Plansafe's Emergency Management Blog

Agreement on a Commission proposal for a Directive on the identification and designation of European Critical Infrastructure (ECI)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:29:00 +0000

Critical Infrastructure Protection

The Justice and Home Affairs Council 5-6 June has reached political agreement on a Commission proposal for a Directive on the identification and designation of European Critical Infrastructure (ECI) and the assessment of the need to improve their protection. The entry into force of the Directive is envisaged before the end of 2008.

"Critical infrastructure industries are becoming more and more interdependent as the economic, technological, and social processes of globalization intensify. Therefore, the damage or loss of a piece of infrastructure in one Member State may have negative effects on several others and on the European economy as a whole. Because of this trans-boundary dimension, an integrated EU-wide approach complements and provides added value to existing national programmes for critical infrastructure protection in place in the Member States." declared Vice-President Barrot, who added: "The Directive raises the level of security for all EU citizens, provides legal clarity to operators and increases competitiveness"

The Directive establishes the procedure for the identification and designation of European Critical Infrastructure (ECI) and a common approach to assessment of the need to improve the protection of such infrastructure in order to contribute to the protection of people.

ECI means critical infrastructure located in the EU Member States the disruption or destruction of which would have a significant impact on at least two Member States of the EU. The Directive concentrates on the energy and transport sector and will be reviewed after three years, to assess its impact and the need to include other sectors within its scope - inter alia the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

Each designated European Critical Infrastructure is to have an Operator Security Plan (OSP) covering inter alia identification of important assets, a risk analysis based on major threat scenarios and the vulnerability of each asset, and the identification, selection and prioritisation of counter-measures and procedures.

A Security Liaison officer will function as the point of contact for security issues between the European Critical Infrastructure owner/operator and the relevant Member State authority.

Every two years, each Member State will forward to the Commission information on threats and risks encountered in each European Critical Infrastructure sector. On the basis of those reports, the Commission and the Member States will examine whether further protection measures at the EU level should be considered.

Technorati Tags: epcip, eu, cip

VirtualAgility OPS Center Contributes to IBM's Web Portal Success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:29:00 +0000

Report: IBM Worldwide Market Share Leader in Web Portal Software

6,000 Organizations From Public, Private Sectors Rely on IBM Portal Software for Everything From Employee Communications to Web 2.0 Mashups to Saving Lives

Gartner, Inc. has ranked IBM as the worldwide market share leader in the enterprise portal software market based on total software revenue for 2007. The IBM press release describe how the portal software is used for everything from communications, education, health, emergency and municipal services,increasingly with Web 2.0 technologies such as mashups, composite applications and text tagging. The VirtualAgility installation in the Gauteng Provincial Disaster Management Center is one of the examples described in the report:

Additionally, organizations worldwide, like the Gauteng Disaster Management Center in South Africa, are using IBM portal technology behind the scenes to help them manage emergency services. A team in the Gauteng Province, which is made up of Johannesburg and several other cities and municipalities, uses IBM's portal-based disaster and emergency management solution known as Virtual Operation Center, to support its 10 million residents around the clock. "This IBM portal software is absolutely critical because our on-line center is used to protect and save lives," said Colin Deiner of the Gauteng Disaster Management Center.

General Dennis Reimer joins VirtualAgility

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:51:00 +0000

General Dennis Reimer, Former Army Chief of Staff, Joins VirtualAgility as Advisor

Process FMEA

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:32:00 +0000

Uncover gaps in your emergency planning before they become expensive. Testing your emergency management, business continuity and disaster recovery plans is mandatory to assure their success when activated. However, prior to investing in any exercise involving staff, resources and third parties, it is prudent to evaluate if all your procedures will work. Plansafe utilises the Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) method to reveals any flaws in your plans and assumptions while you still have time and resources.

FMEA is a risk assessment technique for systematically identifying potential failures in a system or a process. It saves time and money by uncovering gaps before you invest in a simulation.

Commercial Training Programs for Emergency Management

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:23:00 +0000

Businesses who considering offering a commercially viable educational service or product must investigate if there is a business case. The first questions to be asked are; is there a need ? how can this need be addressed ?

Generally, in the commercial training sector there are 3 areas:
1. Standard courses for individual participants
2. Tailored solutions for organisations
3. Tools to deliver content or “off the shelf” products

The standard course is offered directly to individuals. The aim of a standard course is to regularly offer a specific training program that will be well visited. It is marked by two factors; demand and competitive advantage. The demand is most often determined by the value the participant will receive by completing the course. This is either a professional qualification that will enhance the chance of employment, or, continuing education that is necessary to uphold a vocational qualification. The competitive advantage is based on price, quality, length and recognised qualification.

The tailored solution evolves from a contract between two parties. This is often a one time contract to facilitate a specific training course for a participant group. There is one customer and contact is not between the provider and the individual participants but the provider and an organisation. Tailored solutions are therefore not targeted at participants and the provider will be judged not just on the ability to deliver quality of content, reputation and price, but also the ability to deliver the service, the method of delivery and reliability.

Education solutions or “tools” can range from printed material through multi-media to special equipment for hands on experience. The initial boom of Multi Media or “e-lerning” and its subsequent failure has shown that the market cannot be blended by technology and what is possible. Good content and sound methodical didactic is paramount.

In the field of disaster medicine the need for trained staff in a disaster is indisputable. The basic need is also adequately addressed through the NGO’s and public safety agencies. The requirement to provide basic disaster medicine training is an intimate part of many of these organisations mission and public commitment. Hence, for training courses such as “First Aid”, and “ERV” etc a business case does not exist. In fact there is no business case for any standard disaster medical course. Apart from individual subject interest there are no vocational positions in disaster medicine. The nearest area to disaster medicine where a sustainable market exists is emergency medicine. The courses being offered are based on “standards” i.e. Ambulance Techncian and Paramedic. These can be connected with employment opportunity as the “participance value”.

Within the NGO and public safety agency sector there is a need for tailored services and content delivery solutions within these. The challenges of today’s “threat landscape” are diverse and overwhelming. The expectations of the population are often unfair given the resources and financing available. Organisations and institutions involved in the protection of the population, and more specifically the management of mass casualties, have to assure that staff and volunteers learn and retain information and skills that are not in anyway “normal practice”. These skills are however absolutely critical in the unfortunate situation of for example, a transit bombing, biological or chemical attack, pandemic flu etc. A daunting task !

The market need in this sector is crystallising as the ability to deliver specialised and targeted content to facilitate educating large numbers of participants. This content should be codeveloped by experts and the contracting body to assure synchronization with organisational procedures and policies. The method of delivery must taking into account scarce physical resources and budget constraints yet providing accountability and high didactical value.

This means reviewing where is capital and time better spent. Does a participant have to be present in a classroom for 100% of the course? or is it economically and didactically better to break down content into that which can be the participants can learn individually at their own pace and that which must be demonstrated, instructed or simulated. Examples of such methods are mixtures between tailored solutions and the use of tools such as blended e Learning (MYFISTO) and table top exercises (Emergo Train) and high quality simulations (Steel Henge).

The Emergency Management Architecture

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 12:00:00 +0000

Your emergency management profile at a glance. There are many factors that affect your organisation’s ability to react adequately to an emergency. These include:
• risk profiles
• external laws & regulations
• internal policies & procedures
• stake-holder & response agency interactions

Plansafe’s Emergency Management Architecture consolidates and orders this information into a logical visual planning and reporting tool. The architecture has three tiers which consecutively address the design and life cycle of an emergency management program.

The foundation tier encompasses a set of core principles and key issues that are relevant to managing any emergency situation (Generic Emergency Management)

The second tier, is an emergency management framework that interlocks specific organisational requirements and parameters with those of the surrounding environment in order to represent a model of what should happen in an emergency and why this should happen. (Localisation)

The third tier comprises scenario specific modules that address known and recognised threat scenarios (avian influenza, earthquakes, explosions, critical infrastructure failures etc.) and how they should be managed (Foreseeable Emergencies)

The reasoning behind the development of this architecture, has been drawn from the results of empirical sociological research, good management practice and efficiency. More often than desired there is an element of repetitive spending when planning for emergencies. There are many components of emergency management that are generic, i.e. independent of the threat that is being planned for. The EMA counteracts this repetitive spending.

A Global Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:41:00 +0000

Today's society is faced with increasingly diverse and costly natural and human-triggered threats. Many trends and dependencies are exacerbating the hazards and amplifying their impact and consequences.

The permanent concentration of populations into vulnerable regions such as flood catchment and coastal areas, temporary concentration in transit systems and at mass gatherings, combined with the general dependency on critical infrastructure to uphold socio-economic status, provide a new challenge to legislators, executives and the insurance industry.
In a world where a single plane can transport over 500 people, logistical services will deliver the next day and the disagreement of foreign policies will be indicated asymmetrically at a domestic level. International trade, transport and communication reduce our ability to contain disease and to remain unaffected by disasters or incidents occurring both at home and abroad.

Resilience refers to a series of adaptive strategies employed by public and private entities to enable them to face and survive disruptive challenges at every level, through anticipation, preparation, prevention and resolution. Resilience is a proactive endurance strategy.

The return on investment in resilience is not directly measurable and it therefore does not often merit enough attention or consideration. The expenditure and effort involved in addressing the perceived Y2K problem was viewed as a waste by many in the pre and especially post period. As a result investment in counteracting specific hazards had been regarded as futile in the face of a multitude of diverse and unpredictable situations. However, the continuity demonstrated after events subsequent to Y2K such as 9/11, the NY power cut, the Madrid and London bombings, and Indian ocean tsunami showed that this was not the case. A heightened awareness of vulnerability has been inadvertently achieved, a whole new industry created and most importantly, there has been investment in the protection of a critical infrastructure pertinent to a multitude of possible hazards.

Preparing for the Y2K problem has paid off. The realisation that diverse and, in many cases, unpredictable threats can affect us has led to renewed efforts to improve the resilience of cities and societies overall. It has become clear that it is not a specific threat per se that should become the focus of attention but the generic consequences to the infrastructures critical to the function of society and industry.

The insurance industry is being called on to help in disaster recovery and to guide preparedness in developed and developing nations alike. Both public and private sectors are addressing the topic in partnership. The Plansafe GmbH acts as a resilience facilitator assisting in the development and implementation of strategies for mitigating and preparing for diverse disasters before they happen and dealing with them when they occur.

MYFisto eLearning for emergency management -Keep your staff educated on your procedures.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 12:39:00 +0000

Getting your staff educated and keeping them up to date on your emergency procedures and risk profile is a vital component of risk management.The MYFISTO eLearning System can help you answer the following questions:

• How do you deliver the same content efficiently to multiple persons?
• How do you account for participation and prove you have educated your staff?
• How can staff schedule their learning activities themselves?
• How can you make this exciting and worthwhile?
• How can you educate your staff on family disaster preparedness?

MYFISTO allows organisation to publish their own content into a robust, web-based learning portal with enterprise integration and effective educational methodology in mind.

Prevention and risk management at mass gatherings

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:01:00 +0000

Until recently, a lack of methodical research had left those responsible for event coordination without the necessary information and tools required to systematically address risk management for mass gatherings. This deficit has been partly recognized and there is a trend to collect and communicate empirical data. Thus, several tools exist for predicting and quantifying risk, resulting in a paradigm shift to reflect these findings in security and preventive measures. However, although the risk of a incident occurring has been reduced it has not and cannot be banished. Operational risk management, and more specifically consequence management, still demands significant attention.

Traditional emergency planning has been, and still is, largely based on the assumptions of what could happen, how people will react and what it will take to manage the situation. Management tools and operating procedures are designed to reflect these assumptions and often dictate courses of action, leaving little room for flexibly when reacting to dynamic and unforeseen situations. It has also not properly appreciated the values of communication during the actual planning process and vital information, important for overall coordination and control is often lost.

Plansafe is now approaching this topic utilizing a "Service Oriented Architecture" (SOA). By breaking down and exposing operational processes, applications and data, critical services and information can be shared directly with emergency planning and response partners enabling efficient collaboration through Network Centric Operations (NCO).

Using open standards and so called "middle ware" to integrating legacy systems, existing data and emerging technologies, such as RFID for asset and victim tracking, a tighter integration of procedures and departments can be achieved. Operational processes such as patient flow management - getting the right patient to the right treatment at the right time - in a mass casualty environments are improved and can decrease morbidity.

Emergency management agencies must be able to react dynamically to evolving incidents using all the physical and virtual resources that could be available and not just those organic to their organization. They must involve, communicate to and integrate with all concerned parties including hospitals, familiarizing them with hazards, goals and strategies, and thereby accelerate and leverage their value when dealing with emergencies. Getting the right information, to the right person, at the right time not just when disaster strikes but also as part of risk communication will play an important future role in mass casualty care.

Emergency Management and Continuity Planning for Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 13:40:00 +0000

How are you addressing today's risk? Traditional Emergency Planning has mostly been based on the risk of fire and general accidents. Schools are now exposed to a multitude of hazards that have a far greater disruptive potential.

The perception of a "foreseeable event" and "due care" among the general public and the legal & insurance professions have changed due to advances in prediction, monitoring and potential response capabilities. This has shifted more liability onto companies and organisations.

A school’s reputation can suffer and penalties can result from inappropriate or inefficient reactions to actual or potential incidents, even when the initial threat has not been realised.

The consequences of natural phenomena, human system failures, asymmetrical threats and student violence, pose substantial hazards to educational institutions. The responsibility of emergency management, safety and security cannot be relegated and reduced into separate entities but requires comprehensive organisational involvement.