National Preparedness System component: Situation Awareness/top ten justifications

1. Telephone: 501-259-5007 * Email: tractorfax@ymail.com * 400 Northport Drive, #701, Cabot, AR 72023
PROPOSED ROLLOUT PILOTS
Project eQuip-(State Name Here)
A subsidiary of Project eQuipAmerica
(powered by NIMS STEP evaluated TractorFax Technologies)
Situation Awareness: Traditionally, Response and Recovery in the aftermath of disasters was a public sector responsibility. The public sector represents 15% of the available resources while the private sector stakeholders represent 85% of the available resources. In short, the 15%ers were responsible for 100% of the response and recovery efforts while the 85%ers sit idle.
Couple that with the fact, heavy equipment is considered vital resources in most emergency situation, yet vital heavy equipment has no title registration at any level. There is no formal school, no higher- education offered in operating such equipment, specifically for emergency operations purposes. Operating such heavy equipment is learned only by countless hours and long days in muddy fields by those who wear denim jeans and muddy boots on the ground, not in clean-air conditioned classrooms. The proper and safe operation of heavy equipment is truly a hands-on learned experience. The situation represents a “lack of” on the part of Incident Commanders and planners alike current practices; untapped vital resources.
A man named John Deere wisely said long ago: “everything begins, and ends where the plow’s blade- point hits the dirt”. Proper Incident Management is no exception….
Recapping the situation, does this “lack of” not hamper our Nation’s First Responders ability to property respond and recover, gaining deeper access to the disaster scene, and saving lives and property? TractorFax is based on this simple observation.
Already NIMS STEP evaluated, TractorFax is a resource ownership registry allowing the actual resource owner to describe in their language-their resource, its location, its capabilities, its associated cost for use, and its predetermined availability- parameters for Incident Commanders and Planners’ purposes.
Thus the TractorFax IMS tool is a virtual environment of preplanned resources which allow Incident Commanders to identity, deploy/allocate, track to the scene and back in standby, and reimburse the resource owner for its use.

2. TOP TEN LIST: In the words of DHS/FEMA’s NIMS STEP appointed Subject Matter Experts (SMEs):
1). “TractorFax is a software application system designed as a collaborative system for managing, interfacing, and tracking resources and people for incident management operations.”
a). “Impediments, deficiencies, limitations, constraints, and issues with reliability:
“NONE IDENTIFIED”
2). “TractorFax provides emergency management personnel and other users the capability to centralize and share resources at many levels of government. TractorFax promotes the efficient sharing of available pre-positioned resources using a secure collaborative system.”
a). The system adheres to the principals of plain language.
3). “TractorFax provides for command and control, field deployment, and data collection.”
a). enables a diverse set of public and private organizations to conduct well-integrated and effective incident management operations.
4). “The system aids users in the process of preparedness and response through developing best practices; training; planning and procurement; creating an incident; identifying, allocating, fulfilling, and recovering resources; and reimbursement.”
5). “THE EVALUATORS DID NOT NEED TO INSTALL ANY ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE OR PROGRAM ON THEIR COMPUTERS AS THE SYSTEM IS WEB ACCESSIBLE; THE INSTALLATION OF SOFTWARE IS NOT REQUIRED”
6). “TractorFax is applicable to any level of response if resources are loaded and maintained by all applicable agencies/jurisdictions. The system is designed for hazards involving natural and human-caused incidents.”
7). Therefore TractorFax is local and state level agencies/jurisdictions day-to-day business system.
8). “Typical implementation should take between one to three months to set up and have end user personnel trained; depending on the size and complexity of the agency and the amount of data that is needed to be entered into the database. The system has an integrated help tool available.”
9). “THE PRIMARY BENEFIT: TractorFax is that will improve a local jurisdiction’s ability to inventory and track resources and it will assist emergency managers and Incident Commanders (ICs) in managing resources at the scene of an incident.”
10). “The SMEs adhere to a non-disclosure agreement and a code of conduct which ensures objectivity and the protection of company sensitive information.”
Respectfully,
The TractorFax Team
501-259-5007