2020 was a historic year. While thoughts immediately turn to COVID-19, more danger was in the air than any facemask or PPE could possibly contain.
2020 is notable for being the most active hurricane season on record. 30 total named storms rattled the Atlantic basin, including three that blew in before the official start of the season on June 1st. And unfortunately, data is alerting forecasters and weather experts that this trend is not ending anytime soon. Attributable to rising sea temperatures, the number of named storms and category 3 hurricanes or stronger have steadily grown year to year over the last three decades. Shattering the previous record of 28 named storms during 2005’s active season, there is real concern about emergency and incident management preparedness in this future of increasing weather events.
With the amount of these events compounding and the over-development of coastlines, utilities have done a great job keeping up with restoration efforts, but there are still three emergency and incident management efforts that the industry is looking to master:
- Calling up of ICS or other emergency management protocols
- Assigning and accounting for crews, contractors, and mutual assistance providers
- Post-event reporting for storm-cost recovery and FEMA reimbursement
Thankfully, there are software solutions for all three.
Clickable ICS at your fingertips
ARCOS Incident Manager was created as an answer to the industry’s request to speed up and better manage Incident Command Structures and emergency management hierarchies. Thoroughly tested by leading utilities since its inception, Incident Manager eliminates spreadsheets and binders as it effectively brings efficiency and organization for a quick and simple roll-out of any emergency management protocol. It saves valuable time as events escalate and is scalable as storms intensify or wane.
Full Situational Awareness
Working with utilities, ARCOS also developed Crew Manager, sMART and Resource Assist. Crew Manager helps utilities to quickly identify which crews, vehicles and equipment are available for work and where, while assigning and tracking the resources. Resource Assist allows utilities to call on outside contractors and utility service providers quickly by utilizing ARCOS’s own contractor management matrix that standardizes rosters and removes confusing language, so bottlenecks don’t occur. sMART can then be used to expedite restoration efforts by providing mobile crew location data and logistics for the external crews tapped to help with mutual assistance.
Fast Forward and Go Back to Any Point in History
The best part of an integrated incident and emergency management system like ARCOS is the ability to travel back to any point in time. The ARCOS Resource Management platform provides one source of truth that is essential for reporting and future emergency planning. By date or using ARCOS’s event wrapper, reports can be generated for any stakeholders internal or external. Reimbursements from FEMA can be collected and dispensed quickly and any contractor data can be reviewed with an assurance that the reports are showing exactly what happened, by whom, when and where. The ARCOS Resource Management platform eliminates disputes while providing a faster way to recoup storm restoration costs.
Disruptive weather events may continue to escalate but the way to manage and properly prepare for them is very clear. Find out more about the ARCOS Resource Management platform and how it can provide efficient opportunities for emergency and incident management.
