NIMS/ICS in a Private Sector Company

By PETER LAZ, CBCP

Most people are aware that the National Incident Management System/Incident Command System (NIMS/ICS) was developed, refined, and is used heavily by public sector entities. These include the federal Department of Homeland Security, state and county Emergency Management Office, and local fire and police departments.
While it is true these entities do not have matching priorities nor are they structured exactly the same as private institutions, both sectors have a need for and potential benefit from using the ICS model to manage events that may cause a disruption to normal operations.
What makes this model so applicable and useful to organizations with such different environments? I would argue that there are some basic principles of the ICS design that serve as the catalyst in achieving critical incident management benefits. This column will briefly mention three of these principles.
Command and control is a critical component of ICS, of which there are three main aspects: chain of command, unity of command, and transfer of command. Chain of command means there is an orderly line of authority to the single incident commander. Additionally, the chain of command concept speaks of a limited number of individuals that one person can effectively manage (span of control). Unity of command states that every individual has only one designated supervisor. Unity of command should not be confused with unified command, which is a management process that allows all entities who have jurisdictional responsibility for the incident to jointly develop a common set of objectives and strategies. Transfer of command relates to the process by which a different individual assumes leadership. This is important for two primary reasons. First, one person cannot continue effectively in a leadership role indefinitely; a transfer of command allows down time and a period of rest. Second, command may be transferred if a more qualified person becomes available to assume the leadership role.
Common terminology is another fundamental principle of ICS. This is illustrated on the public sector side by the terms and codes that police and fire departments use on their radios. This is also an issue for private sector emergency managers. For example, if you need to have “rocks” removed from in front of your office building and you call for a truck, does that mean you need a small pickup truck to remove the five to 10 rocks that each weigh 10 to 20 pounds? Or do you require a truck that can carry 25, 200-pound rocks? Or do you need a resource that falls in between those two extremes? Requests for resources need to be specific. What one person would call “a truck for some rocks” can mean something different to the person who may dispatch such a resource. With a common list of pre-defined terms for specific resources, the right resource can be provided more quickly and with less confusion.
Function and flexibility are also critical principles. With regard to function, the incident command system organizes resources around the functions they perform. To give a high-level explanation: the planning section maps out what needs to be done; the logistics section ensures the requested resources are delivered to where they are needed. The operations section does the work, and the finance/administration section handles the finances, contracts, etc. Flexibility is important because it allows ICS organization structure to be “right-sized.” During smaller incidents or for those incidents that start small and grow over time, it may not be necessary to fully activate each of the functional areas. But for larger events, flexibility is a tremendous advantage. The size of your response organization should expand (or contract) to match the needs of the specific incident. The ability to accommodate and manage incidents of differing magnitudes is what makes ICS such a valuable asset in your response tool box.
As stated earlier, these are only three of the ICS principles that will provide measurable benefits to your organization. If you have not had the opportunity to learn more about ICS, I encourage you to do so. Do not make the mistake of thinking “it won’t work here because we’re not a public sector entity.”
There are multiple choices you can consider for education on NIMS/ICS. For example:

• The Emergency Management Institute offers online courses at www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/.
• Your state emergency management office should provide the federal training curriculum.
• DRJ conferences offer breakout sessions and pre- and post-conference courses on the topic.
• Your local Association of Contingency Planners (ACP) chapter may also provide education as part of its program.

While there are finer details of ICS that may not be needed or appropriate for your given private sector company, the core of the system can be applied to your emergency management environment for the purpose of creating an effective and efficient system to manage incidents.

Peter Laz, CBCP, is a business continuity consultant with Forsythe Technology and has 18 years of experience designing and implementing disaster recovery, business continuity, and incident management programs. He is a member of the DRJ Editorial Advisory Board, board of director of PPBI, and membership director of the Capital Region Chapter ACP. He can be reached at plaz@forsythe.com.

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