4.3.5 Operational level of coordination and cooperation

Coordination at the operational level is implemented at all levels concerned with the use of various forms of business operations and information centers that coordinate rescue system components.

Operational management is usually carried out in specific organizational structures tailored to deal with temporary tasks. Such structures have more narrow and focused expertise based on the skills and experience of the individual team members. Actions are more random and follow tested practices under normal operating conditions. This implies that these teams strongly relate on individual initiative and leadership and often improvise to solve ad-hoc problems.

Care must be applied to maintain continuous communication between the working groups and the control center, which should be located in a structure, which enables proper guidance in managing the emergency situation without being hampered from the situation. Organizing such special-purpose structures for emergencies must take into account weather conditions, light conditions, supplies and the protective equipment that should be used due to the risk environment in which work tasks are performed. These working groups should not be logistically restrained when operating under adverse circumstances.

Streamlining the procedures involved in emergency situations calls for the application of modern management techniques and process automation in order to minimize errors and conserve a logical sequence of individual activities. Methodologies must be clear and suit the competences of the operational taskforce. Using data processing methods that take into account the stochastic nature of natural phenomena and allow for temporal analysis of data obtained from road networks is possible to record the sequence of the management process. Follow up and post-event derived lessons are essential in developing integrated methodologies that properly account for the needs of emergency situations and provide adequate logistic support.

Support centers can be established to provide coordination of activities and information exchange and sharing on the status of the emergency situation among the entities involved in management of emergency situations. Private or public entities important for maintaining the operation of the state such as lifeline utilities are often required by law to possess business continuity plans, contingency plans and emergency preparedness plans to ensure operational continuity of services and entities involved in emergency management.

Permanent operational centers are often crucial in resolving the crisis. These, constitute links between public and private sector organizations, including NGOs, and provide information support and resources to all factors involved in emergency management, particularly at regional and local levels.

Cooperation and coordination with the private sector and NGOs is provided mostly at the regional and local level where their knowledge specific to the environment of the affected area comes highly in use. Representatives of these organizations are actively integrated into taskforce teams especially at local or regional levels.

Other cooperation involves active participation and assistance in dealing with the consequences of disasters of organizations that are not directly related to the maintenance and repair of roads and highways, such as automakers and navigation device manufacturers.