DisasterLAN Successfully Implemented by Alberta’s Emergency Management Agency

After a competitive RFP process, the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) has chosen Buffalo Computer Graphics’ (BCG) DisasterLAN (DLAN) as their Emergency Operations Centre Coordination Application.

AEMA leads a wide range of public safety organizations, including various levels of government, communities, industry, and non-governmental organizations, in their efforts to keep Alberta prepared for and able to respond to any emergency. In October they released an RFP for an Emergency Operations Centre Coordination Application to meet their current and future business requirements. They desired a system that would provide Provincial Operations Centre (POC) staff and stakeholders with one secure environment from which all disaster and emergency coordination activities could be performed regardless of their geographic location. They chose DLAN to meet these needs.

DLAN supports important emergency management functions such as resource, task, and logistics management and incident communications on a secure platform, which logs all information for reporting and review. Since DLAN is web-based it can be utilized by staff physically situated in the POC as well as remotely by those unable to move to the POC.  This potential to manage emergency events through a ‘decentralized’ POC is a significant enhancement for Alberta.  The mobile nature of DLAN also allows the POC to connect immediately to a team of field officers across the province through any device with internet connectivity. The software is designed with a “Mobile First” mindset and it is continuously updated for optimal performance across mobile devices. This includes all of DLAN’s GIS features, which allow stakeholders to view up-to-date geospatial information from any location.

In addition to allowing users to securely access the software from any location, DLAN supports multi-agency use with features such as multi-tiered security settings. This allows stakeholders in different agencies from across the province to work together while keeping sensitive information secure.

BCG, in conjunction with their Canadian partner FutureShield, are currently working with AEMA to implement the system and customize it to meet AEMA’s needs. AEMA’s DLAN system was configured to support current processes and standard operating procedures, allowing it to easily integrate with AEMA’s current workflow. Customized status boards were also created for the province to provide quick snapshots of incident information important to specific sections and officers within the POC.