Integrated Hazards-based Decision System

Effective response to potential or actual releases of hazardous materials is one of the most significant challenges to emergency management personnel. Time-urgent decisions to protect lives, assets, and property must be made when assessment resources and event information are limited and uncertainties are high.

Emergency responders need processes to help them make rapid and effective life-saving determinations about:

• What populations will be affected, how, and when
• Where protective actions are needed and when they should be implemented
• What protective actions are appropriate for different affected areas


Decision-makers and Their Constraints • • •
The hazards-based decision process focuses on three primary decision makers:

• The Incident Commander, who makes urgent tactical decisions at the event scene
• The Emergency Director, who makes strategic emergency decisions from an Emergency Operations Center
• The Emergency Preparedness Manager, who makes planning decisions ahead of time in preparation for emergencies


While the titles of these decision makers will vary from organization to organization, their basic roles are similar

These decision makers face a common set of challenges:

• The hazards and potential consequences of releases are not comprehensively understood
• Information is not consistent for all decision makers
• Information is often not available when needed
• Decision-making information, process, and tools do not suit the environment in which they are used

The Solution • • •
The solution to these challenges is to provide decision makers with:

• Comprehensive information about hazards
• A fully integrated set of tools that meet the needs of each decision maker
• An integrated decision-making process that helps the Incident Commander, Emergency Director, and Emergency Preparedness Manager make consistent effective decisions within each decision maker’s operational environment

AlphaTRAC has developed a systems-based solution that puts this approach into practice. Called the Hazards-based Decision System, the system integrates consequence management decision processes, decision-specific tools, and the data needed to use the tools