using technology to manage your cert program

CERT 30 National Conference:Using Technology to Manage Your CERT Program

Greg St. James, Program ManagerSteve Peterson, Virtual Operations Team Lead

Montgomery County, Maryland CERTSeptember 8, 2016 – Universal City, CA

Montgomery County (MD) CERT presentation to CERT30 2016– September 8, 2016

Today’s Agenda

• Virtual Activations– Snow Storm– Cyclone Pam– Nepal Earthquake – Hurricane Hermine

• Team Communication & Management – Volunteer Management System


• 29 SITREPs received

– ~40% provided photos

– Available at County EOC

• 9 different zip code zones

• Deteriorating weather conditions captured

March 6, 2013 Snow Storm


Volunteer ParticipationN

umbe

r of S

ITRE

Ps 113

32

125

83

Jan 21 Feb 3 Feb 13 Mar 3 Jan 23 Jan 27 Feb 16 Feb 21 Mar 5

15

75

95

140

2014 2015155

Jan 22-23

137

39

16

Feb 8 Feb 16

2016


Participant Growth = Expanded County Coverage

March 2013 SITREPs January 2016 SITREPs


FEMA Disaster Reporter App


Cyclone Pam Support Details (Mar 20-22, 2015)

• Impacted country: The Republic of Vanuatu• Surge support request by Humanity Road• Reviewed data for critical health & medical needs and hospital

locations – Task 1: Keyword determination– Task 2: Health-related social media posts


End Result

MCCERT was only one portion of a much larger TEAM of organized volunteers contributing


Earthquake Support Details (May 1-3, 2015)

• Impacted country: Nepal• Surge support request by Humanity Road• Reviewed data for urgent needs, medical information, &

operating field hospital locations– Task 1: Keyword determination and search– Task 2a: Information gathering on pre-identified hospitals and villages

within three priority districts


End Result

MCCERT was only one portion of a much larger TEAM of organized volunteers contributing


Hurricane Hermine Support Details (Sept 2-4, 2016)

• Impacted area: East Coast• Surge support request by Humanity

Road


Lessons Learned & Best Practices

• Lessons Learned– Snow Storm

• Photo inundation• Subjective comments

– Cyclone• Quality versus Quantity/Speed

(350K)• Workload on collaborative doc

– Earthquake• Dynamic shift assignments• Version control

• Best Practices– Snow Storm

• Member availability/quantity• Standard “yes/no “questions

– Cyclone• Flexibility and adaptability• Cost-effective collaborative tools

– Earthquake• Personal accountability• Variety of team member skills

Virtual Community Assistance: Future Core Capability of CERT?


What do we use to manage and communicate to our volunteers?


Challenges of Previous Management System

• No longer supported by parent organization• Limited data management capabilities

– Separate shift scheduling for multi-day events– Non-editable email subject lines– Lack of attachments to email messages

• Administrative turnover = lost institutional knowledge– Challenged with capturing electronically


Volunteer Management Solution

• Goal: Acquire a system that: – maintains members’ contact information, training and activity records,

participation, skills– notifies members of events– allows members to sign up for training, outreach events, exercises,

and deployments– determine eligibility for various activities (e.g., county ID)


Desired Functionalities

• Communications– Editable subject headings– Email attachments

• Mobile Registration/Integration• Data Entry: Ease of use• Customizable fields• 13 systems reviewed


Volunteer Management System (VMS): CERVIS

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>

<volunteer>


VMS Benefits

• Reporting capabilities• Event pre-registration/onsite registration• Remote sign in for volunteer hours• Email functionality integration• Various access levels and permissions


VMS Reporting Capabilities

Volunteers’ names intentionally covered






VMS Event Registration Capability


Pre-registered events appear hereCERVIS will record

volunteer participated

Event Registration

Thank You

Greg St. James, Program ManagerSteve Peterson, Virtual Operations Team Lead

Montgomery County, Maryland CERT

using technology to manage your cert program

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