Many communities offer some type of sign-up mechanism for residents to register to receive automated notifications. Good idea. However, there's usually a struggle to get people to actually go to the trouble of signing up.
Advertising and public relations campaigns help. Major events do, too. Sign-up rates have been reported higher when there's a well-known public threat (i.e. higher rates reported during San Diego wildfires).
Here's a new twist. It comes from Dubuque, Iowa where a financial incentive is offered for notification sign-up. The city has agreed to waive fines for illegal parking in snow clearance routes, if residents sign up to receive automated notifications. If they don't sign up, they could be fined $30 per violation. (See local article here.)
Said Captain Scott Crabill of Dubuque PD, “I have a bunch of dismissed tickets sitting on my desk. Half of the people coming in with tickets are signing up for CodeRED for the very first time. The others are updating their personal information due to recent moves and phone number changes. It has been a GREAT public relations win for the police department. Citizens are happy because they are getting the fine removed and they’ll get the latest updates on snow removal. It’s one of the few times when people arrive with tickets and leave happy.”
Good creative problem solving, Dubuque!
All the best,
Rick
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
FCC Paves the Way for a National Test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS)
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a "notice for proposed rulemaking" amending its existing rules for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and paving the way for national testing of the system.
The EAS is a national system that exists primarily to allow the President to issue warnings to the American public during crisis situations. To date, the system has never been used to deliver a national Presidential alert. Further, no systematic national test of the EAS has ever been conducted to determine whether or not the system would actually work should a Presidential alert be needed.
Regular tests at the state and local level are required ("this is a test, only a test"), but the rules in current form do not require any national exercising of the system. According to the FCC document, "the rules generally focus on testing of components of the system rather than the system as a whole...they do not test whether the national EAS infrastructure as a whole works well or at all."
The FCC now proposes to amend the existing regulations, requiring all EAS participants to take part in national testing procedures and provide post-test results. The FCC is seeking public comment on the issues surrounding this proposed rule.
A statewide test was conducted earlier this month in Alaska. The FCC, FEMA, National Weather Service, and the Executive Office of the President plan on conducting a national test sometime this year according to our sources.
All the best,
Lorin
The EAS is a national system that exists primarily to allow the President to issue warnings to the American public during crisis situations. To date, the system has never been used to deliver a national Presidential alert. Further, no systematic national test of the EAS has ever been conducted to determine whether or not the system would actually work should a Presidential alert be needed.
Regular tests at the state and local level are required ("this is a test, only a test"), but the rules in current form do not require any national exercising of the system. According to the FCC document, "the rules generally focus on testing of components of the system rather than the system as a whole...they do not test whether the national EAS infrastructure as a whole works well or at all."
The FCC now proposes to amend the existing regulations, requiring all EAS participants to take part in national testing procedures and provide post-test results. The FCC is seeking public comment on the issues surrounding this proposed rule.
A statewide test was conducted earlier this month in Alaska. The FCC, FEMA, National Weather Service, and the Executive Office of the President plan on conducting a national test sometime this year according to our sources.
All the best,
Lorin
The Curse of the Matrix
It's not unusual for someone to ask us to provide a matrix that compares one notification solution to the others. Just the other day, a request came from a large company, curious about how the various players stack up. In almost every case, we refuse to be sucked into the matrix abyss. Here's why: a competitive matrix in the notification industry is virtually useless. It provides almost no meaningful assistance to making informed decisions.
Unfortunately, it's more complicated than putting together a list of vendors and noting who does what. These lists almost always end up with a feature and functionality inventory. You're not going to find significant differences between what notification companies of the same ilk list as their features and functions.
So, the question becomes "how do I decide which one is best?" Instead of relying on a matrix to answer your question for you, try asking these questions...
- Will the solution be conducive to the reality of how people communicate these days? Communications preferences differ significantly between individuals. Will the solution be able to communicate with the full spectrum of preferences?
- What's the long-term prognosis for the solution? Can it be flexible as technology and citizen preferences change? How will it fare when standards supported by the federal government really take hold? Does it fit within the overall game plan for the nation? Is the vendor really paying attention to what's happening on this front?
- How does the solution fit with my existing public warning approaches? Most local agencies have at least some type of public warning solution in place. It's hard to throw out the old to make room for the new. So, you have to figure what can be salvaged from your old solution, and see how it can blend with the new.
- Does the solution play well with others? Can it be interfaced to other notification solutions? What about non-notification solutions such as incident management systems and other tools found in the EOC? Would it support an effort to create an "Easy" button to help streamline notification procedures in an emergency?
- Can the solution handle my load? If the provider is promising to notify large quantities in a significant and widespread event, have they really done it? Whether the solution is making phone calls, delivering text messages, or sounding sirens there are limits to bandwidth available. Users who don't understand this, make their vendors prove capacity, and still prepare for limitations will find themselves short when a major event occurs.
- How does the solution really fit the dynamics of my situation? There are many similarities to the emergency environments we work in. However, ignoring nuances can lead to less-than-success.
- What kind of customer support record does the vendor really have? This is serious business, no time for vendors who don't really support their customers and listen to them.
And, we could go on. Unfortunately, this is not easy stuff. There are so many vendors in the notifications, alerts, and warnings market making so many claims that it's difficult to get a grip on where to turn. There's no easy answer, and relying on a feature and functionality matrix won't help.
All the best,
Rick
Unfortunately, it's more complicated than putting together a list of vendors and noting who does what. These lists almost always end up with a feature and functionality inventory. You're not going to find significant differences between what notification companies of the same ilk list as their features and functions.
So, the question becomes "how do I decide which one is best?" Instead of relying on a matrix to answer your question for you, try asking these questions...
- Will the solution be conducive to the reality of how people communicate these days? Communications preferences differ significantly between individuals. Will the solution be able to communicate with the full spectrum of preferences?
- What's the long-term prognosis for the solution? Can it be flexible as technology and citizen preferences change? How will it fare when standards supported by the federal government really take hold? Does it fit within the overall game plan for the nation? Is the vendor really paying attention to what's happening on this front?
- How does the solution fit with my existing public warning approaches? Most local agencies have at least some type of public warning solution in place. It's hard to throw out the old to make room for the new. So, you have to figure what can be salvaged from your old solution, and see how it can blend with the new.
- Does the solution play well with others? Can it be interfaced to other notification solutions? What about non-notification solutions such as incident management systems and other tools found in the EOC? Would it support an effort to create an "Easy" button to help streamline notification procedures in an emergency?
- Can the solution handle my load? If the provider is promising to notify large quantities in a significant and widespread event, have they really done it? Whether the solution is making phone calls, delivering text messages, or sounding sirens there are limits to bandwidth available. Users who don't understand this, make their vendors prove capacity, and still prepare for limitations will find themselves short when a major event occurs.
- How does the solution really fit the dynamics of my situation? There are many similarities to the emergency environments we work in. However, ignoring nuances can lead to less-than-success.
- What kind of customer support record does the vendor really have? This is serious business, no time for vendors who don't really support their customers and listen to them.
And, we could go on. Unfortunately, this is not easy stuff. There are so many vendors in the notifications, alerts, and warnings market making so many claims that it's difficult to get a grip on where to turn. There's no easy answer, and relying on a feature and functionality matrix won't help.
All the best,
Rick
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Easy Button for Notifications
Remember those TV commercials where an "Easy" button was pressed and, presto, all office supply problems are solved. Emergency managers have been wanting an Easy button for their notification needs for some time now. They'd like to avoid the necessity of activating multiple notification systems when a serious event occurs.
We don't know of any Easy button, although there are signs they're coming. Contra Costa County, California had an interface built that activates multiple notification solutions. Dane County, Wisconsin recently released a Request for Proposal for an independent consultant to help them figure out how to streamline their notification process, among other things. They'd like an Easy button. The Government of Alberta, Canada recently awarded a contract to a company called Black Coral for an Emergency Public Warning System Modernization project. The project will include building an interface for activating multiple notification tools. Then, of course, there's the growing momentum of CAP, the Common Alerting Protocol which will help Easy button efforts.
For now, most emergency management professionals have to press a number of buttons to get the word out to the public. Perhaps a day is coming, though, when they'll be about to say, "That was easy."
All the best,
Rick
We don't know of any Easy button, although there are signs they're coming. Contra Costa County, California had an interface built that activates multiple notification solutions. Dane County, Wisconsin recently released a Request for Proposal for an independent consultant to help them figure out how to streamline their notification process, among other things. They'd like an Easy button. The Government of Alberta, Canada recently awarded a contract to a company called Black Coral for an Emergency Public Warning System Modernization project. The project will include building an interface for activating multiple notification tools. Then, of course, there's the growing momentum of CAP, the Common Alerting Protocol which will help Easy button efforts.
For now, most emergency management professionals have to press a number of buttons to get the word out to the public. Perhaps a day is coming, though, when they'll be about to say, "That was easy."
All the best,
Rick
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Amber Alerts to Blue Alerts
Legislation is being introduced in California that would add another color of alerts to Amber Alerts. These alerts would be dubbed Blue Alerts. They would be issued in certain situations when a law enforcement officer was fatally shot, wounded or assaulted with a firearm.
A Blue Alert, like an Amber Alert, would prompt activation of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
To satisfy the Blue Alert criteria, the suspect must still be at large and be considered an imminent threat. A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or license plate must be known, and officials must have determined that dissemination of the information could help avoid further harm or result in the suspect being apprehended faster.
The legislation is being introduced by Senator George Runner of Southern California. Senator Runner was one of the legislators behind the original Amber Alert law in California.
There are Blue Alert programs already in Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida. There's really no cost to adding Blue Alerts to Amber Alerts, other than interruption of TV and radio broadcasts. Seems like this would be good legislation for the rest of the states. A copy of the language to be used in the legislation can be found here.
All the best,
Rick
A Blue Alert, like an Amber Alert, would prompt activation of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
To satisfy the Blue Alert criteria, the suspect must still be at large and be considered an imminent threat. A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or license plate must be known, and officials must have determined that dissemination of the information could help avoid further harm or result in the suspect being apprehended faster.
The legislation is being introduced by Senator George Runner of Southern California. Senator Runner was one of the legislators behind the original Amber Alert law in California.
There are Blue Alert programs already in Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida. There's really no cost to adding Blue Alerts to Amber Alerts, other than interruption of TV and radio broadcasts. Seems like this would be good legislation for the rest of the states. A copy of the language to be used in the legislation can be found here.
All the best,
Rick
Thursday, January 7, 2010
No Surprise: Some Glitches in Alaska EAS Test
As part of a concerted effort to enhance the national warning system, a test was conducted yesterday of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Alaska. This test was quite different from the ones broadcasters normally conduct each month. In this one, federal officials actually used the Emergency Action Notification (EAN) codes. These codes are to be used by the President only, and have never been used before.
The whole purpose of the test was to identify where any problems exist. Bryan Fisher of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management told KTUU-TV they "found a few anomalies with equipment and programming, as expected." Generally, though, the test was a success, says Jeremy Zidek of state Emergency Management. He says the state received the message from the feds, the state passed it along, and most stations transmitted it. He says any problems were generally associated with equipment at the station end. The stations "have various degrees of technology", said Zidek.
Here's the text of the statement transmitted by radio, TV, and cable stations across the state.
"This is the FEMA Operations Center. Standby for a message from the Presidential Communications Office. (pause) TEST-TEST-TEST... This is a test of the Emergency Alert System. The message you are hearing is part of a live code test of National Emergency Alert System capabilities limited to the State of Alaska only. This test message has been initiated by National Alert authorities in coordination with State of Alaska authorities and broadcasters in your area. If this had been an actual emergency, the attention signal you just heard would have been followed by official information or instructions. (this text then repeated three or four times) This concludes this test as of 1405 hours. Stations may now resume normal programming."
For those places where the codes didn't work, old equipment will get the blame. This is a chronic problem for EAS. Many of the broadcasters haven't kept up to date on their EAS equipment. The FCC waived penalties for this test, and hopefully equipment upgrades will follow in Alaska (and elsewhere, for that matter.)
The whole purpose of the test was to identify where any problems exist. Bryan Fisher of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management told KTUU-TV they "found a few anomalies with equipment and programming, as expected." Generally, though, the test was a success, says Jeremy Zidek of state Emergency Management. He says the state received the message from the feds, the state passed it along, and most stations transmitted it. He says any problems were generally associated with equipment at the station end. The stations "have various degrees of technology", said Zidek.
Here's the text of the statement transmitted by radio, TV, and cable stations across the state.
"This is the FEMA Operations Center. Standby for a message from the Presidential Communications Office. (pause) TEST-TEST-TEST... This is a test of the Emergency Alert System. The message you are hearing is part of a live code test of National Emergency Alert System capabilities limited to the State of Alaska only. This test message has been initiated by National Alert authorities in coordination with State of Alaska authorities and broadcasters in your area. If this had been an actual emergency, the attention signal you just heard would have been followed by official information or instructions. (this text then repeated three or four times) This concludes this test as of 1405 hours. Stations may now resume normal programming."
For those places where the codes didn't work, old equipment will get the blame. This is a chronic problem for EAS. Many of the broadcasters haven't kept up to date on their EAS equipment. The FCC waived penalties for this test, and hopefully equipment upgrades will follow in Alaska (and elsewhere, for that matter.)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
New Years Resolutions for Emergency Notification
One of the notification vendors sent us a list of 7 resolutions for users of emergency notification users. We liked the list, so here it is:
7. Tell everyone you have a system.
6. Train all departments.
5. Test your system.
4. Use your system.
3. Communicate with your vendor.
2. Demand excellent service.
1. Don't procrastinate. If you don't have a system, make it a priority to research getting one.
The list is compliments of Code Red™ and can be found here.
All the best,
Rick
7. Tell everyone you have a system.
6. Train all departments.
5. Test your system.
4. Use your system.
3. Communicate with your vendor.
2. Demand excellent service.
1. Don't procrastinate. If you don't have a system, make it a priority to research getting one.
The list is compliments of Code Red™ and can be found here.
All the best,
Rick
This is a test of the test
It's not unusual to hear radio and TV broadcasters stop programming to conduct their Emergency Alert System (EAS) test. "This is a test. This is only a test..." (I still have memorized the monthly test announcement I did as a broadcaster on a TV station in Georgia many years ago...that and the Boy Scout Law.)
This week in Alaska, though, the EAS test will be different. A full-blown EAS exercise is being conducted. FEMA, the FCC, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Broadcasters' Association will participate.
"This particular test is going to use the real code as if there was a national-level emergency and the president needed to talk to the American public. It's going to use the actual code that would be used during a national emergency," said Bryan Fisher, Chief of Operations at the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The EAN is a code sent to broadcaster EAS equipment when a Presidential alert is issued. The code alerts broadcasters to an impending message from the White House, signaling them to follow activation procedures from the operating handbook. Once issued, programming is interrupted, EAS header codes are transmitted, attention signals are generated, and the monitoring source is selected that is carrying the Presidential message. Broadcasters are required to conduct weekly and monthly tests of EAS equipment, but the EAN originating from the President has never actually been tested. Based on reports, officials are planning a nationwide test some time next year.
In a FEMA press release, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “The Alaska exercise will help determine how to further improve the nation’s alerting system and better prepare us in our ongoing efforts to implement Next Generation EAS." The Governor of Alaska called "an excellent proving ground" the exercise.
Digitizing and expanding EAS is one of the initiatives FEMA and the FCC are involved in under FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) program.
All the best,
Rick
This week in Alaska, though, the EAS test will be different. A full-blown EAS exercise is being conducted. FEMA, the FCC, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Broadcasters' Association will participate.
"This particular test is going to use the real code as if there was a national-level emergency and the president needed to talk to the American public. It's going to use the actual code that would be used during a national emergency," said Bryan Fisher, Chief of Operations at the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The EAN is a code sent to broadcaster EAS equipment when a Presidential alert is issued. The code alerts broadcasters to an impending message from the White House, signaling them to follow activation procedures from the operating handbook. Once issued, programming is interrupted, EAS header codes are transmitted, attention signals are generated, and the monitoring source is selected that is carrying the Presidential message. Broadcasters are required to conduct weekly and monthly tests of EAS equipment, but the EAN originating from the President has never actually been tested. Based on reports, officials are planning a nationwide test some time next year.
In a FEMA press release, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “The Alaska exercise will help determine how to further improve the nation’s alerting system and better prepare us in our ongoing efforts to implement Next Generation EAS." The Governor of Alaska called "an excellent proving ground" the exercise.
Digitizing and expanding EAS is one of the initiatives FEMA and the FCC are involved in under FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) program.
All the best,
Rick
Friday, January 1, 2010
Top Ten Notification & Alerts Predictions for 2010
Now, it's time to look ahead. Our recent post provided Top 10 Developments in Alerts & Notifications in 2009. Below are our top ten predictions for 2010. You'll see familiar themes, some not so pleasant. Generally speaking, we believe a transition is underway. More significant shifts are occurring today than when someone figured out digital maps could be used to target notifications via telephone. It's a slow-moving transition, but we believe we'll see more signs of it in 2010.
1. Move from proprietary, stand-alone systems to highly-integrated systems: In our 2009 retrospective, we cited examples of momentum for the system-of-systems approach. More examples will become clear throughout 2010. The technology is certainly available, and public safety officials want it. Money will be a barrier, but it doesn't take bright politicians to know that if they don't spend it to enhance alerts and notifications, they'll leave their citizens exposed. This prediction really needs to come true.
2. CAP will continue to take hold: The Common Alerting Protocol is an agreed-upon standard for disparate notification and alerting systems to share their messages. CAP has been slow to catch on. Some key vendors still don't support it. But, a tipping point will occur in 2010. More public safety officials will require it, and more vendors will support it.
3. IPAWS will become more visible: FEMA's Integrated Alerting and Warning System has been quietly working to develop a better national system for alerts. This work will become better known in 2010. It must. IPAWS was blasted in 2009 by Congress's General Accounting Office for failure to show results and effectively collaborate with local and state officials. The new FEMA Director is a state and local emergency management pro and is supportive of IPAWS. The new IPAWS program manager sounds aggressive. You'll hear more from IPAWS, and hopefully IPAWS will hear more from you.
4. New industry leaders will begin to emerge: With so much going on in the alerts and notifications space, there's room for new industry leadership. We'll start seeing who those new leaders will be. At least one, maybe two, well-known brands will disappear.
5. A highly-visible failure will occur: Unfortunately, it's simply time for it to happen. It will likely occur in a heavily populated area where the communications infrastructure breaks down from overload. Ability to deliver high-speed alerts via the telephone and texting system hasn't kept up. This will be a surprise to many.
6. Growth in the use of social media for alerts and warnings: It's already happening, and will continue to happen. There will be those in both industry and emergency management who will fight it. Others will seize it.
7. Further commoditization of notifications including "free services": Several text-based public safety notification offerings made available at no charge were unveiled last year. This will continue in 2010. Some could build significant steam.
8. More procurements for independent help: As the topic becomes more complex, local governments will rely less on vendor claims and more on help from outside consultants. We've seen more procurements of this type in the last few months than we have in years.
9. More patent lawsuits: Two notification-related vendors recently went on the offensive against their competition and filed patent infringement lawsuits. These things normally come in groups. There will probably be others.
10. Other large-scale systems announced: Several large cities and counties, and a couple of states, announced roll-out of aggressive alerting and notification systems. Others will follow.
We'll soon release a video elaborating on the Top Ten Notification & Alerts Predictions for 2010. Watch the blog for more details, or email us at info@galainsolutions.com.
On a personal note, we're excited about 2010. Challenges face us all, but good things are happening, too. Our following on this blog continues to grow. We're getting good reaction from it, even from those who don't agree with us. That's fine with us, even encouraged. Our consulting practice thrives, on both the notifications side and on the selling to the government side. We're enjoying our work, and are deeply appreciative for the opportunities we've been given. We wish the same for you.
All the best in 2010,
Rick & Lorin
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