Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
reaches full staffing wherein interface with each supporting agency's organization will
be handled by their responding entity. This watch staff, therefore, will need to have all
the skills and tools to capably manage the initial response until such time as the appro-
priate representatives of the activated agencies are dispatched to the EOC to provide
real-time coordination within their respective infrastructure.
Can Organizational Structure Impact Room Design?
The short answer to this question is a definite yes. Our experience has shown that
the management structure of the responsible agency most definitely influences the
style of layout for the OPS room. Predictably, it will tilt either toward a C2 (com-
mand and control) or to a C4 (which I prefer to refer to as communicate, collabo-
rate, coordinate, and, to a more limited degree, control) setup. The determining
factor for this bias is quite often dependent on whether the agency has a public
safety or emergency management heritage. In public safety environments where
there is a clear chain of command as in the military, room layout will focus its
attention on either a common information display wall or command structure.
Those agencies from an emergency management lineage will tend to tilt toward a
collaborative or clustered environment. In many jurisdictions, hybrid models have
begun to be implemented.
Regardless of the layout, the reality is that a fundamental shift has occurred and
the modern EOC's success will be dependent on its ability to foster the coordina-
tion and dissemination of information to the appropriate consumers. These activi-
ties will be coordinated through the event managers and the emergency support
function (ESF) personnel who are positioned in the operations room. And even as
advancements in technology lend credibility to the notion that the future will be
in the creation of a virtual EOC, recent events continue to suggest that face-to-face
collaboration is a more efficient and effective form of problem solving. This reality,
I believe, extends to all levels of government.
Design's Role in Supporting the Evolving Mission
One must keep in mind that the development of a comprehensive design for an EOC
and its operations room must take into account a wide range of considerations that will
affect internal and external features. These items encompass issues such as responder
accessibility, hazard zone proximity, availability of redundant services, maintenance of
secure operations, and leveraging natural hardening through siting to physical hard-
ening of both structures and systems. All of these factors as well as others must be
considered when developing the design criteria and programmatic requirements for the
facility. The degree to which a facility is hardened is largely influenced by the risk analy-
sis developed from the threat and hazard assessment. The focus of this discussion will
be on the various design options for the internal organization of the operations room of
the modern EOC to create a well-conceived and functional center.
