uKnow-RISC - knowledge and information management in case of disasters
Increasingly, we are being confronted with accidents, from very small to very big ones. Some have a natural cause, others are due to human failure or even malicious actions. The government tries to be as adequately prepared as possible for this type of calamities. Also the police, the fire brigade, GHOR (Medical Assistance in case of Accidents and Disasters) and municipalities make preparations to act quickly when a disaster occurs, to have access to the correct information and to use it to take correct decisions. In order to do so, every municipality prepares a Disaster Plan. But preparing the plan is one thing. Implementation of these plans in extremely complex situations with many parties involved is a completely different situation.
uKnow-RISC
In support of this process, with the assistance from key persons in the Dutch disaster relief sector, Geodan has developed a first version of uKnow-RISC. uKnow is the knowledge management system of Geodan, in which RISC (in Dutch) stands for Spatial Information System Calamities.
Functionality
The information system is developed based on the existing disaster procedures and regulations and the corresponding large-scale actions. The starting point of this system is the decision-making structure laid down in the Dutch GRIP procedure (Coordinated Regional Incident Control Procedure), which defines the tasks, powers, and responsibilities of the corresponding organisations that need information on different levels to facilitate decision-making.
Besides this structuring of disaster knowledge and procedures, a link was made to existing sources of information such as the Dutch Register Risk Situations Hazardous Substances (RRGS) and the spatial reproduction of the corresponding risks and hazardous objects (municipal and provincial risk maps).
Using the system, it is possible for the different decision-making layers to communicate regardless of their location. After all, the mayor stays in the emergency room, but the Officer on Duty has to rush to the disaster location to direct the processes from there. Moreover, it is possible to gain a clear understanding of the location of the persons involved in the disaster.
Technology
The basis of uKnow-RISC is the policy management system uKnow. The system uses Oracle-technology (Oracle Database, Oracle Spatial and Oracle iAS). The Geodan Movida Location Toolbox offers essential components for UKnow-RISC such as webmapping, routing and geocoding. The Movida Location Server takes care of the location definition and helps to define the position of an object or a person, regardless of the location method that is being used (Cell-ID, Wi-Fi, RFID or GPS location). The system can be accessed through any pc, laptop or tablet pc with an internet browser. In case of mobile use, the connection is made through UMTS or GPRS. The risk register and the provincial and municipal risk maps are integrated in uKnow-RISC as well.
First experiences
The first practical tests have meanwhile been carried out. Thanks to the collaboration of different experts, an appropriate foundation has been laid for the system. The technical basic infrastructure of uKnow is so stable that 7 Dutch provinces are already using this knowledge architecture for comparable process-controlled tasks.