Private Sector NIMS Implementation Activities

Background

The National Integration Center (NIC) Incident Management Systems Division recommends1 12 activities for the private sector that support NIMS implementation.   These activities closely parallel the implementation activities that have been required of State, territorial, tribal, and local governments since 2004.   Effective and consistent integration of the NIMS across Federal, State, territorial, tribal, and local governments and the private sector will result in a strengthened national capability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from any type of incident. 

NIMS Adoption

Recommended Activities

  1. Adopt NIMS – Work with your corporate leadership, trade associations, and private sector incident management and response teams to inform them of your organization’s intent to adopt NIMS.
  2. Identify Points of Contact – Share these names with your local emergency management authority. Keep the list up to date.

Association to NIMS

NIMS uses a systems approach to integrate the best of existing processes and methods into a unified national framework for incident management. This framework forms the basis for interoperability and compatibility that will in turn enable a diverse set of private organizations to conduct well integrated and effective incident management operations.

Command and Management

Recommended Activities

  1. Use the Incident Command System (ICS) – If you have an emergency response team (fire brigade) or contract Emergency Medical Services (EMS), security firm or similar response organizations you should manage all emergency incidents and pre-planned (recurring/special) events using ICS organizational structures, doctrine and procedures, as defined in NIMS. ICS implementation must include the consistent application of Incident Action Planning and Common Communications Plans.
  2. Support Integrated Multi-Agency Coordination Systems (MACs)- Ensure your organization has connectivity capability between local Incident Command Posts (ICPs), local 911 Centers, local Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), the state EOC and regional and/ federal EOCs.
  3. Establish a public information system – Gather, verify, coordinate, and disseminate information both within your organization and with others (i.e. media, local emergency management, and other private sector partners) during an incident.

Association to NIMS

NIMS ICS enables effective and efficient incident management by integrating equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating. ICS is structured to facilitate activities in five major functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance administration. ICS is also flexible and scalable to allow for the functional areas necessary to be used, and then added to or to terminate as necessary.

Preparedness: Planning Activities

Recommended Activities

  1. Revise Plans - Organizational plans and SOPs should incorporate NIMS components, principles and policies, to include planning, training, response, exercises, equipment, evaluation and corrective actions.
  2. Promote Mutual Aid – Establish a memorandum of understanding/memorandum of agreement with the government agencies and other private sector organizations to share resources and personnel. Ensure that the agreement addresses credentials held by your fire brigade/response personnel.

Association to NIMS

Within the NIMS, preparedness is operationally focused on establishing guidelines, protocols, and standards for planning training and exercises, personal qualifications and certification, equipment certification and publication management.

Preparedness: Training

Recommended Activity

  1. Maintain NIMS Training – Emergency preparedness personnel in your organization as well as any emergency responders or teams (fire brigade/EMS) can adopt training programs in conformance with the NIMS National Standard Curriculum. Training may include IS-700 NIMS: An Introduction, IS-800a; NRP: An Introduction; Incident Command System (ICS-100) and Incident Command System (ICS-200). For tips on who in your organization should take NIMS training see: www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims_training.shtm

Association to NIMS

NIMS represents a core set of doctrine, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes to enable effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management at all levels. Additionally, NIMS addresses emergency prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation programs and activities through its training curriculum. These training courses are also taken by response organizations. Encouraging your employees to take these courses will result in a more collaborative working relationship with public and private sector partners.

Preparedness: Exercises

Recommended Activity

  1. Exercise NIMS - Participate in State, regional, tribal, and/or local NIMS-based exercises.

Association to NIMS

Incident management personnel at all levels of government and their private-sector partners should be appropriately trained to improve all-hazards incident management capability nationwide. Everyone who will be involved in incident management should participate in realistic multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional exercises to improve integration and interoperability.

Resource Management

Recommended Activities

  1. Inventory Response Assets - Inventory your response assets using the Resource Typing standards found at www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/mutual_aid.shtm. Share this inventory with your local emergency management authority.
  2. Coordinate Mutual Aid Requests - Exercise your response asset inventory during exercises and training opportunities.

Association to NIMS

Resource management coordinates and oversees the application of tools, processes, and systems that provide incident managers with timely and appropriate resources during an incident. Resources should include personnel, teams, facilities, equipment, and supplies. Your resource inventory should be maintained throughout the emergency management life cycle (prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation) so that your organization is prepared for and able to support the event. Remember: MOAs and MOUs should be established during pre-incident times.

Communication and Information Management

Recommended Activity

  1. Use Plain Language - Apply standardized and consistent terminology, including the establishment of plain language communications standards across your organization and when you are communicating with other private sector partners and local emergency management organizations.

Association to NIMS

Effective communications, information management, and information- and intelligence- sharing (i.e. biological event) are critical aspects of domestic incident management. Maintaining a common operating picture and ensuring accessibility and interoperability are principle goals of communications and information management. When operating in a multi-discipline and multi-jurisdictional incident, common language among all responders limits confusion and miscommunications.

Recommended Activities for Private Sector

The National Integration Center (NIC) Incident Management Systems Division recommends1 12 activities for the private sector that support NIMS implementation.   These activities closely parallel the implementation activities that have been required of State, territorial, tribal, and local governments since 2004.   Effective and consistent integration of the NIMS across Federal, State, territorial, tribal, and local governments and the private sector will result in a strengthened national capability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from any type of incident. 

NIMS Adoption

Recommended Activities

  1. Adopt NIMS - Work with your corporate leadership, trade associations, and private sector incident management and response teams to inform them of your organization’s intent to adopt NIMS2
  2. Identify Points of Contact – Share these names with your local emergency management authority. Keep the list up to date.

Association to NIMS

NIMS uses a systems approach to integrate the best of existing processes and methods into a unified national framework for incident management. This framework forms the basis for interoperability and compatibility that will in turn enable a diverse set of private organizations to conduct well integrated and effective incident management operations.

Command and Management

Recommended Activities

  1. Use the Incident Command System (ICS) – If you have an emergency response team (fire brigade) or contract Emergency Medical Services (EMS), security firm or similar response organizations you should manage all emergency incidents and pre-planned (recurring/special) events using ICS organizational structures, doctrine and procedures, as defined in NIMS. ICS implementation must include the consistent application of Incident Action Planning and Common Communications Plans.
  2. Support Integrated Multi-Agency Coordination Systems (MACs)- Ensure your organization has connectivity capability between local Incident Command Posts (ICPs), local 911 Centers, local Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), the state EOC and regional and/ federal EOCs.
  3. Establish a public information system – Gather, verify, coordinate, and disseminate information both within your organization and with others (i.e. media, local emergency management, and other private sector partners) during an incident.

Association to NIMS

NIMS ICS enables effective and efficient incident management by integrating equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating. ICS is structured to facilitate activities in five major functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance administration. ICS is also flexible and scalable to allow for the functional areas necessary to be used, and then added to or to terminate as necessary.

Preparedness: Planning Activities

Recommended Activities

  1. Revise Plans - Organizational plans and SOPs should incorporate NIMS components, principles and policies, to include planning, training, response, exercises, equipment, evaluation and corrective actions.
  2. Promote Mutual Aid – Establish a memorandum of understanding/memorandum of agreement with the government agencies and other private sector organizations to share resources and personnel. Ensure that the agreement addresses credentials held by your fire brigade/response personnel.

Association to NIMS

Within the NIMS, preparedness is operationally focused on establishing guidelines, protocols, and standards for planning training and exercises, personal qualifications and certification, equipment certification and publication management.

Preparedness: Training

Recommended Activity

  1. Maintain NIMS Training – Emergency preparedness personnel in your organization as well as any emergency responders or teams (fire brigade/EMS) can adopt training programs in conformance with the NIMS National Standard Curriculum. Training may include IS-700 NIMS: An Introduction, IS-800a; NRP: An Introduction; Incident Command System (ICS-100) and Incident Command System (ICS-200). For tips on who in your organization should take NIMS training see: www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims_training.shtm

Association to NIMS

NIMS represents a core set of doctrine, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes to enable effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management at all levels. Additionally, NIMS addresses emergency prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation programs and activities through its training curriculum. These training courses are also taken by response organizations. Encouraging your employees to take these courses will result in a more collaborative working relationship with public and private sector partners.

Preparedness: Exercises

Recommended Activity

  1. Exercise NIMS - Participate in State, regional, tribal, and/or local NIMS-based exercises.

Association to NIMS

Incident management personnel at all levels of government and their private-sector partners should be appropriately trained to improve all-hazards incident management capability nationwide. Everyone who will be involved in incident management should participate in realistic multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional exercises to improve integration and interoperability.

Resource Management

Recommended Activities

  1. Inventory Response Assets - Inventory your response assets using the Resource Typing standards found at www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/mutual_aid.shtm. Share this inventory with your local emergency management authority.
  2. Coordinate Mutual Aid Requests - Exercise your response asset inventory during exercises and training opportunities.

Association to NIMS

Resource management coordinates and oversees the application of tools, processes, and systems that provide incident managers with timely and appropriate resources during an incident. Resources should include personnel, teams, facilities, equipment, and supplies. Your resource inventory should be maintained throughout the emergency management life cycle (prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation) so that your organization is prepared for and able to support the event. Remember: MOAs and MOUs should be established during pre-incident times.

Communication and Information Management

Recommended Activity

  1. Use Plain Language - Apply standardized and consistent terminology, including the establishment of plain language communications standards across your organization and when you are communicating with other private sector partners and local emergency management organizations.

Association to NIMS

Effective communications, information management, and information- and intelligence- sharing (i.e. biological event) are critical aspects of domestic incident management. Maintaining a common operating picture and ensuring accessibility and interoperability are principle goals of communications and information management. When operating in a multi-discipline and multi-jurisdictional incident, common language among all responders limits confusion and miscommunications.

1  The National Integration Center (NIC) Incident Management Systems Division has not formally endorsed official NIMS implementation activities for non-governmental and private industry.  Once appropriate stakeholders have formally reviewed and deliberated over these recommendations, final NIMS Implementation activities may be identified and communicated to the nongovernmental and private sector community at that time.
2  NGOs and private sector elements receiving Federal preparedness funding, including DHS Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), NGOs must coordinate their NIMS implementation with their respective State Administrative Agency.

Last Modified: Friday, 13-Jul-2007 14:58:35 EDT