Standards-setting and its implementation through the classification system for international urban search and rescue teams

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-245
Author(s):  
Yosuke Okita, MA ◽  
Rajib Shaw, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
General Assembly Resolution ◽  
Implementation Of Standards ◽  
Clear Goal

The network of international urban search and rescue (USAR) teams, International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), has started its unique classification system called INSARAG External Classification (IEC) since 2005. In IEC, teams are classified into Heavy or Medium category, and as of the end of 2018, more than 50 teams have been classified. It seems that, through IEC, INSARAG successfully implements the standards such as the INSARAG Guidelines although the document is nonbinding. This article analyzes why IEC has got strong support from international USAR teams and what are the keys to successful implementation of standards in international emergency management. It concludes that it has been successful because, for example, INSARAG carefully gains a consensus from the member states when creating the standards, reiterates the minimum standards instead of the best practices, and sets the clear goal. The endorsement at the UN General Assembly Resolution also contributed to gaining support. Although there are some issues which need to be considered to maintain the system in the future, the lessons of the IEC model can be used for other fields of international disaster and emergency management.

Urban Search and Rescue Medical Teams: FEMA Task Force System

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Barbera ◽  
Michael Lozano
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Federal Emergency Management Agency ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Force System ◽  
Management Agency ◽  
Task Forces ◽  
Medical Teams

AbstractRecent national and international disasters involving collapsed structures and trapped casualties (Mexico City; Armenia; Iran; Philippines; Charleston, South Carolina; Loma Prieta, California; and others) have provoked a heightened national concern for the development of an adequate capability to respond quickly and effectively to this type of calamity. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has responded to this need by developing an Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Response System, a national system of multi-disciplinary task forces for rapid deployment to the site of a collapsed structure incident. Each 56person task force includes a medical team capable of providing advanced emergency medical care both for task force members and for victims located and reached by the sophisticated search, rescue, and technical components of the task force. This paper reviews the background and development of urban search and rescue, and describes the make-up and function of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Task Force medical teams.

scholarly journals Modelling Wireless Robots for Urban Search and Rescue in Artificial Rubble

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tik Wa Charles Tsui
Keyword(s):  
Wireless Communication ◽  
Wireless Network ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Communication Link ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Safe Distance ◽  
Tier System ◽  
Rescue Personnel

<p>Using robots to assist rescue personnel in USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) missions is an active area of research. Researchers are developing robots to penetrate into rubble to gather information about the environment and to search for victims. The School of Engineering and Computer Science of Victoria University of Wellington is developing a team of robots, the "robot family" to help at disasters. The robot family is a three-tier system. The first tier the "grandmother" which carries second tier "mother robots" to the rubble. The mother robot each launches a group of the third tier "daughter robots" that will penetrate the rubble surface. The daughter robots will burrow deep into the disaster site. They will be equipped with sensors to search for and locate trapped persons. They are designed to be small, battery operated, low cost and disposable. The team of robots is hierarchically structured and to be remotely monitored by rescue personnel at a safe distance from the rubble via a wireless communication link. This thesis describes the successful implementation of a wireless communication platform for the team of robots. This was verified using a simulated rubble site. A suitable ZigBee wireless module was selected by comparing a list of target brands to form the wireless network. A group of simulated wireless daughter robot models were developed by attaching wireless modules to microcontrollers. An automatic routing wireless network was implemented between the robots. They were deployed into artificial rubble and the communication system was characterised. Proof of concept experiments were carried out and demonstrated that rescue personnel using a computer at a safe distance outside the rubble could successfully establish reliable communication to monitor or control all robots inside the artificial rubble environment.</p>

Effects of the classification system in international SAR

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosuke Okita ◽  
Rajib Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Classification System ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Disaster Assessment ◽  
Affected Country ◽  
2015 Nepal Earthquake

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse if the classification system introduced by International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), or INSARAG External Classification (IEC), contributes to effective international search and rescue (SAR) activities in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Design/methodology/approach In addition to the data collected by Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, the data were collected by one of the authors who was deployed to Nepal as part of the UNDAC just after the earthquake. Interviews with the deployed international SAR teams and the INSARAG Secretariat were also conducted. Findings Although more than 50 teams have been classified in IEC, some IEC-classified teams could not utilise their full capabilities in the Nepal response. For example, they did not necessarily arrive in Nepal earlier than the non-classified teams, but it was because the affected country did not prioritise the IEC-classified teams. To save more lives by international teams, INSARAG will need to raise the awareness of IEC in receiving countries, consider the good regional balance of IEC-classified teams and facilitate strengthening local SAR capabilities through the IEC process. Originality/value The added value of this study is, by combining the evidence-based field reality and academic analysis, to find out the existing problems in the field and to provide tangible recommendations for further improvement of the IEC system, which will then lead to saving more lives.

scholarly journals Modelling Wireless Robots for Urban Search and Rescue in Artificial Rubble

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tik Wa Charles Tsui
Keyword(s):  
Wireless Communication ◽  
Wireless Network ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Communication Link ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Safe Distance ◽  
Tier System ◽  
Rescue Personnel

<p>Using robots to assist rescue personnel in USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) missions is an active area of research. Researchers are developing robots to penetrate into rubble to gather information about the environment and to search for victims. The School of Engineering and Computer Science of Victoria University of Wellington is developing a team of robots, the "robot family" to help at disasters. The robot family is a three-tier system. The first tier the "grandmother" which carries second tier "mother robots" to the rubble. The mother robot each launches a group of the third tier "daughter robots" that will penetrate the rubble surface. The daughter robots will burrow deep into the disaster site. They will be equipped with sensors to search for and locate trapped persons. They are designed to be small, battery operated, low cost and disposable. The team of robots is hierarchically structured and to be remotely monitored by rescue personnel at a safe distance from the rubble via a wireless communication link. This thesis describes the successful implementation of a wireless communication platform for the team of robots. This was verified using a simulated rubble site. A suitable ZigBee wireless module was selected by comparing a list of target brands to form the wireless network. A group of simulated wireless daughter robot models were developed by attaching wireless modules to microcontrollers. An automatic routing wireless network was implemented between the robots. They were deployed into artificial rubble and the communication system was characterised. Proof of concept experiments were carried out and demonstrated that rescue personnel using a computer at a safe distance outside the rubble could successfully establish reliable communication to monitor or control all robots inside the artificial rubble environment.</p>

scholarly journals Voluntary Rescue Service in Hungary: The HUSZÁR Team

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Tamás Hábermayer ◽  
Péter Horváth
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
Technical Equipment ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Rescue Service ◽  
Rescue Services ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
National Organisation

HUSZÁR, the Hungarian National Organisation for Rescue Services, was founded in 2012 and now has a staff of over 80. HUSZÁR is a special rescue unit that can be deployed in domestic and international disaster management. Based on the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (UN INSARAG) classification, HUSZÁR is a medium level urban search and rescue team and its units are equipped with special skills and technical equipment. A special feature of the team is volunteerism combined with professional interventional skills. Its subunits can manage individual interventions, they have participated in several international disaster relief tasks following earthquakes and tsunamis, and they have also played an active role in the preparation of other nations’ rescue teams.

Urban Search and Rescue with Anti-pheromone Robot Swarm architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Martin Garcia ◽  
Daniel Hernandez de la Iglesia ◽  
Juan F. de Paz ◽  
Valderi R. Q. Leithardt ◽  
Gabriel Villarrubia
Keyword(s):  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Robot Swarm

scholarly journals Implementation of the Family HELP Protocol: A Feasibility Project for a West Texas ICU

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Rebecca McClay
Keyword(s):  
Strong Support ◽  
Family Intervention ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Positive Perception ◽  
Family Presence ◽  
West Texas ◽  
The Family ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
High Level ◽  
Near Future

The purpose of this project was to determine if bedside intensive care unit (ICU) nurse buy-in to the Family Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) protocol was sufficient to make implementation feasible at one county hospital in West Texas. Surveys were anonymous with ballot box collection being available to the bedside ICU nurses for one week each. Questions were based on literature findings of expected outcomes, identified barriers and facilitators, Calgary Family Intervention Method framework domains, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Framework for program evaluation. Outcome measures were taken from the stated aims of the project and evaluated from paired baseline and summative survey questions. Survey participation was approximately half of nurses employed in the studied ICU. Analysis of the surveys showed a positive perception of family presence decreasing patient delirium symptoms, and a positive perception of the Family HELP protocol. The results described a high perception of family members as partners in care and high intention to implement the Family HELP protocol, indicating strong support of a full implementation of the protocol. The high level of bedside nurse buy-in present in this study has large implications for successful implementation of the Family HELP protocol in the near future, with sustainability and continued use supported by potential inclusion of the task in the electronic health record charting.

scholarly journals Toward a Fully Autonomous UAV: Research Platform for Indoor and Outdoor Urban Search and Rescue

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodor Tomic ◽  
Korbinian Schmid ◽  
Philipp Lutz ◽  
Andreas Domel ◽  
Michael Kassecker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Research Platform ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor
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