Disasters and weather-related emergencies are frequent occurrences, often with devastating results. But can the emergency services and response organisations cope better and if so how? In this session we heard interesting approaches to the handling of such events and the sharing of lessons learned.

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Evolution of Crisis Information
Management Systems
John O’Dell
Senior VP Intermedix Corp.

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The Evolution of Technology

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Summary of Experience
• More than 25 years developing and implementing Crisis Information
Management Systems (CIMS)
• Pioneered the concept of WebEOC as the first web-enabled CIMS
and one of the original founders of ESi
• 20+ years of Emergency Management Experience
• Installed, trained, and implemented WebEOC for hundreds of
customers worldwide, including NASA, FEMA, US Department of
Homeland Security, 40 US States, 100’s of Cities/Counties, and
many other Federal, International, Corporate, and Nuclear Agencies
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What is Crisis Information
Management Software (CIMS)
Software found in emergency operation centers [that] supports the management of
crisis information and the corresponding response by public safety agencies
What should it do?
Source: U.S. Department of Justice / Office of Justice
Programs and National Institute of Justice October 2002
CIMS Feature Comparison Report
• Be Affordable
• Be User Friendly
• Be Easy to Maintain
• Be Easy to Tailor to local
agency conditions & policies
• Comply with ICS / ESF
• Integrate with other Systems
• Integrate Public Health into
Emergency Management
• Operate in variety of networks
• Wide range of features
• Help Desk Support 24/7

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CIMS Components
Common elements of a CIMS
• Event reporting (Significant Events, Section Logs, etc.)
• Request for Assistance/Mission Tasking
• Situation Reports
• Categorical (Shelter Management, Road/Bridges, Press Releases
• People Management
• Resource Management
• Notification Management
• Situational Awareness
• GIS – Common Operating Picture

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Benefits of a Crisis Information
Management System
• Increases efficiency in collaboration
• Enables faster response to a disaster or crisis
• Enables better decisions based on bringing in knowledge from the
edges
• Decreases disaster costs in lives and material
• Improves daily operations
• Provides flexible, user-configurable solutions
• Provides a Common Operating Picture (COP)

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CIMS Evolution – Military Roots
• Military Command and Control systems formed basis for today’s CIMS
tools
• Primary goal is getting information from many sources and “effectively”
presenting to key decision makers as quickly as possible
• Information systems were “Battle Tested” - for real!
• Many effective information management systems were low-tech or no-
tech
• Establishing clear information protocols outlining the “what”, “when” and
“how” information flows from field to headquarters level and then both
up the chain of command and back down through an agency
“structure”.
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Information Management
No Tech – Low Tech

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CIMS Evolution – Early Technology
• Early 1980’s – Minicomputers HP UNIX, VAX – Limited to large
agencies, very expensive
• 1980’s - Age of Microcomputers - First DOS based CIMS tools,
included logs, resource management, maps
• 1990’s - Microsoft Windows – First Windows based CIMS tools and
first multi-user networked CIMS solutions using client/server
technology. First role based processes and workflow
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CIMS Evolution – Technology Revolution
The Internet Age
• 1990 - WorldWideWeb (First web browser)
• 1993 - NCSA Mosaic browser (Popularized World Wide Web)
• 1994 - WebEOC (First browser based CIMS tool)
• Built initially for U.S. DOE Nuclear Site
• 1996 – WebEOC (First commercial browser based CIMS tool)
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Benefits of a Web-based Crisis Information
Management System
• Users only require a device capable of running a web browser
• Does not require client software installation and maintenance
• “Real-Time” emergency information available to anyone on the
network (Intranet or Internet)
• Same client software for other web hosted resources
(maps/GIS, plans/procedures, photos, weather, etc.)
• Scalability
• Lower cost
• Uses the “Internet” concept for what it was designed for. Many
points of presence and alternate routing (“Fault Tolerance”).
• For Users - Hardware and operating system independent
(Windows, Unix, MacOS, etc.)

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Real-Time Information Management
“Electronic Status Boards”
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County EOC

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CIMS Evolution – Mobile
Today – Age of Mobile
• 2007 – First Apple iPhone
• 2008 – First Android Phone
• 2009 – First Android Tablet
• 2010 – First Apple iPad
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CIMS Evolution – Mobile
• Browser based CIMS could be used on iOS and Android mobile
devices from day one
• Enabling automatic location based reporting is one of the biggest
benefits of using mobile devices for CIMS reporting
• Mobile devices also provide easy picture and video capture for
CIMS reporting
• Mobile devices can also be configured for “Push Notification” if
CIMS tool has available app
• Most CIMS Apps are free
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CIMS Evolution – Opportunities
• Technology available today but not widely used in CIMS tools
• Speech to Text
• Biometric Authentication – Seamless Authentication
• Drones – Damage Assessment
• Data Analytics Tools
• Gaming technology for simulation – SimCity?
• Social Media - used today but needs work
• Video Conferencing technology – easy to add but not used by most CIMS
• Wearable technology – Apple watch, Google Glass, etc.
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Common Questions?
“We have email, why do we need anything else?
“How much does a CIMS cost?
“I’m not a techie, how could I administer a system like this?
“How does this save me time when I can just pick up a radio and talk?
“We have new people for every major event, how do you train them in
the middle of an emergency?
“We already have a GIS Map common operating picture, why do we
need anything else?”
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Recommendations
• If you are currently using email to try and manage information during
a crisis or daily, request a CIMS demo.
• If you are currently using an Excel spreadsheet to manage any
information during a crisis or daily, request a CIMS demo. Any
spreadsheet process can be multi-user enabled by adding it to some
CIMS tools.
• If you have any process you want to “Mobilize” or use on any mobile
device, see how easy it can be done with a CIMS tool.
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Contacts
John O’Dell Ian Carr
Senior VP Intermedix Development Director, Europe
706-831-3753 Intermedix
john.odell@intermedix.com +44 7880 233 294
ian.carr@intermedix.com
www.intermedix.com
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