IAEM Bulletin, May 2014

Last month we discussed the Planning standards with a concentration on the Business Impact Analysis (BIA). This month we complete our discussion of the Planning standards with a concentration on the Resource Needs Assessment.

The Standard

The NFPA® 1600 version 2013 defines Comprehensive Resource Management in Appendix A. It states, “Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date picture of resource utilization is a critical component of domestic incident management. Resource management includes processes for categorizing, ordering, dispatching, tracking, and recovering resources. It also includes processes for reimbursement for resources, as appropriate.”

Appendix A goes on to define resources “as personnel, teams, equipment, supplies and facilities available or potentially available for assignment or allocation in support of incident management and emergency response activities.” Finally, Appendix A states, “Personnel and equipment should respond only when requested or when dispatched by an appropriate authority.”

Resource Needs Assessment Helps to Establish Priorities

• Complete Assessment. The Resource Needs Assessment standard specifically requires the entity to “conduct a resource needs assessment based on the hazards identified in the risk assessment and the business impact analysis,” discussed in the last two articles. The results of the risk assessment and the business impact analysis help establish priorities for resources in the following areas:
  • Human resources, equipment, training, facilities, funding, expert knowledge, materials, technology, information, intelligence, and the time frames within which they will be needed; and
  • Quantity, response time, capability, limitations, cost, and liabilities.
• Establish Procedures. The standard next requires entities to “establish procedures to locate, acquire, store, distribute, maintain, test, and account for services, human resources, equipment, and materials procured or donated to support the program.” The standard does not describe what those procedures should look like, just that the entity must have procedures, including those for donations management.
• Identify Facilities. The third requirement is for entities to identify “facilities capable of supporting response, continuity, and recovery operations.” These facilities include “operational locations and support facilities established in the vicinity of an incident to accomplish a variety of objectives, such as decontamination, donated goods processing, mass care, and evacuation. Typical facilities include incident command posts, bases, camps, staging areas, mass casualty triage areas, and other facilities as required.”
• Establish Mutual Aid Needs Agreements. The final requirementis on agreements. NFPA 1600 version 2013 states entities shall determine “the need for mutual aid/assistance or partnership agreements, and if needed, establish and document these agreements.” These agreements include “cooperative agreements, partnership agreements, memoranda of understanding, memoranda of agreement, intergovernmental compacts, or other terms commonly used for the sharing of resources. Agreements can be executed between any combination of public, private, and not-for-profit entities.”

References

For information and discussion on Resource Needs Assessment, refer to the recommended FEMA Independent Study courses and other related references mentioned below. Do not confuse these general resource requirements with the specific procedures found within your organization. While an emergency manager needs to understand and know local procedures to be effective in the position, those procedures could easily differ from the general procedures discussed in the study references and are not found on the certification exam.

The applicable FEMA Independent Study (IS) courses that candidates should review when studying the Resource Needs Assessment are:

• IS 26 – Guide to Points of Distribution
• IS 100 (any version) – Introduction to ICS 100
• IS 200 (any version) – ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• IS 230c/d – Fundamentals of Emergency Management
• IS 244b – Developing and Managing Volunteers
• IS 288 – The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management

U.S. candidates also should consult these four additional references:

• IS 75 – Military Resources in Emergency Management
• IS 703a – NIMS Resource Management
• IS 706 – NIMS Intrastate Mutual Aid - An Introduction
• IS 807 - Emergency Support Function (ESF) #7 – Logistics Management and Resource Support Annex

Next Month

Next month we will be describing the various sections of the Implementation standard, beginning with Common Plan Requirements. We also will provide a recommended list of FEMA Independent Study courses and/or other references to study.

IAEM Bulletin, May 2014

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