California Project Demonstrates Interoperability and Data Sharing
Four jurisdictions in California had shown that they can link disparate hardware and software systems to communicate and share data during and after an emergency.

In an article on the Government Technology website, Jim McKay says the Los Angeles Basin Project conducted the pilot demonstration earlier this month. The four cities used their own software and hardware, and demonstrated the ability to rapidly record and share safety and damage assessments and instantly populate FEMA forms with the data after a large-scale natural or man-made disaster.

“The LA Basin Project developed protocols for linking the disparate hardware and software systems used by local building officials to speed the transmission of critical data during a crisis,” McKay says. “A template for safety and damage reports allows field personnel to collect data quickly and eliminates the hours of labor needed to transfer handwritten safety and assessment reports to the appropriate federal disaster forms.”

The pilot featured a simulated magnitude 6.2 earthquake after which the participants — Glendale, Gardena, San Dimas and Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County — downloaded the data via eight different devices, including a cell phone, laptop and iPhone. All the information uploaded went directly to a central database in Glendale.

According to McKay, the pilot demonstrated the ability to develop an interoperable network where emergency personnel can:

• perform immediate safety assessments of critical infrastructure;
• conduct general safety assessments of the structural integrity, safety and re-occupancy of governmental, residential and commercial structures;
• authorize reconnection of utilities after damage repairs have been made, and;
• provide rapid issuance of building permits and conduct inspections as the community recovers from the disaster.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.govtech.com/gt/414478?topic=117680