PROCESS FRAMEWORK FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Solving of Emergency Situations by Way of Business Processes

Tomáš Ludík and Jaroslav Ráček

Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, Botanická 68a, Brno, Czech Republic

Keywords: Emergency Management, Process Management, Process Framework, Process Methodology, Process

Architecture, Quality Assurance of Processes, Case Study.

Abstract: The paper deals with an effective solving of emergency situations by using the Process Management. Based

on current approaches, there is defined an innovative process framework for emergency management which

is described from the methodological and architecture view. The methodology describes the procedures how

to deploy processes of emergency management on the specific architecture based on emergency

management requirements. The overall quality assurance is ensured by continuous verification, validation

and optimization. The application of the process framework for emergency management is showed on a

case study, which describes an accident of a vehicle transporting dangerous goods. The case study illustrates

the deployment of emergency processes up to terrain case studies.

1 INTRODUCTION

Emergency Management (EM) is a discipline that

involves preparing for a disaster before it happens,

disaster response, as well as supporting and

rebuilding the society after a natural or a human-

caused disaster occurs. In general, any EM is a

continuous process in which all individuals, groups

and communities manage hazards in an effort to

avoid or ameliorate the impact of disasters resulting

from the hazards (Mak et al., 1999; Rüppel and

Wagenknecht, 2007).

Process Management (PM) is a field of

combining management and technology focused on

aligning organizations with the requirements and

needs of clients (Kubíček et al., 2010; Vondrák,

2008). It is a complex management approach that

promotes business effectiveness and efficiency while

striving for innovation, flexibility, and integration

with technology (Jain and McLean, 2003). PM

attempts to improve processes continuously. It could

therefore be described as a process optimization

process.

1.1 Principles of Emergency

Management

The nature of emergencies means that all levels of

government (federal, state, regional or local) and all

sectors of society are responsible for dealing

withthem (Diehl et al., 2006). There generally exists

a Bottom Up approach for requests for resources

support that travel upward until appropriate

resources are ensured and the incident stabilised.

Each country has different legislation, procedures

and obligatory documents to be followed within the

EM process (Mak et al., 1999).

Coordination of Activities within the Emergency

Management System is done at three levels,

Tactical, Operational and Strategic, and is

corresponding with the generic conclusion defined

by Orchestra (Klopfer and Kanellopoulos, 2008).

The Strategic Level of the Rescue and

Liquidation Works (RaLW) management is realised

by standing or temporary coordinating authorities of

the administration, region commissioners and

Ministry of Interior – General Management of the

Czech Republic Fire Rescue Corps.

On the Operational Level, permanent

coordination and cooperation within and between

individual Integrated Rescue System (IRS)

components takes place; this includes operational

centres of the basic IRS components (Fire Rescue

Corps, Police and Medical Rescue Service) and

dispatching centres, standing services, and oversight

centres of distributive and emergency services.

The Tactical Level includes activity coordination

at the place of intervention and cooperation of IRS

components. The intervention commander proclaims

the appropriate Level of Alert, which predetermines

117

Ludík T. and Rá

cek J..

PROCESS FRAMEWORK FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT - Solving of Emergency Situations by Way of Business Processes.

DOI: 10.5220/0003459401170122

In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Software and Database Technologies (ICSOFT-2011), pages 117-122

ISBN: 978-989-8425-77-5

 2011 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

the needs of the Forces and Means for the RaLW.

He or she also follows the document Model Action

Activities of the IRS Components at the Common

Intervention.

1.2 Principles of Process Management

Nowadays, there are two significant streams in the

field of Process Management: i.e. Business Process

Management presented by Object Management

Group (OMG) and Workflow Management, which

was originally created by Workflow Management

Coalition (WfMC).

Business Process Management (BPM) is based

on the observation that each product that a company

gets to the market is the result of a number of

performed activities (Weske, 2007). Business

processes are the key instruments to organize these

activities and to improve the understanding of their

interrelationships. Information technology deserves

an important role in business process management,

because more and more activities that a company

performs are supported by it (Rüppel and

Wagenknecht, 2007). Business process activities can

be performed manually or with a help of information

systems (Sell and Braun, 2009). BPM activities can

in general be grouped into five categories (phases):

Design, Modelling, Execution, Monitoring, and

Optimization.

Workflow Management is built on architectural

representation of a workflow management system

called Workflow Reference Model, that is developed

by WfMC. It identifies the most important system

interfaces, covering broadly five areas of

functionality between a workflow management

system and its environment (Hollingsworth, 2004).

Process Management and Business Processes are

generally used to solve issues related to EM

(Kubíček et al., 2010; Sell and Braun, 2009;

Vondrák, 2008). The aim of this paper is to define

Process Framework for Emergency Management,

which allows more effective and complex process

support for EM. During the deployment of processes

there is also necessary to guarantee their overall

quality (Jain and McLean, 2003). Hence the paper

describes methods to assure quality of processes, i.e.

verification and validation (Sargent, 2005).

Continuous improvement of processes by process

optimization is also very important (Rüppel and

Wagenknecht, 2007). Practical use of the Process

framework, together with methods of process quality

assurance is illustrated on the case study that

describes an accident of a vehicle transporting

dangerous goods.

2 PROCESS FRAMEWORK FOR

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Process Framework for EM is a new progressive

view on process support of organizations in the

private and public sector. It is created for the

purpose of better understanding of issues that are

connected with process deployment in the specific

area of interest. The model covers not only process

related issues, but also issues related to emergency

management. Deep analysis of current solutions and

approaches (Klopfer and Kanellopoulos, 2008;

Ludík and Ráček, 2011; Sell and Braun, 2009)

shows, that just this unifying view on process

deployment is missing. Despite the fact, that the

model is focused on the emergency area issues, the

idea of creating a process framework is general and

could be used also in other areas of expertise, where

a complex and global view on the area of interest is

needed. The general purpose of the model is given

by two main views on the process issues, which are

Methodology view and the global Architecture view.

2.1 Methodology

The first view is created by process oriented

methodology. The main goal is to continuously

improve process, which is the same idea as Deming

cycle. This view is based on the Business Process

Management life-cycle (Weske, 2007). In order to

talk about process-oriented methodology, it is

necessary to meet certain characteristics. The

methodology consists of five basic phases, where

every phase is further process decomposed. Namely

there are these phases: Defining, Modelling,

Configuration, Execution/Monitoring, and

Optimization. The methodology contains user roles,

which are necessary for correct progress of the

process and the roles show responsibilities for the

particular processes (Ludík and Ráček, 2011). The

roles are not just the ones focused on the ICT view

of process deployment but there are also roles for

EM. The next essential part of created methodology

are individual work products, either input or output.

Some of these artefacts are included into the process

framework. There are primary phases like Defining,

Modelling, Configuration and Monitoring.

Executing and Optimization phases are described

from a different point of view. Process execution is

analysed from the view of tools that are needed for

execution of modelled process instances. On the

other hand the optimization phase is focused on

techniques and options of process reengineering.

The Fig. 1 shows on the left side the general process

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Figure 1: Process Framework for Emergency Management.

oriented methodology.

2.2 Architecture

The second part of the process model is created by

process oriented architecture. It is based on WfMC

principles and primarily focused on software tools

required for process deployment into organisations.

The major task is to define suitable interfaces for

communication among individual components of

architecture (Hollingsworth, 2004). The architecture

view is situated on the right side of the process

framework. The main parts of the system are

described from the view of software tools or

hardware components use. Particularly that are parts

like Workflow enchantment service, Client

Application and Invoked application. The view is

completed with issues of emergency management

and because of this the model contains also

components like Map Server, Metainformation

Catalogue and various hardware devices or user

interfaces that are necessary to manage specific

crisis situations (Kozel, 2007). The architecture view

guarantees that outputs from individual phases of the

methodology meet certain criteria and standards to

use them in the next phase. The aim of the view is to

create a global architecture that will serve as the

essentials for modelled process instances

deployment so that these instances could cooperate

with other services and tools within clearly defined

interfaces.

2.3 Unifying View

The Fig. 1 shows, that each of this two views covers

another part of the spectrum needed for depth

process analysis used in the emergency

management. In some parts of the model there

should be given more emphasis on the procedures

and defined processes arising from the legislation

and methodologies related to crisis management

(Optimization and Defining). The process’

architecture and clearly defined interfaces among the

components are important to enable fast and

effective communication among them (Client

Applications, Invoked Applications, Other

Workflow Enactment Service). The created process

framework for EM contains also parts, where the

methodology and architecture views overlap. In

these parts, both views have to be taken into account

to better understand the research issues. Especially it

is very important in the Modelling and

Configuration phase of the methodology to

determine how the modelling process will proceed

(Weske, 2007). On the other hand, software tools are

also very important. The main advantage of this

approach is independence on particular software

modelling tools. It is often necessary to use various

software tools and combine them, whether for

modelling, simulation or even possible optimization

(Kubíček et al., 2010). It is obvious that the resulting

interoperability between used tools plays a key role.

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Figure 2: The process map of Organisation of Intervention.

2.4 Quality Assurance

The Process Framework for EM provides guidance

on how the processes can be effectively deployed in

the field of emergency management. Application of

the process framework shows that ensuring the

overall quality of the modelled processes must be an

integral part of the framework. For this purpose, the

techniques of verification, validation, and

optimization of the processes are used as well as

case studies in the real environment (Reijers, 2003;

Sargent, 2005).

Verification and validation (Sargent, 2005)

enable continuous monitoring and testing of any

software projects. Therefore, it is useful to apply

them in the automation of emergency management

processes. From the view of the process framework

for emergency management it is appropriate to use

verification and validation in the first three phases of

Process Oriented Methodology. The phases are

called: Defining, Modelling and Configuration.

To keep the competitive advantage it is not

enough to deploy business processes but also to

monitor and optimize them continuously. Process

optimization is a discipline of adjusting a process so

as to optimize some specified set of parameters

without violating any constraints. The most common

goals are minimizing costs and maximizing

throughput and efficiency. This leads to a long-term

sustainability. Continuous improvement is therefore

crucial. Processes can be improved not only in the

Optimization phase but also in the Defining,

Modelling or Monitoring phase.

3 CASE STUDY

This paper focuses on the tactical level of

cooperation – activity of the intervention

commander and decision-making support during the

organisation of intervention in the model situation

called Accident of a vehicle transporting dangerous

goods. The principal aim of this research is a cross-

connection of process modelling and adaptive

visualisation in the field of emergency management.

The proposed solution is targeted on support of the

intervention commander activities during the

response phase of the accident of a vehicle with

dangerous goods.

3.1 Process Support of the Intervention

Commander

The event Accident of a vehicle transporting

dangerous goods can be seen in complex view

represented by the UML (Unified Modelling

Language) Use Case Diagram. It is a basic view of

the defining phase of process framework. The main

purpose of the Use Case Diagram is to find and

document modelled business requirements. Created

diagram is verified and approved by user’s

validation. This model is also applicable for EM in

other countries, but other actors and use cases would

probably be administered (Diehl et al., 2006). The

border of the modelled system is defined by the

Czech Fire and Rescue Act. By analysing the

activities within the event, an actor list is created

containing different roles that are assigned to

persons or subjects that use the modelled system.

Having understood the roles of the individual actors,

it is possible to start to design the Use Cases. The

external review of final Use Cases is necessary.

The Use Case is perceived as the specification of

the activities sequence that the system or subsystem

can execute through interacting with external actors.

Each use case can be specified by a process map

(Fiala and Ministr, 2007) incorporating and defining

the activity sequences in the particular directives

(the modelling phase of process framework). A

process is a set of activities arranged in parts. It

creates in a repeatable way required output from one

or more inputs. To illustrate a process map, the use

case called Organisation of Intervention is

elaborated. This directive controlled by the

intervention commander consists of ten activities

illustrated in the process map in Fig. 2. In this way,

the process maps of organisation of intervention are

created. Subsequently the modelled processes are

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simulated. The simulation reveals bottlenecks and

inconsistences. Based on the results the processes

are optimized.

During the configuration phase of process

framework all modelled processes (process maps)

are transformed to the Business Process Execution

Language (BPEL), where the individual process

activities are assigned to the required

geoinformation. Within the activities of the

intervention commander, it is possible to identify

specific tasks that are more or less spatially

dependent and thus require geoinformation support.

To determine what and how to visualise, it is

necessary to decide what parameters will determine

the context in which geographic information will be

used. In order to simplify the application of process

framework for emergency management, the

following parameters were selected to define the

context: USER – member of Fire Rescue Corps,

ACTION – organising of intervention, SITUATION

– accident of a vehicle with dangerous goods,

DEVICE – TabletPC. Broadly, ACTION and

SITUATION determine the knowledge that is

needed for decision-making and thus what to

visualise. USER and DEVICE specify how to

visualise this data, i.e. set the visualisation criteria.

The process formalisation in the BPEL form

specifies which geoinformation are supposed to be

used and finds an appropriate way to visualize them.

The so-called context specific map is used for this

purpose and is visualised over the background of a

topographic base. This BASETOPO is a set of

topographic features that can be reused in other

contexts. The BASETOPO is defined at several

scales – in the application of process framework, the

use of BASETOPO in large-to-middle scale is

expected.

3.2 Terrain Case Studies

The case study was led by the researchers of the

research plan Dynamic Geovisualisation in Crises

Management and represents business processes

deployment and their execution and monitoring

according to the process framework. The case study

was focused on monitoring processes and testing

Contextual Web Map Service (CWMS) and also

technologies for vehicle tracking in a real situation

(Kozel, 2007), namely during a response phase.

During the case study the CWMS client was

deployed into the complex system that provided

support for a fast response to a crisis situation

(Palas, 2010). The system is showed in Fig. 3.

Each vehicle transporting dangerous substances

carries a GPS receiver with an accident sensor and a

GPRS transmitter. All the time the vehicle is

moving, it sends its position in regular intervals via

GPRS to the database that contains positions of all

vehicles. When an accident happens, a signal

alerting the accident is sent to the server which

handles incoming accident signals. A simple PHP

script constantly runs on the server. When a signal

of a new accident is received, the script obtains the

current position of the crashed vehicle from the

vehicle-position database.

Figure 3: Deployment of the CWMS Client.

Furthermore, the script generates an URL of the

CWMS client where location and context of the

accident in parameters are encoded. Such a CWMS

client’s URL is immediately sent to an operational

centre of IRS and consequently to on-scene

responders for the accident via email. Having

received an email informing about the accident, a

man in charge clicks the link and the CWMS client

opens up in a web browser, showing the accident in

the proper context (Bártek et al., 2010).

Regardless of the device, the CWMS client

requests deserved map for the current situation from

the Map-Server via CWMS. Map-Server

immediately requests required spatial data from

Laboratory on Geoinformatics and Cartography

(LGC) WMS Server or Cenia WMS Server and

builds the deserved contextual map which is sent to

the CWMS client afterwards.

Spatial data for contextual maps including

positions of tracked vehicles are provided by LGC

WMS Server, which obtains them from the PostGIS

database via SQL. Cenia WMS Server provides just

aerial photos which might be required for several

contextual maps. Based on the terrain case study

results the complex optimization of the processes

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according to the process framework is available.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The paper introduces a new perspective for the

process analysis and deployment named Process

Framework for EM. A model showed the issue of

processes in two perspectives, both in terms of

process-oriented methodology and in terms of

process architecture. The designed model covers the

issues of crisis management, which makes the

benefits of bridging the two different views even

more transparent. The created model is a supplement

with specifics for crisis management and is therefore

accessible not only to users of IT but also in

emergency management.

The functionality of the Process Framework is

guaranteed by continuous verification, validation

and optimization of emergency processes.

Applicability of the solution is also guaranteed by

the terrain case study that simulates the progress of

typical activities of IRS that describe the Accident of

a vehicle transporting dangerous goods in the real

environment.

To complete the Process Framework, it is

necessary to create and describe a process-oriented

methodology, which will define actions for the

support of processes in crisis management. The

second part consists of hardware and software

analysis. It is also necessary to define interfaces

between components. The use of standards in this

area considerably eases the demands for

interoperability. Functionality and efficiency of

established methodology and architecture will be

validated by case studies. Up to this point the

proposed Process Framework will be considered

final and it can be deployed in practice.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The contribution is part of the research plan no.

MSM0021622418 and the research project no.

FRVS/1035/2011, both supported by the Czech

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

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