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Mission Manager’s Emergency Management Software Assists First Responders with Personnel and Equipment Management, Training, Live Missions, Reports and More

From natural disasters and search-and-rescue operations to campus security and public events,  Mission Manager’s cloud-based emergency management software helped first responders save lives and property – and also manage training and exercises – in nearly 1,300 missions in 2014.  According to the customers we talked to last year, Mission Manager saved significant time and money for their organizations and helped ensure a well-coordinated response.

 Personnel and Asset Management

As a daily tool, Mission Manager automates personnel and asset management functions, as well as scheduling, task management and reporting processes. Because personnel data is readily available and kept current – with customized login access levels for each member – incident commanders / emergency managers can quickly assemble teams and manage deployments with a click of a button.

UofN-CERTAt the University of the Nations (UofN) Kona, Hawaii,  Mission Manager is used extensively by the UofN-CERT organization, according to Allan Robbins, instructor and CERT team leader. “With Mission Manager, I can quickly come up with the information I need and get a team deployed within minutes versus hours in the past,” he said.

“Within minutes, I can determine team member’s availability, their qualifications and even the languages they speak,” Robbins noted. “It also allows us to track and maintain nearly 1,000 pieces of equipment, including emergency lighting, protective gear, fire hoses, tents and medical gear in our CERT Response Trailer. Mission Manager has been easy to setup and customize – and has saved me a lot of headaches of having to do this by pen and paper, or by memory.”

Document and Training Management

In Illinois, Capt. Roger Bonuchi of the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) also noted that Mission Manager has saved significant time with administrative tasks, such as producing end-of-year timekeeping reports for each member. “Now I can produce these reports within minutes, because the software automatically tracks each member’s hours based on the time/dates entered for each mission – it even records their hours via the RSVPs they’ve responded to in the calendar events,” he said.

Plainfield PEMA SAR briefPrior to adopting Mission Manager in April 2014, PEMA’s scheduling and timekeeping functions were performed on three separate platforms.  “We were all over the place before Mission Manager. We relied on one program for scheduling, another for timekeeping and paging (our software development), a third for callout response, and homegrown solutions for reporting,” he said. “That meant our PEMA IT staff had to maintain several websites, all of which had associated costs. Mission Manager has saved us thousands of dollars by consolidating these functions and saving us from buying a new server and software licenses.”

Mission Manager has also played a vital role for the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU), a non-profit organization based in Hemet, Calif., which comprises 30 volunteers.

“We rely on Mission Manager – not only for our communications – but also to record hours of training needed for certifications. Mission Manager  helps us track every hour of every member, giving us credit for what we’re doing … This is extremely  important,  because it shows our value and helps us get funding  so we can carry out our missions,” said Glenn Henderson, who administers Mission Manager for the team, along with RMRU team member Gwenda Yates.

An Online Incident Command Solution

K9-Frankie of Search OneThe same holds true for the Search One Rescue Team, based in Dallas, Texas, whose primary mission is to help locate missing persons with the assistance of its canines teams. Search One relies heavily on Mission Manager to help run both searches and training activities.

“Mission Manager is great for any agency that has to manage multiple assets,” said Jess Romero, Director of Search Managers for the team. “It helps us with daily scheduling. When we create trainings, events and meetings in the calendar, it automatically informs our members so we don’t have to do it each time. It’s a big time saver.”

As an online incident command center, Mission Manager provides a clear picture of incidents as they unfold. The web-based software incorporates over 100 mapping layers, and allows incident commanders to communicate in real time via SMS text, voice or email.  Every detail of the incident is captured and fully integrated into the system – including event logs, team assignments and radio logs – providing a second-by-second record of every event.

Emergency Operations Software

In Nebraska, the Sarpy County Emergency Management Agency uses Mission Manager in the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for volunteer management and situational awareness SARPY Emergency Managementduring severe weather events. It is also utilized for notifying, assigning and tracking the organization’s Skywarn volunteers who are deployed to pre-identified spotter locations, according to Lynn Marshall, Director of Emergency Management for the agency.

“We have those locations pre-built in the Mission Manager mapping tab for EOC/Spotter activations.  All the field information and radio logs are also captured in Mission Manager, which helps with accountability of our volunteers and becomes a timesaver when we need to run a reports,” said Marshall.

The Sarpy County agency also uses Mission Manager in the EOC to track training and exercises events, including a recent nationwide exercise that involved VA hospital evacuations. “In this case, we used Mission Manager to track and log information that was relayed to us, including how many patients were arriving and to which facilities,” said Marshall.

Back in Hawaii, the UofN CERT in Kona also uses Mission Manager extensively for deployments, including the recent lava flows as well as tsunamis, wildfires and hurricanes. “Whether using Mission Manager for our call-outs, providing our operational maps, or to help us better track our members’ training and our equipment inventory – without one person becoming the bottleneck – Mission Manager has made it much easier to manage our 74-member team,” said Robbins.

Situational Awareness with Extensive Maps

Search One K9 Mission Manager is also a key situational awareness tool for the Search One Rescue Team“Mission Manager allows us to track the status of our canine units in the field in real time,” said Romero, adding that keeping public safety agencies informed during Search One’s missions is a high priority.

In a recent search, Romero presented the status of his canine units to base command using a borrowed laptop. “Right then and there, the agency could see in real time what our canines were doing. They could see areas that we were covering, and I could explain why we were covering those areas. It’s very impactful,” said Romero.

In the law enforcement community, Mission Manager has assisted police and sheriff’s agencies with missions including tactical SWAT operations, SAR / CERT missions, campus security, training and large-scale public events.

One law officer in Southern California noted that Mission Manager is “easy to use, all-inclusive and integrated. The data entered into the tabs cross-pollinates the forms, which makes the reporting process much easier for us. I also like the mapping layers, which draw from multiple sources, including Google maps, Twitter feeds and government sources. We use both the maps and messaging features on a regular basis,” he said.

In the Northeast, Mission Manager has helped SWAT teams manage their daily team operations and live missions. During a large-scale public marathon that required heightened security, a SWAT cops_planning_webteam’s administrator relied on Mission Manager to gather the documentation needed to manage members’ assignments, provide real-time communications and track personnel during the event.

“Mission Manager saved us hours of briefing time and multiple sessions of Q&A, and also helped us track our team members’ activities and whereabouts,” according to the Sergeant, who today uses Mission Manager on a daily basis. “It has helped us cut out the middle man and become more efficient and effective.”

To learn more about Mission Manager or to request a free demo, please email sales@missionmanager.com or call 619-457-6119. Mission Manager is also available for a 30-day free trial at www.missionmanager.net.

Mission Manager and HELP Disaster Management Team up at EMEX to Showcase Emergency Management Software

With a common goal of enhancing multi-agency emergency response efforts, Mission Manager, Inc. and HELP Disaster Management, Inc. teamed up at the Emergency Management & Homeland Security Expo (EMEX), held Nov. 18-19 in San Antonio, Texas, to showcase their core capabilities to emergency managers from around the globe.

Mission Manager – a leading provider of cloud-based emergency management software – helps first responders increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their team’s daily operations and overall emergency response efforts.  HELP Disaster Management, based in Houston, Texas, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports the emergency management community in the areas of incident management, event management, planning support, and training and exercise.

HELP_CREWAt EMEX, the robust software was demonstrated at Mission Manager’s booth as well as the HELP Disaster Management’s exhibit, which comprised a large, deployable shelter provided by Western Shelter Systems.  On hand were nearly a dozen Incident Management Team (IMT) members, who are part of a multi-disciplinary 50-member team available to support local, regional state and national responses.

During their VIP tours at EMEX, HELP Disaster Management personnel showcased some of the latest innovations in field hygiene, medical support and incident command applications. They also demonstrated how Mission Manager supported their operations with its resource tracking, timekeeping, notification and messaging functions.

HELP, which adopted Mission Manager in July 2013, has used the software to conduct eight missions and send over 3,600 messages to its members.

“Mission Manager is a perfect solution for us,” said Tony Lamberth, the organization’s founder. “We use Mission Manager as a day-to-day tool to track and manage our team and communicate with members during deployments.  It has helped us tremendously with our collaboration and data collection.”

Tony noted that HELP currently uses Mission Manager to supplement the state of Texas’ incident qualification system, or IQS. “We have already started the migration of data to utilize Mission Manager as our main IQS. This data could then possibly be exported to each state’s incident qualification systems,” he said.

HELP’s recent missions include tornado responses in Kentucky, Missouri and Alabama.  Its team members were also deployed to Eagle Pass, Texas after major floods destroyed homes and businesses throughout the region in June 18 of 2013. HELP Disaster Management supported Eagle Pass by managing volunteers.

Personnel and asset management is vital for the organization as it continues to expand. Among its goals, HELP is working to grow their IMT team to 300 members in three years as part of its “300 x 3” campaign.  The organization is also regionalizing all operations into 10 regions that mirror the FEMA regions.

Until now, Mission Manager has played a key role for their team organization; however, Tony said they are currently learning new features that will allow them to use Mission Manager more extensively during deployments.

“I have been very pleased with Mission Manager’s level of support and technical upgrades since it was re-launched in July 2014,” Tony said.  “I’ve used many other incident management software programs, but I always end up coming back to Mission Manager.”

EMEX_MM_HELP2lgrAs one of a few non-government organization (NGO) IMTs in Texas,  HELP IMT represents the next generation of emergency management response capabilities, which it dubs “Generation 3 (GEN3) IMT.”  The GEN3 Team has a core group of leaders that are seasoned responders and highly knowledgeable of the Incident Command System.

“We have incredible talent on our team, including subject-matter experts from all over the country – forensic scientists, meteorologists, business continuity experts – highly skilled top-level professionals with day jobs. The people in this business are driven by their passion to serve and use their skills to help others when disaster occurs. They’re not driven by money or notoriety,” said Erika Lamberth, Public Information Officer for the organization.

Erika emphasized that while the organization is nonprofit, it is not all-volunteer. Team members are paid per FEMA reimbursement rates.  Most of their training and meetings are conducted virtually or at events such as EMEX, where many new members took advantage of the opportunity to learn many of Mission Manager’s new features.

Lamberth said he particularly likes the fact that Mission Manager can be used off-line and is automatically synched when internet connectivity becomes available. “This is important during a major disaster, because most of the time, we don’t have the luxury of internet access and other technologies. That’s why the GEN3 team must have the ability to quickly manage an incident with pen and paper.”

HELP operates under the principles of the National Incident Management System, or NIMS. During times of emergency, HELP’s All Hazards Type 3 Incident Management Team (AHIMT) is available to provide support as requested by local jurisdictions, other non-profit organizations, or any state or federal agency. The HELP IMT has a launch time of less than six hours and an on-scene time guaranteed of less than 24 hours.

“We come in when local government agencies are overwhelmed, but we do not self-deploy.  When a disaster strikes, we reach out to emergency management coordinators to see how we can help. We also have pre-disaster contracts in place so agencies know we’re ready to help 24/7,” said Erika.

The diversity of their team from around the U.S. gives them leverage to respond with a national reach.  They are also adaptable to the community, providing only what is needed, such as a single source to support an Emergency Operations Center or a full team to manage multiple volunteer reception centers.

HELP is seen as a “quick-in, high-quality organization that can maneuver easily through the response system,” according to Tony.  A benefit of the GEN Team is that they are readily available to respond as requested to incidents, in communities around the country at a lower cost to the jurisdiction.

“We have a competitive edge because we’re non-jurisdictional.  As a 501(c)3 non-profit agency, we can respond at a significantly lower cost than standard government deployments. And cost savings alone can exceed 50%, as with the case at Eagle Pass,” said Tony, adding that past responses have proven that HELP team deployments provide jurisdictions with substantial savings.

Each regional team is led by a Regional Director who is responsible for situational awareness and coordinating HELP initiatives within their respective areas. This regional management approach allows HELP to support communities more efficiently, and with a tailored approach, whether their need is preparedness, mitigation, response or recovery services.

For more information on how to join HELP or donate, please call 713-715-9005.

Mission Manager Teams Up with the American Humane Association to Enhance Animal Rescue Efforts

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 24, 2014 – As part of its commitment to help first responders save lives and property, Mission Manager, Inc. is pleased to announce a collaboration with the American Humane Association aimed at enhancing the association’s Red Star® team’s nationwide animal rescue efforts.  Mission Manager, one of the most widely used cloud-based emergency management tools, has supported approximately 5,000 missions over the past three years.

Under the arrangement, Mission Manager will donate its software and a portion of its revenues to the American Humane Association. Mission Manager provides a turnkey solution for mission planning and real-time situational awareness.

Based on three core principals – preparation, readiness and execution – the software provides a team-based operational environment for day-to-day tasks and serves as an online command center during incidents. Mission Manager features automated reporting tools, multiple communications vehicles and extensive mapping capabilities.

team-31 American Humane Association’s Red Star volunteer responders are trained to help animals during or after a disaster, or as a result of animal cruelty – bringing vital skills in animal handling as well as necessary supplies and resources to set-up and operate temporary shelters and/or conduct field rescue missions.

“We’re excited to use Mission Manager, which will automate our Red Star Team’s administrative tasks and significantly enhance the volunteers’ rescue efforts. Until now, we’ve had to organize our team of nearly 200 nationwide volunteers by pen and paper,” said Paul Raybould, American Humane Association Chief Innovation Officer.

“With Mission Manager’s support, we’re able to do a better job than ever before in meeting the needs of animals during times of crisis.”

“Our reason for being is to help first responders save lives and property – whether their callout involves a missing person, an animal rescue effort or catastrophic event,” said Michael Berthelot, President and CEO of Mission Manager. “That’s why our collaboration with American Humane Association is such a fit. We’re proud to partner in the pursuit of saving animal lives.”

A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION’S HERO DOG AWARDS™
Manager is also sponsoring the Search and Rescue (SAR) category in the 2014 American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards gala on Sept. 27.  The finalist in that category – Bretagne (pronounced “Brittany”) who lives in Cypress, Texas – has made significant contributions to the SAR community over her long career. As seen on a special broadcast of The TODAY Show  on Sept. 11, she is one of only two surviving search and rescue dogs who worked at Ground Zero following the 2001 terror attacks. Bretagne was also deployed during the Olympic Winter Games in 2001 and Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Since retiring in 2008, she spends her time working as an ambassador to the SAR community and visiting schools. Bretagne is among eight amazing dogs that will be honored at a star-studded awards gala on Sept. 27 in Beverly Hills, where the top American Hero Dog for 2014 will be chosen based on more than one million votes by the American public. Watch this video to learn more about her remarkable story at http://on.today.com/1yrzFhZ.

ABOUT THE RED STAR TEAM
American Humane Association is the country’s first national humane organization – and the only one devoted to protecting both children and animals. The organization’s Red Star rescue work began in 1916 when they were asked by War Department to help save hundreds of thousands of horses that were wounded on the battlefields of World War I in Europe.

Since then, Red Star has been involved in virtually every major relief effort, from Pearl Harbor to 9/11, the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, and Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. During the past 10 years, Red Star has rescued, helped and sheltered more than 10,000 animals hurt in catastrophes and cruelty cases. To help, please visit www.americanhumane.org.

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