You're facing multiple crises in different locations. How do you effectively allocate personnel?

A big piece of this article that is missing is training. Both initial and ongoing training is crucial, or the work done on the risk assessment and subsequent response plans is useless.

The management of multiple crises at the same time is no easy task. Of course this is all about risk. Making the assessment early, standing up your Crisis Management Team without delay are the first key points in the assessment process. No single person can make the call it is a team effort with the key resources you have. Importantly take a pause, get the people together and make your assessment based on the level of risk prioritising risk to life, assets and the community. The crisis commander must lead this and control. Lastly continue to train to ensure the team has an adequate level of competency to manage the situations. Regular drills, table tops and exercises are necessary to build capable and be a 'combat ready' organisation.

Rely on your risk assessment, factor in outside elements not under your control currently challenging your assessment. Prioritize which events will lead to greater challenges if left unattended.

Choose a team leader for the "other issue" then ask him or her to choose a team they need then work out the logistics details given the strengths and weaknesses of team members. Each team take on the issue that best suits their skills on the issue at hand.

Break down the specific skills and expertise required for each type of crisis, such as hazardous materials handling, search and rescue, medical response, etc. Create a detailed inventory of your team's qualifications, certifications, and past experience related to emergency response. Align team members with roles that match their specialized skills. For instance, hazardous materials training, chemical spill responses, search and rescue and natural disaster situations. Encourage cross-training to build a versatile team that can adapt to various crises, ensuring flexibility in your response. Continuously assess and update crisis requirements and your personnel’s skills to maintain readiness for any emergency.

For any Organization potential risk assessment is fundamental in establishing type of training in dealing with exposures. High hazard industry have to deal with fire, chemical spill, explosion, gas leakage, etc. Special training w PPE needs to be provided to cater for different crisis. The type of training and allocation of equipment and PPE will depend on the exposure risk of potential incidents. Personnel could be trained on multi-skill in handling different types of crisis.

Skills matching refers to the process of aligning the skills and capabilities of individuals with the requirements of specific job roles or tasks. competency is generally defined as a combination of skills, knowledge, attributes, and behaviors that enable an individual to perform a task or activity successfully on a given job.

Utilize a scalable approach by assigning specialized personnel to areas where their skills are most needed, while maintaining a flexible reserve force that can be quickly redirected as conditions change.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a central location that coordinates emergency response and recovery activities.  EOCs are responsible for managing emergency response, preparedness, management, and disaster management at a strategic level. They can be found in many nations, at all government levels, and in larger corporations.

Logistics planning is indeed a critical component when deploying personnel to manage multiple crises. Beyond just assigning the right skills to each situation, you need to ensure that your teams can reach each location swiftly and safely. This involves arranging transportation that can handle the conditions of each affected area and ensuring that your teams have quick and secure access to those locations. It's also vital to provide them with the necessary equipment and supplies to carry out their tasks effectively. Furthermore, considering communication needs is essential. Establishing a robust command structure is key to coordinating efforts among different teams and ensuring that everyone is aligned on the objectives and strategies.

This is where conducting and assessing realistic drills comes in. If you don’t train and drill for events, you will never see the flaws in your procedure. Always ensure you debrief with your team and listen to what they have to say. After all, they are the boots on the ground and know what their needs are.

Logistics planning analyse and coordinate the ongoing logistics functions of a firm or organisation, responsible for the entire life cycle of a product including acquisition, distribution,internal allocation, delivery and final disposal of resources.

Here, i will quickly inform the logistic manager and on planning the deployment, he will require security from the Security Operation Center ensuring a safe trip to the emergency location.

Also consider rotating personnel between locations where similar skills are needed. Working on one site for an extended period can be emotionally draining and a change in location provides mental and emotional stimulation.

Now that you have the teams selected, assigned and trained. Once the crisis is in play, ensure that ALL are working the work rest cycle.

Crisis are prolonged events, best practice is to set up a pre arranged roster and place in your crisis management plan including clear RACI

Reserven, auch in personeller Hinsicht, sollten grundlegend bei Lagen, welche nicht mehr zum " Standart" gehören, gebildet werden. Gerade anfänglich kommt dies oftmals zu kurz und ist auch der Taktik geschuldet. Hier setzt man natürlich gerne Kräfte direkt ein, was auch zielführend sein kann. Jedoch sollten auch im Einsatz befindliche Kräfte, im Zuge der Kontrolle, wieder erneut bewertet und ggf. herausgelöst werden. Dies gilt jedoch nicht nur bei unterstellten Kräften sondern auch bei den eigenen Teammitgliedern und bei einem selbst. Je nach Art bietet es sich auch an richtige Ruhebereiche zu schaffen, in denen sich Einsatzkräfte komplett regenerieren können und betreut werden. Fehlende Planung rächt sich evtl. im weiteren Verlauf.

Crisis response is complex and arduous. It is essential to rotate response teams to prevent fatigue and burnout. Implement rotation schedules to ensure personnel get adequate rest and recovery time, minimizing burnout and maintaining high performance levels. One way to be considered in preparation for such situations is cross-training of personnel. Train personnel in multiple roles to increase flexibility in rotating teams without compromising the quality of response. And in every crisis response, establish backup teams. Designate reserve teams ready to deploy to relieve or support teams already on the ground.

After deploying teams, I keep a close watch on how each situation is developing. This means regularly checking in with the teams on the ground to get updates and using any available tools, like cameras or communication systems, to monitor progress. If something changes or if a team needs more help, I can quickly adjust our approach.

Hier kommt wieder ein umfassendes und aktuelles Lagebild ( bitte n.M. immer mit entsprechender Lagekarte) zu tragen, dass durchgängig verfügbar sein muss. Nicht umsonst kann man den Führungskreislauf auch mit ineinander passenden Zahnrädern darstellen. Die wiederkehrende Kontrolle nach der Befehlsgebung ist hierzu unerlässlich, um die Wirksamkeit der Maßnahmen effektiv überprüfen zu können. Dazu gehört auch der Austausch mit den Führungskräften vor Ort, die ein sehr zielgerichtetes Feedback geben können. Hierzu gehört es m.M. nach auch, sich die Eckpunkte von Befehlen wiedergeben zu lassen um zu sehen ob die eigene Absicht auch vollumfänglich verstanden wurde.

Communication and control is crucial in disaster management. Effective deployment of logistic and resources requires constant communication with emergency commanders on the ground and monitoring of operation progress. Communication can be achieved through GPS, triangulation of telco signals of all appliances on the ground; location and distribution of all available resources near disaster area for redeployment in support. Continuing monitoring should be achieved through designated personal communications link to emergency and control centre; monitoring of public position of videos and photos through social media and news channels.

Emergency situations are inherently dynamic and can evolve rapidly. To ensure an effective response, it's crucial to continuously monitor the situation and adjust personnel allocation accordingly. By maintaining constant communication with on-site commanders, tracking weather patterns, and staying abreast of other relevant factors, you can identify emerging needs and reallocate resources in a timely manner. This proactive approach helps to optimize the effectiveness of your response and minimize the impact of the emergency. For example, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, monitoring the spread of disease or the availability of critical infrastructure can help determine where medical personnel and supplies are most needed.

Effective communication is one of the skills to manage a hazard.My experience in a fire station control room when i received an emergency call about a fire outbreak in a bottling company. After deploying my team, i was able to monitor the situation by establishing an effective communication with the team at fire scene

Community Assessment: Evaluate the strengths and resources of each community. Identify local leaders, volunteers, and organizations that can be mobilized quickly. This helps in understanding what each community can handle on its own and where external support is most needed. Decentralized Leadership: Empower local teams to lead crisis management efforts. By training and equipping local leaders, you can reduce the need for centralized intervention, allowing personnel to focus on areas where local capacity is weaker.

Establish clear communication channels and designate local leadership to coordinate efforts and make on-the-ground decisions.

Community support is crucial in enhancing emergency response and management strategy. Community local knowledge and networking enhance wider support during crisis. Education, training, integration with emergency response planning strategy enlarge available logistic and resources. Desk top emerging response drills with community in preparedness reduce crisis exposure. Practical drills with community raised the awareness and creates a resilient society

Engaging with the community is vital. I make sure that our teams work closely with local authorities and stakeholders to provide the best support, ensuring both the safety of the community and the success of our operations.

By engaging community members you are adding a vital skill in emergency response. Community members are familiar with the local area & can assist in bridging the communication barriers with other local residents.