Modeling Emergency Response: A Case Study

Abstract

Recent events have increased the awareness of the importance of effective crisis response whether for a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. This paper describes and models the response to an emergency situation using IMPRINT Pro. This software is a Human System Integration (HSI) and Personnel Integration (MANPRINT) tool developed by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. IMPRINT Pro is a stochastic discrete event network modeling tool designed to help assess the interaction of soldiers with systems to evaluate the systems' performance throughout their lifecycles. The model includes resource availability, tasks to be completed, resource limitations, and task deadlines. The results include flow diagrams and performance metrics. IMPRINT models can be used for evaluation, what-if analysis, and training. The software is used to improve an organization's performance. To demonstrate the benefits of using the modeling software outside of the Department of Defense, a case study of a combined anthrax and bomb threat made at a university is presented. The case study identifies the various first responders and their reaction, to the situation. The actual event was successfully handled and the procedures are modeled. The human modeling software includes the effects of external and internal stressors on personnel performance in pressure situations. The case study model includes the effect of stressors on performance and calculates time delays. Factors such as responding personnel wearing protective clothing while performing tasks are included. Tasks using various fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, and communication skills are modeled.

Meeting Name

29th Annual National Conference of the American Society for Engineering Management (2008: Nov. 12-15, West Point, NY)

Department(s)

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering

Second Department

Psychological Science

Keywords and Phrases

Communication skills; Crisis management; Department of Defense; Human performance modeling; Human system integration; IMPRINT; Resource availability; Resource limitations; Emergency services; Protective clothing; Research; Discrete event simulation

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-1-61567-058-1

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2008 American Society for Engineering Management, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

15 Nov 2008

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