The COG Cookbook Course Lesson 4 Run Large Rollouts

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The COG Cookbook CourseLesson 4 - Run Large
Rollouts

• Planning Considerations for State and Regional
  DMIS Adoption

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Large-scale Rollout Recipe

• Establish OPEN-ready tools policy
• Inform responders of capabilities and policy
• Choose starting place(s)
• Establish COG structure and SOPs
• Train trainers
• Employ trainers to expand outward from starting
  places
• Exercise, evaluate, adjust, refine SOPs

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Step 1 Establish DMIS-ready tools Policy

• Top-down decree based on bottom-up needs and
  buy-in
• The Department of Homeland Security Open
  Platform for Emergency Networks (OPEN) is the
  ltorganization namegt standard for automated
  incident management system (IMS)
  interoperability.
• Elements of ltorganization namegt are free to
  acquire any IMS as long as it is OPEN-ready.
• DMIS Tools are acceptable if they satisfy local
  needs.
• Accommodates
• Freedom of choice
• Economy
• Information sharing / interoperability on large
  scale

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Step 2 Inform Responders of DMIS Capabilities
and Policy

• Showcase event
• Policy document
• Conferences
• Town Meetings

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Step 3 Choose Starting Place(s)

• Basic principle grow outward from centers of
  excellence
• Considerations
• Higher threats to critical infrastructure
• Training focus
• Hardware
• Enthusiasm
• Politics

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Step 4 Establish COG Structure and SOPs

• Work with early adopters and centers of
  excellence
• Hold shakedown cruise
• Objectives
• Identify COG structure
• Define SOPs
• Activities
• Consider various COG structure and policy models
• Test candidate models within operational
  scenarios
• Choose one

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DMIS COG Structure/Procedure Model 1Bottom Up
Collaboration by Posting

• COG structure matches government organization
  hierarchy
• Membership in each COG limited to individuals in
  each organization

• Each higher organization makes new summary
  incident record
• Generally multiple DMIS Messenger sessions

Post
Post
Post
Create summary
Create summary
Create summary
Post
Post
Post
Post
Post
Post
Post
Post
Earthquake
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DMIS COG Structure/Procedure Model 1Bottom Up
Collaboration by Posting

• Pros
• Default or natural DMIS work flow based on
  all disasters are local principle
• Very little need to develop SOPs governing all
  COGs
• Works with limited training
• Cons
• Numerous postings can be overwhelming
• Creating summary incident records is
  time-demanding
• Numerous Messenger sessions can be overwhelming
  and cause confusion
• Fragments specific needs requests

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Multiple COG ConsiderationsKey Lesson Learned

• During a large-scale incident, collaboration is
  better when there are fewer incident records
  being generated and posted

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DMIS COG Structure/Procedure Model 2All at the
Same Table
Create incident record

• COG structure matches government organization
  hierarchy
• Membership in each COG includes generic accounts
  for all potential collaborators

• Master incident record created at government
  level appropriate for incident magnitude
• Generally one or few DMIS Messenger sessions

Liaisons / agency representatives log in to COG
managing overall incident
Earthquake
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DMIS COG Structure/Procedure Model 2All at the
Same Table

• Pros
• Vastly improved collaboration and coordination
  during the big ones
• Less fog of response confusion
• Cons
• SOPs for all COGs need to be developed
• More training for all COGs needed

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Step 4 Continued Develop SOPs

• Some SOP considerations if going for same table
  model
• Who needs to collaborate with whom?
• Can COG structure match government hierarchy
  structure?
• Who are the liaisons or agency
  representatives in each organization?
• Who decides which COG will host THE TABLE at the
  start of an incident?
• Who enters information on which TIE forms after
  the cutover to a higher COG?
• How, exactly, will information from local
  jurisdictions be passed to the organization
  working the master incident record?
• If others are using DMIS-ready tools, how will
  messaging to them be accomplished?

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Step 5 Train Trainers

• Request DMIS Responder Liaison Team to train
  initial trainers
• Add your SOPs to DMIS training materials
• Select initial trainers
• Put trainers to work quickly
• Embed training with exercises soon after training

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Step 6 Employ Trainers to Expand Outward from
Starting Places

• Trainers train more trainers (DMIS team assists
  if desired)
• Select trainers from jurisdictions adjacent to
  starting places
• Encourage inter-jurisdiction exercises

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Step 7 Exercise, Evaluate, Adjust, Refine SOPs

• Conduct table top and command post exercises
• Collect lessons learned
• Evaluate them
• Adjust COG structure / membership if necessary
• Refine SOPs
• Test again with more exercises

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Exercises bake the cake
You can put all the ingredients from this recipe
in a bowl . . .

• Policies
• Procedures
• Training

. . . but you cant eat the cake until you bake
it!
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End of the COG Cookbook Course Lesson 4 Large
Rollouts