An Emergency Management Playbook for State Transportation Agencies (2024)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

1   An Emergency Management Playbook for State Transportation Agencies NCHRP Research Report 1093: An Emergency Management Playbook for State Transpor- tation Agencies is a practical guide for developing and maintaining a transportation agency emergency management (EM) program. The EM Playbook supports states with concise information designed to enable agencies to improve their existing EM program. It provides guidelines for ways to “work smart” and ideas on how to improve their “Plays” to address gaps, contingencies, or new hazards. Part I of the Playbook provides an overview of EM, transportation agencies’ critical role in EM, and how to use the Playbook. Part II of the Playbook provides an overview of an agency EM program: a systematic, coor- dinated approach to managing emergencies that addresses the full EM cycle—preparedness, response, recovery, and protection/mitigation—that involves planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective actions. It provides a summary of an effective transportation EM program covering • Key roles and responsibilities, • Resource needs, • Key questions to ask, and • Building an EM culture. The section also includes an overview of an EM capability maturity model and capability maturity framework self-assessment. Part III includes a collection of EM Plays. “Plays” are defined as key capabilities and activities to assist an agency in performing critical EM actions. There are Plays categorized by EM phase—preparedness, response, recovery, and protection/mitigation,—and Plays categorized by event. Available tools to assist agencies are found in the section as well as a series of aspects to keep in mind: resilience, technology, cybersecurity, and unique events. The final part of the EM Playbook, Part IV, contains a discussion of common challenges to an agency EM program and suggestions for sustaining success in an existing program. The final chapter in Part IV is conclusions. EM is challenging. Events are uncommon and unpredictable. Having an EM program at an agency is both a daily business requirement and a strategic, enterprisewide risk management responsibility. Essentials and Key Points • Transportation agencies have a major role in EM, with a broad range of capabilities and responsibilities. S U M M A R Y

2 An Emergency Management Playbook for State Transportation Agencies • EM is a programmatic activity with a comprehensive approach to the full cycle of pre- vention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery of hazards, and events. • A programmatic approach focuses on outcomes, impacts, or consequences, rather than specific hazards. • Common essentials for the EM program include an overall structure and resources to support EM operations; policy setting that supports state and agency policies and needs; deployment, coordination, and management of emergency personnel and resources; ability to address different types and levels of emergencies; employee training; and a chain of command and delegation of authority. • Developing and maintaining an EM culture is an important element of the EM program. Establishing an EM culture results in engaged professional staff who adopt agency goals, implement policies, and actively improve activities and procedures. • Agency leaders play a key role in EM. Leaders set the agenda, establish priorities, set expectations, and support staff. Leadership champions and promotes the importance of EM and ensures that everyone at the agency recognizes the role they play in EM. • The emergency manager, or EM program manager, advocates for the EM program and the importance of EM at the agency and builds and maintains relationships inside and outside the agency. The EM program manager is responsible for implementing all phases of EM: preparedness, response, recovery, and protection/mitigation. • The keys to success for EM program managers are to develop and maintain relationships with key operations staff; know what their agency needs to do before, during, and after an emergency; know what people, assets, and resources may be needed during every event type an agency may face; and have people and resources ready in advance. • Collaboration within the agency, with traditional agency partners, and with local com- munity partners is essential for effective EM. Working with local partners will ensure safe, equitable, and available transportation for all. • Performance metrics for EM demonstrate EM program effectiveness; help justify funding for staff and resources; allow agencies to track current levels of preparedness; document benefits from training and investments made; and identify EM efforts that are making a difference. • There is a broad range of EM “maturity” and organizational structures at transportation agencies. An EM capability maturity framework can help an agency establish a graduated path for improvement and assess both where an organization is and where it needs to go.