Saving Lives Effectively with Public Private Partnership model

Interview with Mr. Venkat Changavalli, CEO, GVK EMRI

In the city of Hyderabad at a place called Karmanghat, Singareni Colony, a huge cluster of huts caught fire. Fire control at 108 was immediately contacted and the nearest fire station was also informed. Fire was successfully put off with no causalities of life or injury reported. 108 ambulances had also reached the spot.

During the Mecca Masjid Bomb Blast on 18th May, 2007 caught, one ambulance reached the spot in one minute and two more reached the spot in another 15 minutes. Ambulances made 6 trips, shifted 13 severely injured people and 23 people with minor injuries. 5 dead bodies were shifted to hospitals, despite stone pelting, etc. Excellent coordination between ERC team was shown, hospitals and police received recognition from the public, media and Government.

No matter what the scale, nor the incident, the Emergency Management & Research Institute endeavors to respond effectively and prides itself with outstanding achievements, including:

• 433 M population covered in 10 States
• 91% calls taken in first ring
• 9,700 + emergencies handled per day (3.6 Million cumulative)
• Pregnancy related - 25%, Vehicular Trauma – 22%, Acute Abdomen – 14% Cardiac – 4%, Suicidal – 4%, Respiratory – 4%, Animal Bites 3%
• 2,000 Ambulances - 5 trips a day
• < 15 minutes (urban) and < 25 minutes (rural) Ambulances reached
• One Center for 40 M population against one for every 0.05 M population in USA
• Cost per ambulance trip Rs. 600 against $600 in USA
• 13,526 + EMRI Associates
• 6,800 + Private Hospitals / Nursing homes (31% in AP and 15% in Guj - patients admitted in pvt hospitals)
• 2,000 Police / Fire Stations
• 200+ lives were saved (80,000+ till now) and 9,500 victims received timely, high-quality pre-hospital care

Arc Media Global Center for Business Strategy and Tactics interviews Mr. Venkat Changavalli, EMRI’s most revered Chief Executive Officer and delves deeper into EMRI’s secret ingredients and an insider view of its team and the life of an emergency responder:


Arc Media Global: Most people wold have read from the news about your new partner, GVK. Has your organisational direction changed since the introduction of this new partnership?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Since GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK EMRI) was born in April, 2005, we remain committed to provide integrated emergency response services in a Public Private Partnership mode with a vision to provide leadership in saving 1 M Lives per annum nationally by 2011 and establish GVK EMRI as a Premier Research and Training Institute in Emergency Management in Public Private Partnership framework.

Our goal and commitment has not changed since 4 years ago.

Arc Media Global: What impact could we see now that Dr. GVK Reddy took over EMRI management?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: As Dr. GVK Reddy, Chairman of GVK took over management of EMRI in June 2009, he drives EMRI’s further commitment to provide services surpassing global standards with improved transparency following the modern principles of management and leadership to serve the nation of India. We also want to step up further and work towards taking the organization across the Country.

Arc Media Global: Despite all the challenges faced by EMRI, your growth, service, awards and recognition have been unprecented. What would you say be the secret?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: The Public Private Partnership model has been a strong component in our success. It is the way of tapping into various partnerships and leverage on them so you can save more lives and respond to emergencies / disasters more effectively, which I shall be expounding at the EMPRR 2009 Global Summit & Exhibition in October 7-8, 2009 in Singapore.

Arc Media Global: Could you expound on some of your best practices attributed to the implementation of the model?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: The organization is based on the following best practices:

1. Process of Emergency Management

• Emergency victim / helper dials 108
• Sense: Communication Officer (CO) collects facts, Dispatch Officer (DO) scopes emergency and assigns strategically located vehicle (Ambulance/ Police / Fire)
• Reach: Vehicle(s) to reach the site
• Care: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to provide pre-hospital care while transporting patient/ victim to appropriate hospital for stabilization
• Emergency Response Centre Physician (ERCP) supports CO, DO, EMT, patient and hospital admission.

The Government of India has allotted a three-digit number – 108 and made it toll-free across each State for all emergencies. 108 is accessible from fixed lines and mobile phones.

Arc Media Global: Going back to the PPP model, how do you describe this in a nutshell?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Essentially, operational expenses and infrastructure is borne by Government (Public). The GVK EMRI bears costs of Leadership, Technology (Process, Medical & Research) and provide free IT solutions through an agreement with Mahindra Satyam. And finally, management is undertaken by GVK EMRI to sustain long-term performance at international quality and speed.

Arc Media Global: You mentioned international quality and speed. Have you achieved your desired levels in these aspects?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Indeed, we are on track. Now, we have 2006 state of the art Ambulances in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh to provide pre-hospital care covering a population of 433million. Infrastructure-wise, GVK EMRI is housed in 39 acres campus at Hyderabad with modern facilities for Emergency Management, Research and Training. And on the technology front, state of the art integrated technology is deployed in our Emergency Response Centers which enable us to provide world class services.

Arc Media Global: Your staff seems to be making a mark as well in helping build your organisation. Would you say your team is also the key reason for your success?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Certainly, our employees are described as Energetic, Modest, Reliable and Inquisitive with Commitment, Ability, Resourcefulness and Empathy, whether they work as Communication Officers, Dispatch Officers, Emergency Medical Technicians, Pilots and support staff.


Arc Media Global: We also observe that EMRI is already expanding alliances and partnership with global institutions.

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Indeed, GVK EMRI is having partnership with global organizations, such as Stanford, CMU, 9-1-1, STC, AAPI, AAEMI, Geomed, and a lot more in order to strengthen our competencies and skills and to share the best international practices.

For live discussion of the EMRI case study, attend the EMPRR 2009 Global Summit and Exhibition (7-8 October 2009, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore)—the biggest gathering of emergency and risk professionals in the business of ensuring business continuity, securing businesses and saving lives.

Symantec: Disaster Recovery Pressures Mount for Business

by By Joan Goodchild , CSO , 07/01/2009

Organizations are feeling the pressure to ensure their disaster recovery plan is ready to go and unfailingly reliable, according to a report released this week by Symantec. The report, the security software vendor's fifth annual IT Disaster Recovery survey, found that while DR times were reduced from previous years, disaster recovery testing and virtualization are still major challenges for organizations.

According to the survey, the average cost of executing/implementing disaster recovery plans for each downtime incident worldwide $287,600. However, for organizations in North America, the median cost can climb to as high as $900,000. Globally, this number is highest for healthcare and financial services organizations. In North America, the median cost for financial institutions is $650,000, according to the report.

Most organizations, 93 percent of respondents, said they have had to put their DR plans to work and that it takes on average three hours to achieve skeleton operations after an outage, and four hours to be up and running. This is dramatically improved over the 2008 findings, where only three percent of respondents reported that they could achieve skeleton operations within 12 hours, and 31 percent believed they would have baseline operations within one day, said Symantec officials in a release on the findings.

The report also said that respondents report DR testing increasingly impacts customers and revenue, and one in four tests fail. Nearly a third of organizations don't test virtual environments as part of their disaster recovery plans, and a slightly larger percentage of virtual environments aren't regularly backed up.

The study also shows that while DR budgets are higher in 2009, they are expected to remain flat over the next few years. The annual median budget for disaster recovery initiatives, including backup, recovery, clustering, archiving, spare servers, replication, tape, services, disaster recovery plan development and offsite costs at data centers surveyed is $50 million. According to respondents, this number will continue to grow throughout 2009, but more than half, 52 percent, of respondents believe that budgets will be flat in 2010.

The report makes no mention of the CSO's role in DR but did find 70 percent of respondents involved the CIO, CTO or IT director on their DR committees. This is a significant increase from last year's research where 33 percent of respondents indicated executive involvement, said Symantec.

"As budgets increased over the past year, disaster recovery initiatives have become more of a competitive differentiator, and impact of downtown on customers is greater than ever. Another reason for executive involvement is the increase of applications that are seen as mission critical," Symantec officials said in the statement. "Sixty percent of applications were deemed mission critical by respondents, and nearly the same amount is covered in disaster recovery plans. Any sort of outage to these systems will have an enormous impact to the business."

Saving Lives Effectively with Public Private Partnership model

Saving Lives Effectively with Public Private Partnership model

Interview with Mr. Venkat Changavalli, CEO, GVK EMRI

In the city of Hyderabad at a place called Karmanghat, Singareni Colony, a huge cluster of huts caught fire. Fire control at 108 was immediately contacted and the nearest fire station was also informed. Fire was successfully put off with no causalities of life or injury reported. 108 ambulances had also reached the spot.

During the Mecca Masjid Bomb Blast on 18th May, 2007 caught, one ambulance reached the spot in one minute and two more reached the spot in another 15 minutes. Ambulances made 6 trips, shifted 13 severely injured people and 23 people with minor injuries. 5 dead bodies were shifted to hospitals, despite stone pelting, etc. Excellent coordination between ERC team was shown, hospitals and police received recognition from the public, media and Government.

No matter what the scale, nor the incident, the Emergency Management & Research Institute endeavors to respond effectively and prides itself with outstanding achievements, including:

• 433 M population covered in 10 States

• 91% calls taken in first ring

• 9,700 + emergencies handled per day (3.6 Million cumulative)

• Pregnancy related - 25%, Vehicular Trauma – 22%, Acute Abdomen – 14% Cardiac – 4%, Suicidal – 4%, Respiratory – 4%, Animal Bites 3%

• 2,000 Ambulances - 5 trips a day

• < style="mso-spacerun:yes"> (urban) and < style="mso-spacerun:yes"> reached

• One Center for 40 M population against one for every 0.5 M population in USA

• Cost per ambulance trip Rs. 600 against $600 in USA

• 13,526 + EMRI Associates

• 6,800 + Private Hospitals / Nursing homes (31% in AP and 15% in Guj - patients admitted in pvt hospitals)

• 2,000 Police / Fire Stations

• 200+ lives were saved (80,000+ till now) and 9,500 victims received timely, high-quality pre-hospital care

Arc Media Global Center for Business Strategy and Tactics interviews Mr. Venkat Changavalli, EMRI’s most revered Chief Executive Officer and delves deeper into EMRI’s secret ingredients and an insider view of its team and the life of an emergency responder:

Arc Media Global: Most people wold have read from the news about your new partner, GVK. Has your organisational direction changed since the introduction of this new partnership?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Since GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK EMRI) was born in April, 2005, we remain committed to provide integrated emergency response services in a Public Private Partnership mode with a vision to provide leadership in saving 1 M Lives per annum nationally by 2011 and establish GVK EMRI as a Premier Research and Training Institute in Emergency Management in Public Private Partnership framework.

Our goal and commitment has not changed since 4 years ago.

Arc Media Global: What impact could we see now that Dr. GVK Reddy took over EMRI management?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: As Dr. GVK Reddy, Chairman of GVK took over management of EMRI in June 2009, he drives EMRI’s further commitment to provide services surpassing global standards with improved transparency following the modern principles of management and leadership to serve the nation of India. We also want to step up further and work towards taking the organization across the Country.

Arc Media Global: Despite all the challenges faced by EMRI, your growth, service, awards and recognition have been unprecented. What would you say be the secret?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: The Public Private Partnership model has been a strong component in our success. It is the way of tapping into various partnerships and leverage on them so you can save more lives and respond to disasters more effectively, which I shall be expounding at the EMPRR 2009 Global Summit & Exhibition in October 7-8, 2009 in Singapore.

Arc Media Global: Could you expound on some of your best practices attributed to the implementation of the model?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: The organization is based on the following best practices:

1. Process of Emergency Management

o Emergency victim / helper dials 108

o Sense: Communication Officer (CO) collects facts, Dispatch Officer (DO) scopes emergency and assigns strategically located vehicle (Ambulance/ Police / Fire)

o Reach: Vehicle(s) to reach the site

o Care: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to provide pre-hospital care while transporting patient/ victim to appropriate hospital for stabilization

o Emergency Response Centre Physician (ERCP) supports CO, DO, EMT, patient and hospital admission.

The Government of India has allotted a three-digit number – 108 and made it toll-free across each State for all emergencies. 108 is accessible from fixed lines and mobile phones.

Arc Media Global: Going back to the PPP model, how do you describe this in a nutshell?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Essentially, operational expenses and infrastructure is borne by Government (Public). The GVK EMRI bears costs of Leadership, Technology (Process, Medical & Research) and provide free IT solutions through an agreement with Mahindra Satyam. And finally, management is undertaken by GVK EMRI to sustain long-term performance at international quality and speed.

Arc Media Global: You mentioned international quality and speed. Have you achieved your desired levels in these aspects?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Indeed, we are on track. Now, we have 206 state of the art Ambulances in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh to provide pre-hospital care covering a population of 433million. Infrastructure-wise, GVK EMRI is housed in 39 acres campus at Hyderabad with modern facilities for Emergency Management, Research and Training. And on the technology front, state of the art integrated technology is deployed in our Emergency Response Centers which enable us to provide world class services.

Arc Media Global: Your staff seems to be making a mark as well in helping build your organisation. Would you say your team is also the key reason for your success?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Certainly, our employees are described as Energetic, Modest, Reliable and Inquisitive with Commitment, Ability, Resourcefulness and Empathy, whether they work as Communication Officers, Dispatch Officers, Emergency Medical Technicians, Pilots and support staff.

Arc Media Global: We also observe that EMRI is already expanding alliances and partnership with global institutions.

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Indeed, GVK EMRI is having partnership with global organizations, such as Stanford, CMU, 9-1-1, STC, AAPI, AAEMI, Geomed, and a lot more in order to strengthen our competencies and skills and to share the best international practices.

For live discussion of the EMRI case study, attend the EMPRR 2009 Global Summit and Exhibition (7-8 October 2009, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore)—the biggest gathering of emergency and risk professionals in the business of ensuring business continuity, securing businesses and saving lives.

The only proactive, integrated, multi-hazard, multi-sectoral disaster management event that will help you manage disasters, before, during and after they occur.

Jet didn't break up mid-air

July 2, 2009

AIR FRANCE CRASH

PARIS - THE Air France jetliner that crashed in the Atlantic a month ago with 228 people on board did not break up in mid-air, the French bureau leading the investigation said on Thursday.

BEA director Paul-Louis Arslanian has warned that the investigation will be 'long and difficult' and the failure to find the flight recorders has complicated the probe. Still, investigators have been scrutinizing some 600 pieces of debris recovered from the crash zone for any clue as to what brought down the plane as it flew through turbulence over the Alantic. ... more

'The plane was not destroyed while in flight,' said Alain Bouillard from the BEA accident investigation agency, which released its first report on the June 1 disaster.

'The plane appears to have hit the surface of the water in flying position with a strong vertical acceleration,' he added, explaining that the plane hit the water belly-first.

The crash of Flight 447 from Rio to Paris was the worst in Air France's history.

There had been speculation that problems with the Airbus' airspeed sensors, or pitot tubes, may have caused the plane to stall or fly dangerously fast, causing a high-altitude breakup.

Brazil decided on June 27 to call off the recovery operation but France has maintained its nuclear submarine, research vessel and other boats in the area on a final hunt for the black boxes.

The BEA lead investigator said the search would continue until July 10.

The homing beacons on the flight recorders emit signals for about one month after the crash and the BEA hopes that they will have a longer-than-usual shelf life.

Investigators have been scrutinising some 640 pieces of debris recovered from the crash zone for any clue as to what brought down the plane as it flew through turbulence over the Alantic.

Autopsies were being performed on 51 bodies pulled from the disaster area, some 1,000 kilometres off Brazil's coast. -- AFP

Human-Induced Disasters: National Security Concern

A wounded woman lies on the ground following a blast at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in central Jakarta July 17, 2009

REUTERS/Lydia Ruddy.

Jakarta hotel bombs kill 9, dent investor confidence

By Telly Nathalia and Olivia Rondonuwu

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Bomb blasts ripped through the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta's business district on Friday, killing nine people and wounding dozens in attacks that could dent investor confidence in Indonesia.

A car bomb also blew up along a toll road in North Jakarta, police said without giving further details. Indonesia's Metro TV said two people had been killed. An unexploded bomb was also later found at the Marriott, police said.

The apparently coordinated bombings are the first in several years and follow a period in which the government had made progress in tackling security threats from militant Islamic groups, bringing a sense of political stability to Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Suspicion is likely to fall on remnants of the Jemaah Islamiah militant group, blamed for previous attacks including a car bombing outside the Marriott in 2003 as well as bombings on the island of Bali the previous year that killed 202 people.

"I think the attacks are devastating for the image of security that Indonesia has built up painstakingly over the past four years," said Kevin O'Rourke, a political risk analyst in Jakarta.

"The attack is particularly severe for investor confidence because it took place despite strenuous counter-terrorist efforts by the government and has affected the hotels that are seen to be among the most secure in Jakarta and also either killed or wounded numerous prominent expatriate businesspeople."

Tim Mackay, president director of cement maker PT Holcim Indonesia, was among those killed in the hotel attacks, the company said. Police said nine people had been killed including foreigners. More than 42 people were wounded.

INDONESIAN MARKETS DIP

Indonesian financial markets fell after the blasts, with the rupiah down 0.7 percent at 10,200 per dollar, prompting state banks to sell dollars to support the currency, traders said. Indonesian stocks were down some 2 percent.

A spokesman for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called the blasts a "terrorist" act. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also condemned the attacks.

The Manchester United soccer team said it had canceled the Jakarta leg of an Asian tour. A Ritz-Carlton employee said the team had been due to stay at the hotel ahead of a game in Indonesia early next week.

Witnesses said the bombings at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton were minutes apart and it appeared both had occurred inside the hotels, judging from the way windows were blown out.

That will raise inevitable questions about how tight security at the luxury hotels could be penetrated.

At the Ritz-Carlton, torn curtains flapped around broken windows and glass lay around the hotel. There was blood on the street across from the Marriott. The hotels are near each other in a business area home to many offices, embassies and bars.

Scores of foreigners and Indonesian hotel guests milled behind police lines in the hours after the blasts, some still wearing bathrobes.

"It was very loud, it was like thunder, it was rather continuous, and then followed by the second explosion," said Vidi Tanza, who works near the hotel, describing the blasts.

PROGRESS SINCE SUHARTO FELL

The bombings will also be a blow for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, re-elected last week in a crushing election victory that reflected the former general's steady leadership and firm stance on security.

Both parliamentary elections in April and the presidential poll this month passed peacefully, underscoring the progress made by the world's most populous Muslim nation since the chaos and violence that surrounded the downfall of ex-autocrat Suharto in the late 1990s.

"I would say it damages foreign investor confidence since the attacks appear aimed at Westerners, but not shatter it, so long as there is no further violence for some time," said Sean Callow, currency strategist at Westpac Bank in Sydney.

Lydia Ruddy, a witness who lives in the area, said she heard an explosion and saw smoke coming from the Marriott, followed five minutes later by another explosion at the Ritz-Carlton.

Jemaah Islamiah, which wants to create an Islamic state across parts of Southeast Asia, was blamed for a string of attacks between 2002-2005 in Indonesia. Many militants have since been arrested. But an Australian security report on Thursday said Jemaah Islamiah could be poised to strike again.

Leadership tensions in the group and recent prison releases of its members raised the possibility that splinter groups might now seek to re-energize the movement through violent attacks, said the report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

The report said Jemaah Islamiah was now a splintered group which may not be capable of replicating mass casualty attacks, but warned there was evidence that JI members released from prison "are gravitating toward hardline groups who continue to advocate al Qaeda-style attacks against Western targets." "These hardline groups continue to believe that the use of violence against the "enemies of Islam" is justified under any circumstances," said the report.

(Additional reporting by Michael Perry in Sydney, Harry Suhartono in Singapore, Writing by Dean Yates and Sara Webb, Editing by Jerry Norton)

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56G0EX20090717?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=11569

Access EMPRR Updates on Twitter!

FACT: Do you know that Twitter actually saved someone's life in danger as early as 2006? Tweet with EMPRR to know facts and trivia on emergency preparedness and response.

EMPRR09 tweets on www.twitter.com/emprr - 140 words of pure non stop updates leading to the event!!!

Attendees EMPRR 2009

EMPRR 2009 (7-8 October 2009, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Level 2, Singapore) gathers Permanent Secretaries, Director-Generals, Chief Executives, Other Heads of Agencies and Disaster Recovery Coordination Councils.

Emergency Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery 2009 also brings to you Directors, Chiefs, Heads, Managers and Project Officers in these disciplines:

• Emergency First Response



• Disaster Management



• Business Continuity



• Risk Management



• Crisis Management
  Policy & Planning



• Plans







• IT/Infocomm



• Operations



• Audit



• Doctrine



• Security



• Personnel & Manpower



• Policy Development



• Building and Facilities Management

Human-induced disaster: Acts of terror costs Nigeria USD 1.5 billion dollars a year

A Classic Lesson from the Nigerian Pipeline Disaster

“Effective emergency preparedness is a task that is never done, but requires continuing commitment and leadership because circumstances change and continuing trade-offs because we will never have the funds to do everything we might like to do.” - Statement of William O. Jenkins, Jr., Director Homeland Security and Justice Issues, State of California



The impact of regular terror attacks is too big to be ignored
Aside from natural and accidental calamities, man-made catastrophes have grown to such a scale that they have become almost anticipated disasters. In Nigeria, for example, a total of 1 million barrels’ worth of oil exports are lost every day due to human-induced disasters resulting from intentional acts of terror.

Just barely 3 months ago, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Limited had to shut down a number of oil installations after suspected sabotage led to explosions on a pipeline. This shutdown has led to a loss of about 70,000 barrels per day for the oil giant.

Two days ago, Nigerian militants admitted to a separate pipeline bombing incident of a Chevron facility delivering crude between Olero and Abiteye. And recently, The Italian gas company, Agip, was forced to shut down its oil facilities, after “heavily armed fighters” bombed the Niger Delta facility.

In an act of intimidation, the insurgent group MEND on July 14 has warned the international football association FIFA that it should "rethink" allowing Nigeria to host the upcoming under-17 World Cup series later this year as the safety of international players and visitors cannot be guaranteed.

Nigeria loses about $1.5 billion yearly to terror attacks, and there is an urgent need for the government to address the situation.


The incomplete agenda
Laudably, the recently concluded Nigeria 2009 Oil and Gas Conference has agreed to reinvest profits to infrastructure to reduce poverty, an answer to terror attacks. Uplifting economic conditions is indeed one way to mitigate the growth and support for militants. The militants themselves admitted that the acts of terror were borne to advocate reinvestment to development projects and campaign for anti-corruption.

Tactically, however, this move alone is not sufficient to address the challenges posed by the destabilizing forces. Building infrastructure will take several years, but direct action is needed now for a more complete and immediate response to the challenges. There is still work to be done in saving lives and securing the physical assets of businesses, the government and the private sector, and in formulating a clear response and recovery plan.

There are multiple facets to disaster preparedness. Are your disaster recovery plans adequate?

Addressing limits to our disaster response capacities
The classic lesson highlights the limitations of our current understanding and capacity to respond effectively to human-induced hazards. Not to mention the severity of catastrophic events which almost immediately overwhelm national, local and organisational response capacities that require response almost immediately.

The acts of terror and natural hazard do not recognize political or organisational boundaries and could impale economies and businesses. Addressing catastrophic events must be well-catered for in every budget, but even beyond that, sometimes addressing them requires unconventional means.


The evolving role of the emergency and risk manager and the need for further collaboration
Your role as an emergency manager is now more important than ever. It goes beyond just coordinating disaster response or crisis management activities, providing disaster preparedness training, and preparing emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies, hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.
For example, the US’ 9-11 cataclysmic terror attacks expanded the extent of emergency preparedness to also include public safety, homeland security, emergency medical facilities, the international community and the private sector.

While the private sector must compliment the government, the size of the investment needed usually means that government is the best-equipped agency to do so, as noted by Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, Managing Director of SPDC.

Effectively dealing with emergency requires a proactive, integrated, multi-hazard, multi-sectoral and full-cycle approach. As the rules of the game get tougher, are you confident that you know everything there is to know about how to mitigate effectively against disaster, manage rescue and response or organise and deliver relief?

EMPRR 2009 Global Summit & Exhibition, 7-8 October 2009, Grand Copthorne Waterfont Hotel Level 2, Singapore — the biggest gathering of emergency managers and business continuity experts in Asia — will provide you the platform to explore what you had to know, and partner with the right people for you to be able to reduce the risk, damage, and loss, shorten the recovery period, and ensure business continuity.

During the occurrence of a major disaster is too late a time to be exchanging business cards
Assessing, developing, attaining and sustaining needed emergency preparedness, response and recovery capabilities is a difficult task that requires sustained leadership, and the coordinated efforts of many stakeholders from a variety of first responder disciplines, levels of government, the community and the business sector at the right time.

Don’t wait for disaster to happen! EMPRR 2009 brings an agenda that:
• provides numerous case studies,
• showcases new technologies and strategies to predict hazards,
• teaches you to assess the risk to human life and property,
• guides you in planning a response to an emergency,
• illlustrates how to discover and recover from damage,
• discusses how to manage ongoing hazardous conditions,
• demonstrates how to plan and mitigate for future hazards, and,
• leads the discussion to impact policy and decision making.


Grab the opportunity of our early bird promotion!
Save your company 30% off the regular price if you confirm and register before 31 July 2009. EMPRR09 provides preferred rates to government and partner organisations and emergency first responders, kindly send me an email for more info.

As for the terror attacks, I hope I could meet you in Singapore to discuss how strategically and tactically, these could best be solved!

Sincerely,

Paul Adams
Marketing Manager
EMPRR 2009

P.S. As an emergency or risk manager, you are also in charge of protecting your organisational assets, ensuring business continuity and forge partnership to help you fulfil your task better. Attend Workshop B to find out more strategies you can employ and claim your complimentary copies of 2 books related to BCP/BCM.

Clinch some deals despite the downturn

EMPRR 2009 offers a different kind of value proposition--a summit with a unique trade show experience that goes beyond plain window shopping into actual buying and selling, with high-level think tanks and decision-makers who shape the field of Emergency Management, Business Continuity and other Disaster Management Disciplines.

The purpose of the delegates is straightforward-they want to ensure prepared and resilient corporations, small businesses and communities.

They are government officials whose track is in monitoring billion's worth of assets and protecting millions of loves from disasters.

They are top corporate executives who are upgrading their business continuity systems in the face of new regulations.

They are business owners who are in the process of complying with regulations.

They are influencers who set the path and priorities in the field.

And the great thing is: They're all here.

Supported by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), ASEAN Disaster Management Committee, International Association of Emergency Managers, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Canadian Red Cross, Business Continuity Institute and Singapore Contractors Association and the Singapore Tourism Board, EMPRR 2009 is the only event that you need to sponsor or exhibit in in 2009, if you are offering strong products and services in the emergency, business continuity and risk management disciplines.

For more info on super early bird packages for sponsorship and exhibition packages, please email info@arcmediaglobal.com or call +65 6844 2080 and mention, EMPRR 2009.

RE: Computer failure may have caused US train crash

“At the time of the crash, the train was also operating in automatic mode, meaning it was controlled primarily by computer. In that mode, the operator's main job is to open and close the doors and respond to emergencies.”
- Associated Press, 24 June 2009


In the deadliest accident in the 30-year history of the Washington DC Metro, a train plowed into a stopped train ahead of it at the height of the Monday evening rush hour, killing nine people and injuring more than 70.

In an interview, Debbie Hersman, an investigator with the US National Transportation Safety Board, said that the trains were in automatic mode, as was standard procedure. She also revealed that it wasn’t known if the emergency brake was used. She said, “It was unclear if the emergency brake was actually engaged when Monday's crash occurred. But the mushroom-shaped button that activates it was found pushed down in the operator's compartment.” However, Hersman stressed that it wasn't known whether the button was pressed before the crash, or in the aftermath. – AP


Automation of your processes does not ensure that your operations are disaster-resilient. It is impossible to predict or prevent all causes of system failure. Crews spent Tuesday pulling apart the wreckage and searching for bodies in a highly automated train. Authorities are still working to determine why the train's safeguards apparently did not kick in. There is a clear need for a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan that can be called into action in unforeseen and unforeseeable contingencies.


When you are in a bottoming economy especially, you can’t afford to make mistakes. Companies have increased awareness and focus on business continuity and making sure that their operations are disaster-resilient. “I’m no longer surprised when my colleagues across the region talk about business continuity. The efforts and awareness on business continuity and managing emergency have indeed increased,” added Julius Seno, ConocoPhillips Indonesia in an interview with the Center for Business Strategy and Tactics, the organiser for this year’s Emergency Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery 2009.

EMPRR 2009 Global Summit & Exhibition (7-8 October 2009, Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Singapore) will gather leaders in emergency, disaster management and business continuity disciplines, policy makers, regional players, business owners and top corporate executives and aims to achieve a region of disaster-resilient nations and safer communities, through early warning systems and new technologies, strong global public-private partnerships and regional capacity-building. Delegates will also pick up early updates on current regional regulations, national government initiatives and industry partnerships on emergency management and benchmarking.

Please contact Paul Adams for information on sponsorships, exhibition, partnerships, speaking slots or delegate registration:
· Call +65 6844 2080
· Fax +65 6844 2060, or
· Email info@arcmediaglobal.com (subject line: EMPRR 2009)
· For more info, kindly visit www.arcmediaglobal.com/emprr09

Please include your name, job title, company name, direct telephone and email address in your fax or email, and we will call you back. Special super early bird discounts of up to 30% apply to sponsorship agreements and delegate registrations finalised before 30 June 2009.

We look forward to welcoming you in October in Singapore!


Sincerely,

Paul Adams
Marketing Manager
EMPRR 2009 Desk
AMG CBST

EMERGENCY MITIGATION, PREPAREDNESS,RESPONSE & RECOVERY 2009

Onward to a region of disaster-resilient nations and safer communities through early warning systems andnew technologies, strong global public-privatepartnerships and regional capacity-building

Grand Copthorne Waterfront Level 2, Singapore, 7-8 October 2009

Dear colleague,

“The need for business continuity and disaster recovery has come to the fore in the light of a possible H1N1 outbreak that could impale firms. However, most businesses have yet to fully understand what is involved, thinking that business continuity and disaster recovery is just an IT exercise.”- The Straits Times, 10 June 2009

The recent Air France crash in Brazil killing 228 people on board, the outbreak of Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 bringing 100 casualties in less than a month, the Victorian bushfire killing 200 adults and children one fine day in February this year and hundreds of thousands of casualties and survivors from last year’s Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar resulted from disasters that prompted emergency managers and disaster experts to converge in an impactful 2-day Asia-Pacific World conference, Emergency Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery 2009 (EMPRR 2009), on 7-8 October 2009 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Singapore organised by the AMG Center for Business Strategy and Tactics (CBST).

With the impetus from the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action, the global instrument for promoting disaster preparedness, “governments and firms are now focusing heavily on risk reduction, aside from response,” said Adelina Kamal, Head, ASEAN DMHAD. Pundits say that ideally the CEO or the business decision-maker should lead (business continuity and disaster management) efforts as the potential impact of a disaster especially on the industry, public and profitability is dire. (source: Straits Times)

Ideally the CEO or the business decision-maker should lead (business continuity and disaster management) efforts as the potential impact of a disaster especially on the industry, public and profitability is dire.“When you are in a bottoming economy, you can’t afford to make mistakes. Your processes should be 101% resilient to potential disasters that could harm your business and the community,” said CBST Director Francis Mercado.

The EMPRR 2009 Asia Pacific Convention and Exhibition is attended by industry leaders, decision makers, international players in charge of emergency management, risk management and business continuity from all over Asia Pacific, including ASEAN Head of Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance Division Adelina Kamal, SCDF Commissioner Peter Lim, Undersecretary of Maritime Transport Tom Lantion, NSWFB Commissioner Mark Whybro, IAEM Asia Pacific President Nathaniel Forbes, Le Commissaire Divisionnaire Yves GODIVEAU (Attaché régional de sécurité intérieure à Singapour).

The impetus for this conference is fourfold:

1) Grave disasters can be avoided if early warning technologies were available and implemented

2) A unique kind of alertness and preparation is critical and should be available even without early warning

3) Government readiness for disasters is strengthened with the recognition that emergency response is not just an ad-hoc function but a full time

4) In face of disasters, your neighbours are your best allies – therefore regional cooperation and readiness have to exist readily for effective disaster management

The international convention aims to achieve a region of disaster-resilient nations and safer communities, through early warning systems and new technologies, strong global public-private partnerships and regional capacity-building.

Delegates will also pick up early updates on current regional regulations, national government initiatives and industry partnerships on emergency management and benchmarking.Please contact Paul Adams for information on sponsorships, exhibition, partnerships, speaking slots or delegate registration:· Call +65 6844 2080· Fax +65 6844 2060, or· Email info@arcmediaglobal.com (subject line: EMPRR 2009)· For more info, kindly visit www.arcmediaglobal.com/emprr09

Please include your name, job title, company name, direct telephone and email address in your fax or email, and we will call you back.

Special super early bird discounts of up to 30% apply to sponsorship agreements and delegate registrations finalised before 30 June 2009.We look forward to welcoming you in October in Singapore!

Sincerely,
Paul Adams
Marketing Manager
EMPRR 2009 Desk
AMG CBST

Ensuring Emergency Preparedness During Times of Scarce Resources

By E. Francis Mercado, Emergency Preparedness Desk

“There’s no low-cost emergency,” says Mr. Sarig, as he explains in an interview by Arc Media Global Center for Business Strategy and Tactics on 22 June 2009 at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore.

“It’s easy to use the economic downturn as a reason for not investing in emergence preparedness. But it will turn out that such activity will actually be more costly in the long run, especially in an unexpected turn of events.”

For Ben-Gurion International Airport, cited as one of the safest airports in the world in its size and category, investing in emergency preparedness is a key priority, aside from keeping the airport profitable. In fact, it’s probably one of the fewest airports in the world that has the General Manager also heading up safety and security.

Recently, the airport completed an emergency preparedness drill involving 1,500 people, 2 air force helicopters, 5 hospitals and different vital agencies. They performed an extensive and complicated drill, prepared for 3 nights and encompassing proper response to on-the-ground disastrous scenarios, even including the burning of a 747 and airplane crash. He was quite pleased with the unity of the response team as they performed the drill and said that this was a kind of preparation and alertness that’s needed–i.e., the airport has to be prepared even out of a sudden crisis.

Achieving the impossible is what’s needed, such as, being ready to respond, despite no early warning. “Early warning is useful,” Mr. Sarig said, “but most of the time, emergencies happen so suddenly, you only have 7 minutes to respond. The question is: Are you prepared to handle such a scenario?”

Several methods that Mr. Sarig used can be adapted to different companies, and will be shared at the upcoming, Emergency Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery 2009 Global Summit and Exhibition (7-8 October 2009, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Level 2, Singapore).

For more info, contact Paul Adams atinfo@arcmediaglobal.com.