The Intelligent Asset Manager

UASI Conference Themes: Questions for Bill Anderson

  

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The UASI Homeland Security Conference is only two short weeks away. As we rapidly approach the much anticipated event certain themes, specifically the concepts of “whole communities” and resource/information sharing, have emerged. The Intelligent Asset Manager sat down with Bill Anderson, President of the Board of Directors for the National Homeland Security Association, to discuss these emerging themes as well as the importance of common operating software platforms that support emergency managers and first responders. Bill started his career during the Regan-era as a civil defense planner, organizing evacuation plans for large cities in the event of a nuclear catastrophe. In the 1990s, the decade during which climate-change began to dominate the emergency management conversation, Bill became involved in the environmental response to haz-mat spills and incidents. In the post 9/11-era Bill assumed various roles in the emerging homeland security profession dealing with the current suite of issues addressed by emergency managers - the very same issues that will be the focal point of this year’s UASI conference.

Intelligent Asset Manager: What are you looking forward to about the UASI National Homeland Security Conference, will you be presenting? If so on what?

Bill Anderson: I’ll be leading some town hall meetings, with DHS, FEMA and other federal departments (such as the Departments of Justice and Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office) to talk about FEMA grants. What we’ve done in setting up these town halls is to ask all the programs in DHS and the entire federal family to talk about the grant resources and partnerships that are available. This is a new grant-world. In an era of declining resources we are attempting to identify where new opportunities and non-traditional resource exist in the federal arena.

IAM: In your own words would you please describe the concept of “whole communities?”

BA: In the past, emergency management as a profession has a very narrow view when it came to collaboration. We’re individuals with highly specialized skillsets and the general consensus was that we functioned to serve the public, not with the public. The whole communities concept really means, when a disaster incident occurs the entire community, all the private citizens, businesses and institutions – as well as the public sector, are engaged in response efforts. This concept realizes that when a disaster strikes it takes a society functioning together to recover effectively. Emergency managers most include the private sector in the planning process and emphasize resilient self-preparedness. It is a daunting prospect in a lot of ways because it means a change in the way emergency managers operate. The focus has to be has to be placed as much on building partnerships as it is on grant writing. In other words the scope of stakeholders involved is broadening and has created a new paradigm in the emergency management field.

IAM: Why is the concept of whole communities such an important strategy in today’s emergency management community and what are steps emergency managers and first responders can take to bolster preparedness based on this concept?

BA: It involves skillsets that are used to build relationships and partnerships at the local level. Developing community partnerships isn’t just done within local governments. Non-profits and the non-governmental sector play a huge role in developing preparedness and resilience. It’s time to take our proven best practices for planning and exercising and apply them outside of local government through collaboration with partners from the private sector. Citizen engagement and empowerment is key. We need people to understand that when disaster strikes the government might not be there immediately, and they could potentially be without resources for hours and even days. The key is to develop resilience on the citizen level, and that is what whole communities is about to the core: preparing citizens not just in the sense of having physical resources, but increasing their psychological resilience to disasters as well.  

IAM: How is the whole communities concept going to be addressed at this year’s UASI conference? Will you be presenting on the topic, if so, what are some of you talking points?

BA: The UASI Conference has a model in which we invite practitioners from around the country to submit a presentation and lecture on their innovative and proven best practices. In every 90-minute session we designate 30 minutes for a collaborative question-and-answer session between the audience and panelists. We are trying to give the conference attendees the best examples of effective, efficient and proven strategies. We’re saving people a lot of time in experimentation by putting them in direct contact with emergency managers who have implemented effective programs.

IAM: A significant aspect to the whole communities concept is engaging in an authentic dialogue. That ties in nicely to the concept of resource and information sharing between emergency management organizations and first responders. Would you discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communications between jurisdictions and how emergency managers can supplement each other’s resources?

BA: When we talk about information and resource sharing, especially in the whole communities regard, we’re again talking about community engagement and partnership building. The key to strengthening community resilience is through collaboration. Watch what the cities of Los Angeles and Minneapolis are doing, they’ve set the precedent for a truly collaborative whole community – that’s about all I’ll tell for now, you’ll learn the rest at the conference!

IAM: What are some strategies emergency and property managers can employ for coordinating resources? What is the value in deploying a software platform that can help integrate this process? Is such software a growing trend in the industry?

BA: Common operating platforms are hugely valuable when managing an incident. We’re seeing a number of really good models out there. They key is for these software platforms to be flexible, scalable and most importantly, easy to use. Emergency managers and incident coordinators can’t afford to spend 30 minutes getting a system up when a disaster strikes. So because of that we’re seeing an interest in these simple and efficient platforms. These software solutions also have to be shareable between jurisdictions with a low cost of maintenance.

The Guiding Principles of Asset Management

  

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Check out Eric Beser's blog "The Equipment Manager," on the Emergency Management Magazine website. Eric, E-ISG Asset Intelligence's Chief Technical Officer, discusses fixed and mobile asset management standartds as they apply to property and equipment managers from emergency management organizations.

Check out the Intelligent Asset Manager's posts on effective property management standards:

• Property Management Standards - Part 1
• Property Management Standards - Part 2
• Property Management Standards - Part 3
• Property Management Standards - Part 4
• Property Management Standards - Part 5
• Property Management Standards - Part 6 

E-ISG Asset Intelligence's UASI Conference Preview

  

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The sixth annual UASI (Urban Area Securities Initiative) Conference is coming up, May 22^nd-24^th in Columbus, Ohio. This year’s conference, which brings together partnering UASI agencies and the private sector to discuss emergency preparedness strategies and emerging technologies, will be attended by keynote speaker, the Honorable Timothy Manning – FEMA’s Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness - as well as potential appearances by President Obama and former Secretary of State, Colin Powell (schedules permitting). The Intelligent Asset Manager sat down with  Mike McNutt of the UASI Conference to discuss the themes of this year’s conference, resource sharing and a little get-together known as the Zoo Social.

Intelligent Asset Manager: What are the key themes of this year’s conference and why are they relevant?  

Mike McNutt: The theme of this year’s conference is: “see something, say something, do something – together.”  The idea behind the theme is to establish lines of communication between the different governmental hierarchies, from the highest-levels of the federal government to the first responders working in the field. As funding is being cut across the board, establishing strong lines of communication between federal, state and local communities is becoming increasingly important.

IAM: How does the UASI conference focus on larger urban areas and regional approaches to emergency management and Homeland Security?

MM: The focus is to integrate communities of all sizes by bringing together the greater national emergency response and preparedness community. Members from different regions across the country will come to together to educate each other on different techniques, strategies and technologies that are being developed to respond to any emergency scenario. The aim is to get everyone on the same page.

IAM: Who are the keynote speakers for this year’s conference, what are their respective areas of expertise and what organizations are they from?

MM: The Honorable Timothy Manning, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness, will be delivering the keynote address to the conference. We’ve also sent invitations to President Obama and Colin Powell and are expecting appearances from them depending on their schedules. We have an impressive list of congressman, generals and other high ranking military officials discussing issues of homeland security, state officials talking about things that are going on the local level, and FEMA administrators talking about what’s going on the federal level.

IAM: How will NIMS (National Incident Management System) compliance be addressed at the conference? NIMS describes a comprehensive preparedness cycle (planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating and responding) – how will each of those factors be addressed?

MM: NIMS is not a significant focus. However, NIMS guides every response scenario, so it’s a fundamental part of responding to emergencies and therefore it’s going to be in the background of every discussion. The topics of the actual discussions will range from leveraging social media to increase national preparedness to economic impacts on emergency response and tactical deployments to S.A.I.C. (strategic analysis information centers).  These fusion centers bring together a team of emergency managers and public officials from a range of different agencies and backgrounds, such as the FBI, public health, first responders and so on. These teams follow developing trends, analyze a mass amount data, and determine whether or not a situation is a credible threat to domestic homeland security.  The conference discussions will focus on how S.A.I.C.s process timelines, establish preparedness plans and develop response scenarios to these credible threats.

IAM: There has been a lot of talk about resource sharing and encouraging interoperability amongst emergency management organizations, specifically with respect to grant funding – how will this be addressed at the conference?

MM: One of the issues that has developed over the last few years in emergency preparedness is that funding is slowly being cut across aboard. That extends from the metropolitan level to state funding for emergency preparedness work - even DHS is being defunded. The focus at this point is: what we can do with the resources we already have at our disposal? We can’t let our guard down, but what can we do is share information, assets and resources. MMRS funds, which used to be an earmark fund for local responders used to purchase equipment for mission critical tasks, are being defunded – but we need to provide our first responders with the equipment they need to do the job. So clearly one of this year’s conference themes is how we can better share assets, resources and information against the backdrop of budget cuts.

IAM: What is the Zoo Social and what opportunities does it offer for conference attendees?

MM: Columbus is the 13^th largest and fastest growing city in the country and a large part of this is because the economy has remained resilient despite the recession. The strength of the economy is due in large part to attractions like the Columbus Zoo which has been voted as the number one zoo in the country, beating out more-well known zoos like San Diego. The zoo is a major asset to the city of Columbus and the conference has rented the zoo for a large party featuring: hors d'oeuvre, cocktails, and live music.  In addition, the exhibits will be open and TV personality Jack Hanna, the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, will be introducing the guests to some the zoo’s animals. Transportation will be provided from the downtown hotels to the zoo and back.

Resource Sharing and Interoperability Through Asset Management

  

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We’ve all heard the saying: “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” This turn of phrase is usually preceded by a feeling of disappointment; usually someone failing to complete a task the “right” way. Here’s a wild idea: what if doing it “right” was no longer a concept you had to worry about? What if the emphasis was shifted from an individual’s, or an individual organization’s “right way,” and placed on the best practices for your industry? That is the concept behind effective property management. Implementing a property management software platform allows organizations to align themselves along one, mutually agreed upon standard – and this is the first step towards inter-agency cooperation.

Interoperability is a troubling concept to implement simply because so many property managers don’t understand what exactly the concept means. Interoperability for emergency management organizations means the ability to share data and resources across agency and jurisdictional boundaries.

Emergency management organizations must share resources for a variety of reasons. The first, and most obvious, is in support of mission critical tasks. In the event of an emergency, networking with other agencies to determine how to best respond to a disaster scenario is vital. However, this type of rapid response can only be effective if each organization knows the condition of their asset inventory.

Total asset visibility, or the ability to leverage accurate asset data to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses, is developed through implementing an asset management system. Interoperability can be effective only when total asset visibility has been established across the network of agencies. A system of integrated organizations can better identify a surplus of assets in one agency and transfer those resources to other agencies in need.

This gets to the second reason why organizations need to share resources: grant management. One of the most important responsibilities of a property manager is requesting and allocating federal operating grants. A centralized asset management system ensures that resource sharing, a key competency required for grant allocations under the new federal grant consolidation model, is a smooth process. Demonstrating you have an integrated workflow with other emergency management agencies will prove your compliance with federal regulations.

An effective property management software platform should be flexible. Asset management platforms should provide property managers with greater control of the asset management process. Property managers, in conjunction with partners and end-users, gather and store vital asset data in a centralized database. This knowledge alone distributes the burden of property management equally amongst all involved while also encouraging interoperability between organizations. It’s a domino effect of relief just waiting to be set up.

What’s more, the integrated network of interoperable organizations can only be advanced by improving internal asset management workflows. In other words the only way for emergency management agencies to remain effective, and thus eligible to receive federal funding, is to demonstrate their ability to integrate workflows with other organizations. Accordingly, property management software is a huge step forward towards achieving this cooperation.

Don't Make These Critical Biases in Emergency and Asset Management

  

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What are future emergency managers learning in their degree programs? For one, they’re learning what how to synthesize information into intelligence.

The modern emergency manager functions as a hybrid community planner and public relations expert; designing and administering preparedness exercises and scenarios for first responders while simultaneously satiating public concern for disaster readiness.  The intersection between planning and community outreach requires synthesizing gathered information into actionable steps. This is where a fixed and mobile asset management software platform is invaluable. Modern emergency managers are relying on technology to leverage asset data to create disaster preparedness plans before, during and after an emergency. Total asset visibility provides the answers to questions like: how many generators does public works have? Is a certain county’s fire department lacking necessary equipment and can that equipment be reassigned from a neighboring county?  

Leveraging fixed and mobile asset data to create total asset visibility converts information into actionable intelligence. Again, intelligence comes from synthesizing that information into choices – determining the impact of one course of action over another. Disaster academia is serving to teach future emergency managers to think holistically in terms of scenarios, such as resource coordination.

Disaster academia is also teaching future emergency managers what not to do.

In the most fundamental sense, emergency managers ensure that analyzed intelligence is as accurate and unbiased as it can be.  Biased emergency managers come in many shapes: the former responder who is more tactical than strategic or the former military leader who brazenly knows what should be done better than anyone else. Emergency managers who obtain certifications, bachelors or masters degrees from a higher-education program are taught to think objectively about disaster preparedness. This holistic approach, which encompasses the viewpoints of all stakeholders, effectively removes biases

3 Key Competencies of Emergency and Asset Management Programs

  

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We’ve seen a meteoric rise in the number of disaster and emergency management degree programs. These programs range in focus from cyber-security and database management to disaster response workshops and high-level policy analyses. Despite the design of the individual course, an emergency management curriculum must include the following three competencies. Any prospective student of such a program should be basing their decision on this structure and any graduate of such a program should be able to:

1. Adopt a “Comprehensive Emergency Management” framework – comprehensive emergency management can best be summarized as: “all hazards, all phases and all actors.” This means emergency managers who are proficient in using new technologies such as fixed and mobile asset management platforms to coordinate with other agencies and jurisdictions to best deploy resources and personnel. The focus is a balanced approach to emergency management capabilities and readiness. 
   
   
2. Integrate with other Emergency Managers and Agencies - The property management and emergency management industries are trending towards a culture of interagency cooperation and collaboration. Cooperation has resulted in increased productivity, a repealing of inflexible and inefficient bureaucratic stalling, and most importantly, an economical use of shared resources. Emergency managers must use fixed and mobile asset management software to gain total asset visibility into a range of fixed and mobile asset inventories. This requires that emergency management organizations work to get other governmental organizations within their jurisdiction to “integrate” fixed and mobile asset resources and broader emergency management concerns (such as risk assessment, planning, training, exercise participation) into their thinking, systems and operations.
   
   
3. Master the New Technologies, Technical Systems and Property Management Standards - students need to learn the tools of the trade. Social media is factoring heavily into communicating disaster response efforts and educating the public of potential and on-going disasters. As such, emergency management students must learn to embrace social media strategies in an effort to harness and embrace the medium. Moreover, as FEMA and the DHS impose stricter and more targeted grant stipulations, emergency managers must become proficient with software that manage not only the deployment and maintenance of fixed and mobile asset inventories but their highly-valuable financial data as well such as depreciation. Among the technological topics today’s emergency management students must embrace are:

• National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• National Response Plan (NRP)
• NFPA 1600 (National Fire Protection Association “Standard for Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs”)
• Certified Emergency Manager credential administered by the International Association of Emergency Managers
• Geospatial and geographical information systems (GPS and GIS)
• Communications systems
• Warning systems
• Computers and hazard and emergency management related software packages

Vote for E-ISG Asset Intelligence in the MassChallenge Competition

  

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E-ISG Asset Intelligence recently entered the MassChallenge competition, which is designed to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs.

E-ISG Asset Intelligence is an emerging provider of innovative and cost-effective software solutions for managing fixed and mobile assets. To capture and maximize growth opportunities, we are currently seeking outside investment to bolster our sales and marketing efforts.  That’s why we couldn’t be more excited to get involved in the MassChallenge competition, which identifies the world's most promising, high-impact startups and E-ISG Asset Intelligence fully intends to be among the 125-finalists – but we need your help!

You’ve experienced the power of our robust fixed and mobile asset management platform, Visual Asset Manager first-hand. As users and even potential users, you’re familiar with Visual Asset Manager’s dynamic ability to streamline the inventory and asset life cycle management process of any size business or organization.

At E-ISG Asset Intelligence we strive to deliver the most innovative fixed and mobile asset solutions in the market. Help us continue to deliver this standard of excellence by voting for E-ISG Asset Intelligence and Visual Asset Manager in the MassChallenge startup competition and by sharing this blog post and voting opportunity with your social networks. 

Disaster Academia and Fixed and Mobile Asset Management

  

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The maturation of the emergency management field is being driven in part by the developing institution of disaster academia. Older emergency managers are moving into semi-retirement, adopting new roles as educators and consultants. Accordingly we are seeing a rise in independent organizations that evaluate and accredit emergency management programs against a set of national standards. These standards are similar to the standards of property management (part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6) we discussed in March, in that they evaluate an entire jurisdiction’s emergency management preparedness.

We have talked extensively about how training promotes readiness and resiliency in disaster response efforts. Practicing response scenarios is a proven method towards efficient and effective disaster mitigation. However, when it comes to developing standards for a jurisdiction’s preparedness, the focus must be on education. It’s the difference between knowing how and knowing why.

As Professor Robert Essenhigh, of the Ohio State University, was quoted in a September 2010 article in Emergency Management Magazine, higher-education in emergency management is: “the difference between being trained as pilot to fly a plane and being educated as an aeronautical engineer and knowing why the plane flies and then being able to improve its design so that it will fly better.”

The intersection between training and education is rooted in the discovery and implementation of new knowledge. This is related to the concept of total asset visibility. Emergency managers and property custodians who have the ability to leverage the data of their organization’s fixed and mobile asset inventory will be able to maximize the productivity of those assets while incurring significant financial savings.

Not surprisingly, mastering property and inventory management systems are an integral part to emergency management higher-education. The FEMA Higher Education Conference, which mandates a course of study that includes social science research and strategic leadership development, places particular emphasis on the collaboration between organizations. Resource sharing and agency interoperability are the cornerstones of modern emergency management and emergency management higher-education.

The modern emergency manager must be equally versed in the social science of emergency management while also demonstrating proficiency for fixed and mobile asset management techniques. Just as training and education intersect at acquiring new knowledge, so too do theory and practice intersect in the application of that knowledge. In this case the ability to maintain the concept of total asset visibility in order to effectively deploy fixed and mobile assets during a crisis response scenario while also being able to share those resources across jurisdictional boundaries as needed.

How 9/11 Changed Emergency and Property Management

  

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Emergency management is a growing field, one whose evolution is at a unique crossroad. We can roughly divide the history of the emergency management industry into two eras: pre-September 11^th and post-September 11^th.  In the pre-9/11 era, emergency management was largely centered on natural disaster mitigation and recovery. Accordingly, training was based on experience and mentorship.

However, the tragic events of 9/11 fundamentally changed the culture of emergency management. The paradigm shift now called for a unified response, which in turn required an academic approach to the profession of disaster management.

September 11^th was the catalyst to redefine an entire industry thought process. In response to the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, emergency management began to develop higher education degrees, certifications, standards and associations that championed collaboration among different disciplines.

Not surprisingly, there are a lot more emergency managers in the days since 9/11 than there were before. The profession is in-demand, with more jobs being created, and more specifically, more jobs requiring (or preferring) degrees and certifications more degree programs, more CEM designations. What's more, emergency managers must now be proficient in property management, understanding the robust qualities of total asset visibility, and maximizing on fixed and mobile asset inventories to encourage resource sharing across agency jursidictions.

The traditional feeder sources for emergency managers - the military, fire and law enforcement professionals - are no longer ideally suited for these new compentencies.  Since 9/11, more than 150 colleges and universities have begun offering degrees in emergency management and homeland security. A decade before September 11^th there was only one B.A. program for emergency management in the nation.

This educational machine is producing a new crop of professionals, young college graduates and other mid-career professionals who are pursuing higher-level degrees in emergency management. They have a broad background in emergency management and the enthusiasm and idealism that comes with youth.

The field of disaster study has grown exponentially demanding that emergency managers rise to a more professional level, broaden their horizons and get more education and training in areas they might not have considered before.

September 11^th initiated a culture-changing response to planning for disasters of all types.  The ensuing fallout has elevated the status of the emergency management profession in need of serious academia. However, the traditional old guard is steadfast in the belief that field-experience trumps classroom in any situation.

As such, April’s blog-theme will be about the changing nature of emergency management and the role formal academic study plays in disaster mitigation.

Property Management Standards - Part 6

  

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Winding down this series on property management standards, we’ll again address three new standards in this blog entry. This week’s topics will be: Moveable Property Storage, Management of Low Risk Property and Uniform Data Management in Asset Management Records Systems.

The standard of Moveable Property Storage establishes a practice for storing and warehousing moveable property. The first step for storing and warehousing movable property is to know what you have and where it is; a concept known as total asset visibility. Sounds basic, but for many, this is a challenge. Having an asset management system in place will ensure that this step is taken care of already. Specifically, the standard addresses the physical protection and control over an organization’s fixed and mobile asset inventory. Additionally it is important to balance the storage cost with the cost of protecting these assets. The Moveable Property Storage standard helps organizations to address security expenditures with the same level of importance as resource expenditures.

Almost every organization classifies their fixed and mobile assets in terms of risk. The Standard Practice for Management of Low Risk Property sets a precedent for managing your LRP by shifting your focus from risk avoidance to risk management. Risk is inevitable; assets will get lost, destroyed or stolen at one point or another. How you manage that occurrence through your risk assessment plan and your daily management of high to low risk assets will determine how those risks truly affect your bottom line. The following is a list of criteria (though not inclusive of all possibilities) for determining the risk level of your assets:

• Asset scarcity
• Technological obsolescence
• Lead time, standardization
• Asset criticality
• Asset sensitivity
• Dollar value
• Environmental regulations
• Level of national security/threat
• Schedule constraints
• Vulnerability of the asset
• Societal or personal safety
• Contractual agreements.

Using these factors, organizations can separate the HRP from the LRP and effectively manage their resources dedicated to these assets.

The Standard Practice for Uniform Data Management in Asset Management Records System is a pretty straight forward standard mandating the regular upkeep of accurate asset data reports. Maintaining asset data helps organizations to improve operational and strategic management capabilities at all phases of the asset lifecycle. We’ve discussed previously how important it is to have an accurate record keeping system and in previous blogs have even covered how to choose a system that’s right for you, but this standard stresses the importance of having a uniform system. One thing I’ve learned over the years in property management is that uniformity and consistency are two words that go hand in hand with effective asset management. Maintaining data integrity, consistency and usability will lend your system to being an effective uniform data management records system.

Have you determined yet if your property management is living up to the ASTM standards? Are you keeping uniform data or do you need to find a system that’s right for you still? A broad based internet search will send you a lot of information. Make sure you know what you need before you start your search.

We hope these blogs have enlightened you on some of the standards in practice in property management today and we encourage you to join in discussions on these standards and more through the ASTM or your local NPMA branch.