The Incident Command System

Managing an emergency response, especially a complex, multidimensional response in geographically diverse locations, is one of the most important challenges facing a management team of any company.

The analysis of a number of emergency response activities established that emergency response problems resulting from inadequate management of the emergency contributed much more that any of the other identified causes of problems.

These studies concluded that incident management was often plagued by the following factors.

• The absence of a clear chain of command and specifically accountability that is defined in executive and supervisory role statements.
• The absence of effective communication as a result of the ineffective use of available communications systems and the lack of a common language.
• A deficient planning process that is not done in a logical organized systematic and methodical manner.
• The presence of a rigid management structure that is not designed for changing situations such as those present during an emergency situation. This manifests as an inability of commanders to effectively delegate and manage critical tasks effectively.
• The absence of techniques to seamlessly integrate functions across departments, operational units and external emergency response service providers.
• The absence of practiced routines to effectively respond to different types of emergencies.

A well designed incident command system is one of the best on-site tools available to manage such emergency response incidents. It can be utilized to effectively manage emergencies that are affecting geographically diverse locations such as a retail outlet chain having poisoned food in their stores, as well as localized emergencies such as a response to a site based hazardous substance release.

The Incident Command System

The Incident Command System is a standardized on site incident management model intended to allow responders to adopt a temporary integrated organizational structure. This emergency response structure should result in an incident management model aligned with the complexity and demands of any single incident or multiple incidents without being hampered by the limitations of the operational management structure. The operational management structure is normally designed to achieve the optimum management ability in a stable and structured environment. During emergencies it has been demonstrated that the normal management model utilized in a company is not the best structure to effectively manage the incident.

A well designed command system for emergencies should be designed to have a significant ability of structural flexibility. It should be able to expand or contract, dependant on the needs of any particular emergency. This designed in flexibility is one of the primary factors that makes it an effective, practical and commercially viable alternative to the traditional way of managing both small and large emergencies.

Communications

One of the critical success factors of this system is the ability to effectively communicate internally as well as externally. This requirement is often confused with the availability of suitable communications hardware.

The importance of communications hardware is not disputed however an essential component for ensuring effective communications is the utilization of a common emergency response language. This implies that standard terminology is used and that codes, such as those normally used during radio communications, are kept to the absolute minimum.

Structure

An effective organizational structure to manage a crisis is one that can be deployed in a modular way, based on the size and complexity as well as the specific hazard associated with the incident. The structure should be implemented in a top-down manner congruent with the extent and severity of the emergency that needs to be dealt with.

It is the norm to expand the emergency response organization structure from the top down as the complexity and extent of the incident increases and the functional responsibilities are delegated.

The ideal organizational structure should be flexible. When needed, separate functional elements should be established and subdivided to enhance internal organizational management and external coordination.

As the emergency unfold, so should the organizational structure to deal with it expand. This implies that the number of management roles will expands to ensure adequate management responses, at the correct level, to address the required actions as indicated by the situation created by the incident. If these roles and responsibilities, as well as the milestones when the next management module should be activated, have not been determined before the emergency, confusion will result.

Benefits

The implementation of an incident command system has many benefits. One of the primary benefits is that it contributes significantly toward the complete utilization of resources. This is achieved as a result of the:

• Constant maintenance of a controllable span of control.
• Prior selection of suitable incident control locations and facilities.
• Implementation of effective resource management protocols.
• Integrated communications systems that are utilized.

Conclusion

In the current complex business environment where one single corporation can spans the globe with resource acquisition sites on one continent, production facilities on another and outlets on several others, the implementation of an incident command system to manage the variety of emergencies that can occur, is a sound business decision. This strategy however does not absolve executives from instituting sensible preventative measures.

(C) Carl Marx 2009