IOGP-IPIECA (2015), NOFO have started to improve the NOFO COP OSR (oil spill response) to cover offshore, nearshore and shoreline operations. The scope for this work is to create a seamless integration of the different data that we receive, especially the surveillance sensor data such as aerial overflights, satellite images, images from ships and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). All the data registered in the system are given a predefined timeframe in which they will automatically be deactivated from the COP. This aids us in managing the data flow, presenting the latest information available, and avoid taking action based on outdated information. A timeline gives either predictions, real time information or historical data, and enables the user to “play off” the incident from Day 1 until the end, or even for a specific period. The Adaptive interface, which is the platform the NOFO COP OSR uses, features the possibility to build different COP viewpoints for different levels in the response organisation. The NOFO COP OSR may also be used for communication externally during and after clean-up efforts. The public and press can get limited insight through role-based access. Based on the collected data, statistics and graphs are easily generated for use in the preparation of reports and presentations.