NSEMO (North Shore Emergency Management Office) is a tri-municipal agency serving the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, and District of West Vancouver. They are currently using Rapid Notify, a phone based public alerting system in which people receive a call with an informative message when an emergency occurs in their region. The main goal of our project is to optimize the use of a “self-registration” feature in the Rapid Notify system by exploring ways to better market and manage the product. In addition to the Rapid Notify system, NSEMO is also active on Facebook, and Twitter, and use a door to door system to notify the public when an emergency strikes. They also conduct preparedness workshops for educating the public on how to cope with emergencies.
We went to their office last Friday to get an overview of the organisation and discuss the project in more detail. We received a briefing on NSEMO’s emergency involvements, and a demo of the Rapid Notify system, specifically showing its complications and challenges of use. Messages via the Rapid Notify phone system needs to be brief and concise, as such messages take time to write up and record, require the addition of geographical information, and often need multiple attempts to contact those in need.
A major challenge for NSEMO with regards to the Rapid Notify systems is the lack of self-registration. While all landline numbers in the Whitepages are automatically registered in the file, cell phone users must self-register. Consequently, the number of cell phone registered is considerably low. Therefore, one of our key tasks is coming up with marketing ideas that are simple and inexpensive to implement, as NSEMO has very limited funds and manpower. We also need to come up with suggestions on how to maximize effectiveness of the Rapid Notify System. One initial idea that came up during the orientation was emailing registrants yearly to remind them of their enrollment in this system and give them a chance to re-familiarize themselves with the service. We are also planning to research emergency systems in other cities to see what marketing plans they have and if something similar would work for NSEMO. Other tasks include reviewing the Rapid Notify system manual to ensure clarity for first-time users in emergency situations and researching the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to ensure NSEMO is meeting their requirements in terms of storing the personal information of all their registrants.
Everyone at the office was welcoming, informative, and very enthusiastic about this project. After the meeting, we had a tour of the office and discussed about the option of setting up some time to work on the project at their facility. At the conclusion of our project, we will give a presentation and submit a detailed report on our findings. Below is a picture of the room for answering phone calls during emergencies.
We met our TA, Derek John, at our weekly in-class meeting on Monday. He gave us some suggestions for the project and information about the journal entry. We agreed to all do some preliminary research and meet again on Thursday, where we held a brainstorming session and discussion, followed by a final division of tasks. Luke is in charge of contacting school districts and the North Shore newspaper, while Erika and Surabhi are searching and contacting unions and organizations that may be able to spread the word about Rapid Notify. Laura and Jennifer are going over the manual and researching the emergency management systems of different cities, and Angie is looking into legal requirements.
The final presentation date is set for February 17th, with the final report to be submitted in the week following, allowing for time to make modifications based on presentation feedback. It’s a tight deadline, but with good communication and team work I’m sure we will succeed with our tasks!
