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Introduction. The relevance of the research performed is justified by the role of organizing passenger transportation to fulfill the terms of the ‘Municipal contracts for the performance of work related to the regular transportation of passengers and luggage by buses at regulated tariffs’ (hereinafter referred to as the Contract). The unevenness of passenger flows associated with the changing nature of the movement of people and the influence of a combination of probabilistic factors leads to a deviation of the planned indicators of the Contract from the actual ones. The purpose of this study is to establish the relationship between the functioning of the Incident Management system and dispatch control of municipal passenger enterprises to fulfill the terms of the Contract when organizing regular passenger transportation on municipal routes.Materials and methods. This study applies generally accepted methods from the theory of passenger road transport. When achieving the goal, the sequence of information processing in the Incident Management system, Dispatcher and Maps software modules was taken into account. The practical implementation of the research results using the example of a municipal route in the city of Omsk was carried out.Results. A classification of citizens’ appeals according to which incidents related to the organization of passenger transportation include appeals related to changes in bus performance indicators established by the Contract is proposed. To generate information using dispatch control of municipal passenger enterprises, it is proposed to use an automated navigation system for dispatch control. A model of the relationship between the functioning of the Incident Management system and dispatch control of municipal passenger enterprises has been developed for the organization of regular passenger transportation on municipal routes.Conclusion. The established relationship between the functioning of the Incident Management system and dispatch control of municipal passenger enterprises is recommended for organizing regular passenger transportation on municipal route № 24 in the city of Omsk.

Objective. Currently, enterprises are widely implementing information security incident management systems, which are designed to solve such problems as timely identification of the fact of an incident, analysis and research of cause-and-effect relationships that lead to an increase in the likelihood of violations, modification or creation of new regulatory documents describing organizational activities, implementation of technical and software tools that provide preventive protection measures. An enterprise in the oil and gas sector that has been attacked by attackers may face various problems, among which the complete or partial shutdown of production and the failure of expensive equipment are especially significant for the production process. In addition, the relevance of information security incident management processes for enterprises in the oil and gas sector is due to the fact that the implementation of threats can lead not only to financial losses, but also to serious environmental damage.Method. The developed architecture of the information security incident management system is based on the use of the Shewhart-Deming cycle.Result. A model of the architecture of an information security incident management system has been obtained, which can be used at enterprises in the oil and gas sector for effective and timely tracking and analysis of emerging incidents, planning measures to eliminate the consequences of incidents, and preventing their reoccurrence.Conclusion. The proposed architecture of the information security incident management system allows us to take into account the characteristics of oil and gas sector enterprises associated with the impact of information security on the production process due to the high automation of the production process and high man-made risks.

Despite the needs of assessing the time-varying queue length for incident traffic management, such imperative information has not yet been available in practice, due partly to the lack of reliable sensor data on many highways plagued by nonrecurrent congestion. Hence, this study first presents an incident queue impact assessment system that allows highway agencies to perform reliable estimate of the queue distance during the incident clearance period with available detector data, and then discusses two alternative models for supporting approximating such impacts on roadway networks without traffic sensors. The proposed system’s major model, grounded in the classical shockwave theory, has augmented the formulations for queue propagation dynamics with the impacts from incoming drivers’ perceptions and responses to the progressively constrained traffic conditions. To cope with the lack of real-time traffic flow information, the first alternative model integrates the increasing available speed data from probe vehicles or other sources with lane blockage patterns to approximate the discharge flow rate of the incident. The second alternative model centers on the methodology and calibration methods for constructing a set of speed– flow rate relationships for different times of day with archived traffic data to approximate the arriving flow rate. With such information, responsible agencies can then proceed the approximation of incident queue variation length and take necessary actions. Performance evaluation of the proposed system with both field incident data and simulated scenarios has confirmed its promising properties, especially for highway networks without reliable traffic surveillance systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Incident management systems and disaster planning processes facilitate maximal use of available resources. Evaluation of the Incident Command System (ICS) is one of the top five key areas of research priority in the field of surge. The study was aimed at assessing the disaster preparedness and ICS of the public healthcare institutions for the disaster management in a disaster-prone district of Sri Lanka. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among all public sector healthcare institutions (n = 74), including curative-healthcare institutions (n = 46) which have inward-care facilities for patient care and preventive healthcare institutions (n = 28) in Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka from May–September 2019 using a validated interviewer administered questionnaire which was based on ‘CO-S-TR Model’ for ICS assessment including ‘Clear need for increased capacity (≤25%), Basic level (26 – 50%), Moderate level (51 – 75%) and High level (>75%)’. Results Focal points for disaster management were nominated by the majority of the curative sector (n = 33; 76.7%) and preventive sector (n = 19; 73.1%) healthcare institutions. A written disaster preparedness and response plans were available in 72% (n= 31) curative sector and 76% (n= 19) preventive sector institutions. The higher proportion of the curative sector institutions had moderate level capacity in the area of providing treatment, and basic level capacities were in the areas of ‘staff mobilization, coordination of activities, supplying of special needs, triage of cases and transportation’. There is a clear need for improvement in the areas of communication commanding, management of controlling the incidence and tracking of the cases in the curative sector. The majority of the preventive sector institutions had moderate level capacity in commanding, control, coordination and tracking of cases. The basic level capacity in the areas of staff mobilization, stuff management and triage of cases. There is a clear need for improvement in the areas of communication in preventive sector. Of the public sector healthcare institutions, the higher proportion of the preventive sector (n = 20; 76.9%) and curative sector (n = 29; 67.4%) had basic level overall surge capacity of ICS for disaster management. Conclusion Coordination, communication, commanding, management of controlling the incidence and tracking of cases following outbreaks need to be improved and capacity development programmes could implement to develop the preparedness for future disasters.

Public Health Incident Command System Customizing the structure of ICS specifically for public health response efforts may enable the public health sector to address some of the challenges highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although ICS is intended to be a scalable approach that adapts to the response, the COVID-19 response grew to a size, scope, and duration beyond what most public health agencies could adapt to or accommodate, especially as it extended beyond public health authority. Keywords: COVID-19; Epidemic management/response; National strategy/policy; Public health preparedness/response; Incident management system; Incident command system; First responders EN COVID-19 Epidemic management/response National strategy/policy Public health preparedness/response Incident management system Incident command system First responders S95 S100 6 09/29/23 20230902 NES 230902 Introduction In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a "perfect storm" to disaster response efforts in the United States: a large-scale emergency response, many uncertainties, a dearth of public health resources, uncoordinated state efforts inherent to our federalist form of government, and severe political tensions that led to unprecedented involvement by elected officials - many of whom were experiencing a public health response for the first time in their careers. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Incident management systems and disaster planning processes facilitate maximal use of available resources. Evaluation of the Incident Command System (ICS) is one of the top five key areas of research priority in the field of surge. The study was aimed at assessing the disaster preparedness and ICS of the public healthcare institutions for the disaster management in a disaster-prone district of Sri Lanka. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among all public sector healthcare institutions (n = 74), including curative-healthcare institutions (n = 46) which have inward-care facilities for patient care and preventive healthcare institutions (n = 28) in Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka from May–September 2019 using a validated interviewer administered questionnaire which was based on 'CO-S-TR Model' for ICS assessment including 'Clear need for increased capacity (≤25%), Basic level (26 – 50%), Moderate level (51 – 75%) and High level (>75%)'. Results: Focal points for disaster management were nominated by the majority of the curative sector (n = 33; 76.7%) and preventive sector (n = 19; 73.1%) healthcare institutions. A written disaster preparedness and response plans were available in 72% (n= 31) curative sector and 76% (n= 19) preventive sector institutions. The higher proportion of the curative sector institutions had moderate level capacity in the area of providing treatment, and basic level capacities were in the areas of 'staff mobilization, coordination of activities, supplying of special needs, triage of cases and transportation'. There is a clear need for improvement in the areas of communication commanding, management of controlling the incidence and tracking of the cases in the curative sector. The majority of the preventive sector institutions had moderate level capacity in commanding, control, coordination and tracking of cases. The basic level capacity in the areas of staff mobilization, stuff management and triage of cases. There is a clear need for improvement in the areas of communication in preventive sector. Of the public sector healthcare institutions, the higher proportion of the preventive sector (n = 20; 76.9%) and curative sector (n = 29; 67.4%) had basic level overall surge capacity of ICS for disaster management. Conclusion: Coordination, communication, commanding, management of controlling the incidence and tracking of cases following outbreaks need to be improved and capacity development programmes could implement to develop the preparedness for future disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although multi-sectoral coordination in disaster risk management has been progressing in South Africa for over two decades, there has been limited commitment to an integrated regime in managing marine oil spill incidents. Poor incident management persists despite the availability of data, protocols, legislation, and resources housed in different government and private sector entities. This study identified practices that enhance a coordination process for the effective management of oil spill pollution. A grounded theory approach is applied to the coordination issue, which is characterized by an interactive process of simultaneously considering theoretical grounding during our empirical research. Empirical evidence includes observations of 47 meetings and three oil spill exercises with 79 delegates from 32 different organizations, which supports the coordination process of instituting a national Incident Management System for marine oil spills in South Africa. An additional 44 individual open-ended questionnaires supplement this earlier body of evidence for data triangulation and validation. Analysis of development of the Incident Management System process revealed that, when designing a novel long-term project that is reliant on a shared vision from multiple organizations, enhanced coordination and collaboration for successful implementation is dependent on the following practices: (1) obtaining political commitment, (2) bridging knowledge gaps, and (3) sharing resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, effective emergency response to disease outbreaks is usually affected by weak coordination. However, coordination using an incident management system (IMS) in line with a One Health approach involving human, environment, and animal health with collaborations between government and non-governmental agencies result in improved response outcome for zoonotic diseases such as Lassa fever (LF).We provide an overview of the 2019 LF outbreak response in Nigeria using the IMS and One Health approach. The response was coordinated via ten Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) response pillars. Cardinal response activities included activation of EOC, development of an incident action plan, deployment of One Health rapid response teams to support affected states, mid-outbreak review and after-action review meetings.Between 1st January and 29th December 2019, of the 5057 people tested for LF, 833 were confirmed positive from 23 States, across 86 Local Government Areas. Of the 833 confirmed cases, 650 (78%) were from hotspot States of Edo (36%), Ondo (26%) and Ebonyi (16%). Those in the age-group 21–40 years (47%) were mostly affected, with a male to female ratio of 1:1. Twenty healthcare workers were affected. Two LF naïve states Kebbi and Zamfara, reported confirmed cases for the first time during this period.The outbreak peaked earlier in the year compared to previous years, and the emergency phase of the outbreak was declared over by epidemiological week 17 based on low national threshold composite indicators over a period of six consecutive weeks.Multisectoral and multidisciplinary strategic One Health EOC coordination at all levels facilitated the swift containment of Nigeria's large LF outbreak in 2019. It is therefore imperative to embrace One Health approach embedded within the EOC to holistically address the increasing LF incidence in Nigeria.

Unwanted events on roads, such as incidents and increased traffic jams, can cause human lives and economic loss. For efficient incident management, it is essential to send Emergency Vehicles (EVs) to the incident place as quickly as possible. To reduce incidence clearance time, several approaches exist to provide a clear pathway to EVs mainly fitted with RFID sensors in the urban areas. However, they neither assign priority to the EVs based on the type and severity of an incident nor consider the effect on other on-road traffic. To address this issue, in this paper, we introduce an Emergency Vehicle Priority System (EVPS) by determining the priority level of an EV based on the type and the severity of an incident, and estimating the number of necessary signal interventions while considering the impact of those interventions on the traffic in the roads surrounding the EV’s travel path. We present how EVPS determines the priority code and a new algorithm to estimate the number of green signal interventions to attain the quickest incident response while concomitantly reducing impact on others. A simulation model is developed in Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) using the real traffic data of Melbourne, Australia, captured by various sensors. Results show that our system recommends appropriate number of intervention that can reduce emergency response time significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency health preparedness and response efforts are a necessity in order to safeguard the public against major events, such as influenza pandemics. Since posting warnings of the epidemic influenza in 1918, to the mass media communications available a century later, state, national and global public health agencies have developed sophisticated networks, tools, detection methods, and preparedness plans. These progressive measures guide health departments and clinical providers, track patient specimens and test reports, monitor the spread of disease, and evaluate the most threatening influenza strains by means of risk assessment, to be able to respond readily to a pandemic. Surge drills and staff training were key aspects for New York State preparedness and response to the 2009 influenza pandemic, and the re-evaluation of preparedness plans is recommended to ensure readiness to address the emergence and spread of a future novel virulent influenza strain.

Background: Response to the 2014–2015 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in Sierra Leone overwhelmed the national capacity to contain it and necessitated a massive international response and strong coordination platform. Consequently, the Sierra Leone Government, with support of the international humanitarian community, established and implemented various models for national coordination of the outbreak. In this article we review the strengths and limitations of the EVD outbreak response coordination systems in Sierra Leone and propose recommendations for improving coordination of similar outbreaks in the future. Conclusions: There were two main frameworks used for the coordination of the outbreak; the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) and the National Ebola Response Center (NERC). We observed an improvement in outbreak coordination as the management mechanism evolved from the EOC to the NERC. Both coordination systems had their advantages and disadvantages; however the NERC coordination mechanism appeared to be more robust. We identified challenges, such as competition and duplication of efforts between the numerous coordination groups, slow resource mobilization, inadequate capacity of NERC/EOC staff for health coordination and an overtly centralized coordination and decision making system as the main coordination challenges during the outbreak. Recommendations: We recommend the establishment of emergency operation centers with simple incident management system-based coordination prior to outbreaks, strong government leadership, decentralization of coordination systems and functions to the epicenter of outbreaks, with clear demarcation of roles and responsibilities between different levels, regular training of key coordination leaders and better community participation as methods to improve coordination of future disease outbreaks.

To establish true healthcare resiliency, and to better position healthcare organisations to provide effective response, continuity, resumption and recovery of fundamental services and operations during serious incidents and disasters, the disaster planning process must evolve into an integrated approach of four contingency planning disciplines that holistically examine the end-to-end, all-hazard response continuum. This process also needs to incorporate and scale multifarious organisational levels and, when required, the health sector. This paper is the first component of two independent, but related, pieces. It will examine the typical state of disaster preparedness and plans in healthcare, examine the worth and value of honing disaster plans, and will introduce two recommended contingency planning disciplines: enterprise risk management and emergency response planning. For each discipline, a case will be made for its inclusion into the overall disaster planning process, including examination of background information, benefits, how it improves disaster planning, and other resources helpful to the reader. The second paper, in a future issue of the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, will introduce business continuity management - including IT disaster recovery - and crisis communications as the third and fourth contingency planning disciplines needed for a fully integrated approach. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and may not be entirely those of the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future (John F Kennedy, 1963). Recent natural disasters and terrorist attacks have shown how imperative it is that communities and nations address the needs of children to ensure that they thrive in the face of adversity. As first responders and front line workers during disasters involving children, paramedics have a unique and important role in planning paediatric disaster preparedness as well as facilitating personal disaster preparedness. Paediatric disaster preparedness on all levels, from individual to institutional, will lead to improved outcomes in disasters involving children. Although different medical, legal, and administrative structures exist between the UK and the US, some of the lessons learned in the US can enhance paediatric disaster preparedness in all countries. This article aims discuss how paramedics and other first responders can close the gap between available and needed paediatric providers. Specifically, we review how paramedic primary and continuing education can target deficiencies identified by various supervising organizations, and how training can be performed using several successful high fidelity models produced through these resource centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research was conducted on how rural emergency managers at the local level understand and employ the National Incident Management System in 2007. This article focuses on research findings from face-to-face interviews with county emergency managers in three states. The data revealed that the majority of emergency managers interviewed interpret NIMS in a generally positive manner; however, they do so with considerable qualification. Emergency managers recognized that their interpretation of NIMS plays a role in how they comply with and implement NIMS; however, it was discovered that it is not the emergency managers' interpretation that determines compliance and implementation as much as it is factors related to local reality. The unique amalgamation of emergency manager interpretations and local reality produced large variation in NIMS compliance and implementation-no two emergency managers and no two counties were exactly alike. Therefore, though the federal government mandated its expectations and standards for emergency management through NIMS, both people and aspects of place dictate the mandate's interpretation and implementation. Based on findings from the research, implications of findings for emergency management are discussed and suggestions are made for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incident reporting systems have become a central mechanism of most health services patient safety strategies. In this article we compare health professionals' anonymous, free text responses in an evaluation of a newly implemented electronic incident management system. The professions' answers were compared using classic content analysis and Leximancer, a computer assisted text analysis package. The classic analysis identified issues which differentiated the professions. More doctors commented on lack of feedback following incidents and evaluated the system negatively. More allied health staff found that the system lacked fields necessary to report incidents. More nurses complained incident reporting was time consuming. The Leximancer analysis revealed that while the professions all used the more frequently employed concepts (which described basic components of the reporting system), nurses and allied health shared many additional concepts concerned with actual reporting. Doctors applied fewer and more unique (used only by one profession) concepts when writing about the system. Doctors' unique concepts centred on criticism of the incident management system and the broader implications of safety issues, while the other professions' unique concepts focused on more practical issues. The classic analysis identified specific problems needing to be targeted in ongoing modifications of the system. The Leximancer findings, while complementing the classical analysis results, gave greater insight into professional groups' attitudes that relate to use of the system, e.g. doctors' relatively limited conceptual vocabulary regarding the system was consistent with their lower incident reporting rates. Such professional differences in reaction to healthcare innovations may constrain inter-disciplinary communication and cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chemical sites should have well trained and organized emergency response plans to manage an incident within the plant or during transport. The implementation of an incident command system utilizing either internal resources or external response through mutual aid agreements is generally sufficient to address the direct impact of an event on the site. When the site resources become overwhelmed in addressing resulting issues such as press releases, medical advice/support, employees and family support, Agency notifications, etc, Corporate should be ready and able to respond. This paper, taken from an in-depth CCPS workshop led by the author, describes an outline for corporate assistance in the event of a major incident at a site or during transportation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Canada is moving forward quickly with plans to ensure that it is prepared to deal with emergencies. The National Framework for Health Emergency Management, released Nov. 26, 2004, recommends that a National Health Incident Management System (IMS) be developed. However, although most communities have successfully implemented IMS in the emergency services sector, many are still struggling with the integration of IMS into their health care systems. It is essential that all health care workers, regardless of profession or position, understand at least the basic concepts of emergency preparedness because of the wide variety of roles they may be asked to fulfill in an emergency situation. This article will review the basic concepts in emergency preparedness and management with a specific focus on IMS in health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shoreline Response Program (SRP) is an adjustment within an Incident Management System (IMS) intended to improve current practices during planning and preparedness for and from the initial response to an oil spill. An SRP builds on the recognized strengths of an IMS-based organization and of a Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) program that utilizes an integrated and focused approach to streamline and better coordinate the decision and planning processes and the operational implementation activities. An SRP is an extension of the traditional SCAT program but with a broader focus on strategic and tactical planning to minimize the short- and long-term impacts of oil on shorelines, the efforts and costs involved in a shoreline response, and the volumes of waste that would be generated. The objective of this discussion is to identify and address five specific areas for improvement in the shoreline component of an IMS that are associated with the separation of responsibility, streamlining the Environmental Unit (EU), internal communications, Operations support and training. These improvements essentially constitute a paradigm shift and are described in the context of the integration of an SRP into the IMS, the relationship between an SRP and the Environmental Unit, and the enabling of a more formal support approach to the Operations Section by an SRP SCAT-OPS Liaison program. The inclusion of an SRP concept in drills, exercises and preparedness training can directly change the management culture and improve the ability to respond quickly and effectively during the initial response phase. Not implementing an SRP at the very outset of a spill response, when typically the best opportunities exist for the removal of bulk oil, can have significant long-term consequences. Shifting an emphasis of management and physical resources from, often only partially successful, on-water activities to onshore shoreline activities when oil can be picked up more rapidly and effectively can significantly reduce i) the footprint of the response, ii) the duration and scale of the shoreline operation, iii) the exposure of shore zone resources to the oil, and so accelerates ecological and socio-economic recovery. The concept of an SRP as an integrated "single point of contact" for all shoreline-related issues and activities is likely to become more significant as IMS models evolve with potentially fewer people in a more decentralized Command Post and with a greater number of IMS planners, managers, and decision-makers participating from remote locations and/or in a virtual environment. Image 1 • A Shoreline Response Program (SRP) is an oil spill response paradigm shift. • Improvements are recommended for response preparedness and the Incident Management System (IMS). • Improved initial response can accelerate environmental recovery and reduces the response effort. • A shift of emphasis and priorities that adjusts the IMS without structural changes. • An SRP is applicable IMS decentralization IMS evolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014-2016, Guinea did not have an emergency management system in place. During the outbreak, Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) 2014-2019 funds made it possible to rapidly improve the country's capacity to manage epidemics through the development of public health emergency operation centres (PHEOCs) at the national and district levels. Since the end of the response, the infrastructure, staff, and systems of these PHEOCs have been further reinforced and well-integrated in the daily activities of Guinea's National Agency for Health Security, the entity responsible for the management of epidemics. The development of PHEOCs as emergency management tools for epidemics in Guinea would not have been possible without a strong endorsement within the Ministry of Health. Guinea's PHEOC network is well-positioned to serve as a model of excellence for other Ministries in Guinea and Ministries of Health of other countries of West Africa.

Emergency operations centres take many forms. In the context of an animal disease emergency, they may be established by a country's Veterinary Services to coordinate all aspects of the response. The systems and processes applied within emergency operations centres are based on established incident management systems, adopting consistent approaches for the operation and management of response activities.

We outline a conceptual framework developed to meet the needs of public health professionals in the province of Ontario for incident management system-related education and training. By using visual models, this framework applies a public health lens to emergency management, introducing concepts relevant to public health and thereby shifting the focus of emergency preparedness from a strict "doctrine" to a more dynamic and flexible approach grounded in the traditional principles of incident management systems. These models provide a foundation for further exploration of the theoretical foundations for public health emergency preparedness in practice.