A GIS Platform for Emergency Management and Response: Common Operational Pictures (COP)

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

The Montgomery County Department of Technology Services – Geographic Information Systems team developed an ArcGIS Server based map viewer that provides customized common operational pictures (COP)—single displays of relevant operational information that is shared by more than one level of command and facilitates collaborative planning—for enabling situational awareness associated with emergency management and planning. The web application allows emergency managers to manage assets, effectively share and manage mobile workforces and maintain operational awareness and faster communication across organizations. Montgomery County’s version of COP enhances situational awareness so that users can perform daily operations more effectively, coordinate response efforts and make critical decisions. The system displays real time operational information such as traffic accidents, live video feed of the road, road blocks, hazard warnings and traffic delays. This up-to-date information is then interfaced on top of the county’s traditional static GIS layers. As a result, specific event responses can be straightforwardly configured due to the easily shared and readily visible information. The COP of Montgomery County is a quick, low cost development of a versatile map viewer that provides a rich set of base may layers and common operational procedures for county first responders, and has enabled the County to quickly catch up with rapidly expanding web mapping technology.