Operating Virtual Command Centres

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Operating Virtual Command Centres

Presented by Steven C. DavisPrincipal,
DavisLogic, and All Hands Consulting
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Agenda

• How a Virtual Command Center Functions
• Operational Considerations
• Information Management
• Managing Resources
• Examples of Virtual Command Center Software

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First The Purpose of the EOC

• The EOCs purpose is to coordinate incident
  information and resources for management. 
• The EOC must receive, analyze, and display
  information about the incident to enable CEO
  decision-making. 
• The EOC must find, prioritize, deploy, and track
  critical resources. 
• The EOC must enhance decision making,
  communication, collaboration, and coordination.

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What Makes the EOC Work?

• A Good Concept of Operations
• Good Teams
• Good Staff
• Good Communications
• Good Space
• Good Technology

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The Problem

• Command Centers may be impacted by the event.
• Staff may need to be dispersed.
• Remote sites may need to be involved
• Need to effectively direct and control resources,
  actions, information and communications.

WTC 7 housed the NYC Emergency Operations Center
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The Solution

• A Virtual EOC that enables managers to
• Participate in critical decision-making processes
  regardless of physical location
• Effectively direct and control resources
• Automate processes and methodologies
• Assign and track tasks
• Efficiently communicate real-time information
• Protect communication and data with needed
  redundancy and flexibility

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Definition VEOC

• A Virtual EOC is a means - for an organization to
  coordinate response and recovery actions and
  resources - that exists solely or partially in
  cyberspace.
• A VEOC provides an electronic EOC via a computer
  network or the Internet. It can consist of one
  workstation or thousands of networked computers
  dispersed throughout the enterprise and around
  the globe.

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The Virtual Command PostA Military perspective
For survivability, future command posts will be
established and operate in a dispersed
configuration Face-to-face communications will
be effected through the use of audio and video
teleconferencing, data distribution and virtual
reality The virtual reality space of each
conference participant will reside in his own
local computer.  United States Army -
Communications Electronics Command
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The Private Sector Follows Suit
A command center must be established from which
the event can be managed (until a disaster is
officially declared or reentry to the regular
facility is possible). Enterprises should
consider establishing a "virtual" command center
to limit the vulnerability caused by all senior
executives being in one location. Gartner
Research Note September 19, 2001
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What Are They Doing?
Companies such as Cisco and ATT use Virtual
Command Center Software while Fidelity and the
Bank of America utilize conference calls and
on-line databases to coordinate emergency
response for global operations. US Army Regional
Task Forces have used Virtual EOC Software on
wireless networks that can be deployed on short
notice.
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How a VEOC Functions

• Provides C4I (Command, Control, Communications,
  Computers, and Intelligence) functionality in a
  virtual environment.
• Any EOC participant can function as part of a
  virtual command center.
• Some may be operating from the physical EOC.

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How a VEOC Functions

• All participants can access needed data, send
  messages, and update information regardless of
  location.
• Telephone and conference calls can be used as an
  adjunct.
• Modern VEOCs utilize the latest Internet
  technology as well as virtual private networks
  and satellite communications.

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Virtual EOC Design Principles

• Virtual EOCs can use a variety of technology and
  communications options
• Internet, Intranet/VPN, wireless
• Radio, cellular, satellite
• Members participate as appropriate
• Mapping
• Automated journaling
• Access to plans data

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Operational Considerations
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The VEOC Should Be

• Internet based
• Flexible
• Economical
• Convenient
• Based on Live Information
• Interactive
• Collaborative

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Virtual EOC Issues

• Platform/architecture
• Data storage and backup
• Communications
• Administration
• Information organization
• Data links
• Information priority
• Filtering capability (role based)
• Sharing control over resources

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Advantages of a Virtual EOC

• Almost anyone, anywhere can participate
• Lower investment in physical EOC sites
• Ease of use - most products make it easy to learn
  and use the command center software
• Role-based software allows you to focus on
  critical tasks, minimizes clutter and interference

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Advantages of a Virtual EOC

• Easy to set up and implement
• Software updates permit continuous improvements
  and enhancements
• Data can be hosted off-site using redundant
  servers in hardened sites
• Little or no infrastructure required uses
  readily available Internet and telecommunications
  technologies

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Disadvantages of a VEOC

• Even with options, may have problems with
  accessing the VEOC during an emergency
• Face-to-face contact may be needed
• Virtual participants may be distracted by other
  projects/issues
• Requires strong command and control.
• May be expensive

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Internet Technology

• The Internet is everywhere
• Provides the ultimate in redundancy
• Can be done via Intranet or VPN
• Third-party application hosting an option
• The server may be maintained by an Application
  Service Provider (ASP) at a secure, reliable data
  center

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Problems with ASP

• Communications may go down during an emergency
• ASP data center could be affected
• Data is not on-site
• Security
• Availability
• Reliability

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On-site Deployment

• Advantages
• On-site server is always available
• Customer has full control
• Disadvantages
• On-site server is not always up
• Larger infrastructure requirements
• Costs more for vendor services due to travel
• Cannot relocate EOC easily

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Web Hosted Deployment

• Advantages
• Little or no infrastructure required
• Vendor provides high availability
• Any PC with a browser can act as a VEOC
  workstation
• Disadvantages
• Data usually off-site
• Greater dependency on a vendor

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Lessons Learned

• Solutions need to work
• Team over plan
• Treat information as data
• Need simple status board/reports
• Need ability to filter and sort
• Train, practice, revise, train, practice, etc.
• Clear assignments are a must
• Proper staffing is required need back-ups

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Information Management
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Event Information Tracking

• 1. Stakeholder notices possible disruption
• 2. Alert message sent to the EOC
• 3. Alert message evaluated
• 4. Incident Log opened to track event
• 5. SOPs implemented using checklists
• 6. Tasks assigned according to plan
• 7. Resource allocation tracked in log
• 8. Task performance tracked in log
• 9. Status briefings and updates to stakeholders

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Information Management

• Continuity and Emergency Managers need a robust
  information management tool
• Easy and efficient to use
• Collect information to allow rapid response
• Track multiple incidents and resources
• Track Resources
• Communicate across the enterprise
• Provide reporting capability

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Information Management

• Use the Internet - Link to
• Emergency plans
• Policies and procedures
• Site maps, floor plans
• Resource lists
• Other Internet resources
• Other entities

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Managing Resources

• Need access to everything
• Populate databases with live, up-to-date resource
  data
• Decrement available resources as they are
  assigned
• Track who, what, when, and where about deployment
• Restore resources once available
• Highlight status of critical facilities

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Software Solutions

• There are a handful of vendors providing Internet
  based EOC products
• Others providing Intranet tools
• Some still not web-enabled
• Options and feature vary
• So does the degree of sophistication
• Some good products as low as 9,995

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VEOC Software Features

• Status Tracking Reporting
• Checklists Plans
• Maintain Resource Lists
• Maintain Contact Lists
• Journaling
• Automatic Manual
• Mapping and Visualization
• Staff Management
• Linking Capability

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Build or Buy?

• Build your own solution
• Use office productivity products.
• Combine with a bridge line.
• Requirements
• Talented people and time.
• Internal support.
• Issues
• Long-term costs might out-weigh initial
  development costs.
• Is developing emergency management technologies a
  core competency?

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Building Your Own VEOC

• Use tools that already are in use
• E-mail
• Office Productivity Suites
• Internet/Intranet
• Phone System/Bridge Lines
• Understand and document your requirements
• Look for solution-independent requirements
• Consider operational requirements first
• Build in phases, plan for course corrections

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Buying Software

• Try before you buy
• Talk to other users
• Buy a relationship the vendor should be around
  to support you
• Pricing
• Make sure you get the out the door price
• Consider leasing web hosting as alternatives
• Remember, you get what you pay for
• There is strength in numbers negotiate volume
  discounts

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Evaluating ProductsMany solutions to choose from

• NIJ Office of Science and Technology, Critical
  Incident Technology program funded a study that
  concluded in June
• It addressed limitations in the ability of
  agencies to coordinate across jurisdictions and
  disciplines to orchestrate an effective response
  to a critical incident.
• At the core of this problem are imperfect data
  sharing, information and communications
  technologies

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A Good Solution Will Be

• Easy to learn and use
• Work right out of the box
• Role-based
• Configurable (customizable)
• Compatible with existing infrastructure,
  databases, software, e-mail, GIS the Web
• Flexible and scalable (can grow and change with
  you)

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The Ideal Information System

• Easy to use and robust information and decision
  management system
• Central command and control
• Messaging/communications function
• Event tracking and logging
• SOP and check-off lists
• Resource management
• Documentation of response actions
• Status Reports

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Example Ops Center - Automated Checklists
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Example EM/2000 Message Tracking
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Example E Team Message Tracking
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Drill Down to Get More Detail
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Software Vendors

• Alert Technology - Ops Center
• Blue292
• Emergency Manager
• WebEOC
• E-team
• Incident Master
• SoftRisk
• EM/2000
• Strohl Systems - Incident Manager

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For More Information

• Steve_at_DavisLogic.com
• [phone]
• www.DavisLogic.com
• www.AllHandsConsulting.com