Digitizing Your Disaster Response Tools for Employees

August 4, 2016 - By Eric Holdeman - Having grown up in the paper era (note I did not say "papyrus") I still have a fondness to hold something tangible in my hand to read. But that phase of history is rapidly going away. Now today you can have your entire organization, public or private, have access to the plans, procedures and contact information that they need to respond and recover in an emergency. The day of the wallet card; notepad; three ring binder is almost gone — for those willing to invest money in being prepared. 

This is done by creating all the information in digital format and making it available to people via an app. One such solution is the In Case of Crisis App. Two observations. One is that a media organization, The Boston Globe, is investing in this type of technology and effort to be sure that they can continue to deliver the news while keeping their employees involved and informed. And then there is the terminology they use with "playbooks" to describe what used to be called checklists (I'm guessing). Nothing against playbooks or the term, just that I like words that are descriptive of what the function is. Like an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), I like Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) better because it is descriptive of what happens in such a facility. My guess is that "playbooks" is sexier and will find its way into our use more and more frequently. The state of Oregon has playbooks or a playbook as their operational guide.

Here's the news release:

"Celebrating a three-year partnership, RockDove Solutions announced today thatThe Boston Globe has renewed its use of its crisis management solution In Case of Crisis. The mobile app makes step-by-step guidelines for how to handle weather events, medical emergencies, workplace violence and other crisis scenarios available to employees on their smartphones and desktop devices, turning plans into digital playbooks for more than 700 employees.

Offering more consistent and accessible emergency planning tools, The Boston Globe provides all office employees, including newsroom, production and administrative staff, with emergency preparedness plans via the In Case of Crisis app. Complementary to existing paper-based safety materials, In Case of Crisis is helping The Boston Globe open up critical communication to employees in the office or out in the field during any crisis.

“Our office space operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so we needed a way to make safety instructions immediately available to all employees. A mobile app was the perfect solution,” said Anthony Schiavi, director of safety and environmental affairs, The Boston Globe. “In today’s environment, organizations need to be prepared for a growing number of unpredictable situations and In Case of Crisis helps us train and prepare our employees for these various scenarios.”

RockDove Solutions will help The Boston Globe revise its emergency preparedness plans next year when the organization moves into its new downtown Boston headquarters and new printing and distribution facility in Taunton.

“We are pleased to work with a prestigious partner like The Boston Globe and help the organization create a safer workplace for their employees,” said Christopher Britton, COO, RockDove Solutions. “In Case of Crisis has helped turnThe Boston Globe’s emergency preparedness plans into actionable digital playbooks, giving employees an easy and secure way to access the most up-to-date safety procedures.”

Originally Posted on the Emergency Manangement Blog