To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. A BETTER WAY OF BUYING disaster incident response. FEMA’s IMAT concept of operations places the teams in the FEMA Disaster Operations Directorate. Working with program offices, the reorganized, larger OAM had close to 70 pre-positioned contracts and interagency agreements in place at the beginning of the 2008 hurricane season. Thanks in large measure to these supplier contracts, when Hurricane Gustav made landfall in southwest Louisiana on Sept. 1, 2008, FEMA was successfully able to pre-stage lifesaving and lifesustaining commodities such as water, meals and tarps in various strategic locations. These included more than 2.4 million liters of water (137 truckloads), more than 4 million meals (203 truckloads), 478 emergency generators, 141 truckloads of tarps and 267 truckloads of blankets and cots. Going forward, the agency plans to address areas of weakness identified in audits of its acquisition processes. In February 2009, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of DHS, in a report titled FEMA’s Implementation of Best Practices in the Acquisition Process (http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_09-31_ Feb09.pdf), found that, despite clear progress in its procurement initiatives, FEMA’s partners’ inventories still lack full visibility, increasing the risk that it will make unsound purchasing decisions based on incomplete information. Another major goal is to improve FEMA’s inventory tracking system to enable automated tracking of all FEMA inventories via barcodes; integrating FEMA logistics with FEMA financial and procurement databases; and tracking partners’ disaster response inventories, inventory locations and planned purchases. Ward is optimistic that continuing improvement in all these areas will enable FEMA not only to accelerate its response to disasters but to partner more effectively with states and locales in bettering their acquisition and logistics systems. “Procurement is an area we’re learning the hard way,” she acknowledged. “We learned it is absolutely essential to have prenegotiated commitments and absolutely set responsibilities. Procurement needs to be ironed out on the ground, and you need people who are expert at writing up and negotiating contracts way ahead of time, so details aren’t left to improvising in the heat of the moment.” Analysis Over the past generation, Americans (perhaps unlike any before them in history) have grown accustomed to the comforting (but naive) expectation that their access to an uninterrupted supply of the conveniences and necessities of life is immune from the vicissitudes of nature. Katrina, Rita and other major storms of the past few years have served as a wake-up call for many Americans of the actual precariousness of the “always-on” supply networks they take for granted. In reality, those networks are in need of constant attention to ensure their resilience in a crisis. These disasters also exposed the weakness and obsolescence of traditional procurement, supply and logistics networks and the models of hurricane preparation on which they were based. Federal, state and local emergency officials are painfully aware of that precariousness and its associated vulnerabilities. Steady improvements have been made throughout the system. This year’s hurricane season will show the world the state of those improvements’ effectiveness and resilience. HST DIGNIFIED BURIAL FOR DISASTER EVENTS All natural wood Ships & stores flat TM Assembles without tools When the system is overwhelmed, the Everybody Coffin provides response organizations a traditional approach to burying the deceased. At under $200, the Everybody Coffin is a functional, affordable way to provide dignified burial during disaster recovery. TM For more information on the Eveybody Coffin please call 1-800-355-4628 or visit dqeready.com/everybody ©2009 DQE, Inc. TM Ready now for what’s next.™ Everybody TM Coffin MC4042 Register online today for exclusive online content and eNewsletters Homeland Security Today Magazine | June 2009 41