DA2ER Sponsorship Opportunities

The Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response (DA2ER) web site, blog and discussion group have been set up for responders who use or are interested in using DA2ER for hazmat response. The work involved in putting DA2ER on the web has been contributed by MacKay Emergency Management Consulting Inc. as a community service. I am pleased with the interest which has been expressed in the web site, blog and discussion group to date and to those who have started following DA2ER on Twitter and the Linked In DA2ER discussion group. To help offset the cost / effort involved in developing, maintaining and promoting the DA2ER web presence there is an opportunity for a limited number of emergency management related individuals or organizations to sponsor or co-sponsor the web site. To discuss this opportunity please contact bill.mackay@memci.ca

DA2ER Google Wave - Made Public

The Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response Google Wave was enhanced today so that anyone with access to Google Wave may view it, copy it and enhance it. The current version of the DA2ER wave provides the Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response headings to facilitate information sharing and collaboration during a response. On site responders, offsite support personnel and senior management may all view and contribute to the response (as appropriate) in real time. The wave directs readers to the DA2ER.info web site for additional information on the DA2ER process. Although the wave supports communication and collaboration in its current state it is being shared with the hope that other responder / programmers who are part of the Google Wave beta test will add enhancements to significantly increase its functionality.

DA2ER On Line Training

I am investigating the possibility of providing training on using A Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response (DA2ER) on line. I have provided training in a classroom setting for organizations such as the chemical industry Transportation Emergency Assistance Program (TEAP) Technical Advisors course, to the Canada Coast Guard Marine Emergency Management course, to Imperial Oil Limited and Exxon Chemical emergency response and crisis management teams and to college emergency management students.

Classroom training usually consists of providing an overview of the process as outlined on the DA2ER chart, explaining each part of the process in detail and then providing students with an emergency scenario for which they are expected to conduct a situation analysis using the DA2ER process. The learning process is usually enhanced by organizing students into small groups to complete the situation analysis and having each group present its findings to the class for discussion.

I have personally used the DA2ER process as Incident Commander of a national emergency team and a crisis management team member. I am considering involving an associate who has extensive experience as a response team leader to truck, rail and marine oil and hazardous materials incidents in the on line training.

If you have interest in on line or on site DA2ER training please comment on this post or e-mail bill.mackay@memci.ca as we would appreciate your input while developing the on line training.

DA2ER Group on Linked In

A Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response - DA2ER group has been set up on Linked In. The Linked In professional network has over 55 million users worldwide and has numerous emergency management and emergency responder discussion groups. The Linked In group was set up to make Linked In emergency management personnel and responders aware of A Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response and the DA2ER.info web site. It can also be used to facilitate discussion about DA2ER on Linked In.

Welcome - ClearRisk Inc.

DA2ER welcomes Craig Rowe of ClearRisk Inc. as a follower to our Twitter feed. ClearRisk Inc. is an online provider of risk management solutions. Based out of St. John’s, NL, ClearRisk has representatives and partners throughout Canada, the United States and Europe (UK). ClearRisk’s solutions are built for insurance brokers, medium-sized organizations, and professional risk managers that are looking for an easy and affordable way to manage risk. ClearRisk has listed A Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response as an emergency response related risk management tool in their risk management library. You can follow Craig's risk management tips on Twitter at http://twitter.com/clearrisk.

New Potential Application for DA2ER

For over 30 years A Disciplined Approach to Emergency Response has been used by the oil and chemical industry and first responders to help them more effectively respond to incidents involving hazardous materials. The checklists for conducting a situation analysis and the response and restoration strategies are most certainly hazardous material specific but the process inherent in DA2ER has broad application. I was recently asked if DA2ER could be applied to a different (non hazmat) type of response and after giving it some thought, I most certainly believe it can be tailored to support any type of response. The concept of conducting a situation analysis, developing prioritized objectives, selecting response strategies and tactics, implementing a response, evaluating its effectiveness and continuing the process until the incident has been resolved are universal. The DA2ER chart can theoretically be modified to provide incident specific checklists for any type of incident. When we have an example of this we will share it on the www.DA2ER.info web site.