16) Virginia's VOIS Will Keep Agencies in Touch in Emergencies
System also provides information for motorists.
Emergencies
happen. They come in destructive storms, HAZMAT spills,
multi-vehicle pileups, and even acts of war or terrorism. Recognizing those
possibilities, Virginia's state agencies stand ready to respond with
trained personnel and critical equipment. But they need something else:
good communications among all participants.
A
communications system developed by VDOT over the past six years will meet
that need. Called VOIS, or the Virginia Operational Information System,
this system is becoming the primary means of on-line communication between
state agencies, and with many more organizations in the future.
"It's
a vehicle to request help. They can ask us and we can ask them," says
Tammy Thomas of VDOT's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Information about
incidents and resources to counteract them will be primary topics of
discussion via VOIS, she says. Thomas, David Parker, Mark Eggeman, also of
VDOT's EOC, have taken the lead and the lion's share of the labor in
developing VOIS capabilities.
VDOT
developed new software for VOIS after polling other agencies about
their needs.
VDOT has
just installed new software for VOIS, which earlier used
proprietary software, an extra cost to the effort. The enhancements were
developed by VDOT after extensive polling of all state agencies to assess
their inter-agency communications needs. VDOT is testing it, and after the
bugs are worked out, other agencies will be invited to tie into VOIS and
partner in the efforts to improve communication between agencies.
To join
VOIS, an agency needs a web browser, Internet connection, and
access to VDOT's intranet system (which is gained with a VOIS logon). Once
on the intranet, the agency user clicks onto VOIS and begins communicating.
Users from any state agency will be restricted in the areas where they can
"read" (or see) information belonging to another agency, and restricted
even more in areas where they can "write" (or enter data).
At this
time, the Department of Emergency Management, Virginia State
Police, Department of Forestry, Department of Rail and Public
Transportation, the Sterling Office of the National Weather Service, and
VDOT are committed to communicating over VOIS.
But many
more agencies and other public units will be joining the
communication effort in the near future. At that point, VOIS will go onto
the Internet (not VDOT’s intranet, its current location) where other
agencies will have access to VOIS via a secured logon process. Fire
departments, school systems, county governments, other state DOTs, among
others, will come on-line to learn and share about emergency and disaster
details.
"Once
we open it up to all agencies, it will be an enormous help to our
many people and their operations," says Thomas, who has been in on the
development of the system since the fall of 1994. "Our sister agencies are
waiting for this to happen," she adds.
VDOT has
been working on the system since early in 1994, when the EOC
purchased software to automate the reporting of winter road conditions,
which had been done manually over the "M-6" forms. In 1997, road conditions
were provided on the Internet through the VDOT web page. This grew to
include reporting of all emergencies, man-made or natural. The new software
will greatly expand the ability not only of VDOT but also of other agencies
to get information when its needed in a hurry.
With
software just installed:
Road condition reports to be timelier, easier to enter in field offices
Installation of the new VOIS web application not only helps state agencies
communicate among themselves, it also makes data entry easier for VDOTers
who update road conditions for VDOT's Web page and its Highway Helpline
(1-800-367-ROAD).
After
training on the enhanced program, team members from several residents
had high praise for the software, as well as for Emergency Operations
Center staff from the Central Office who had facilitated the changes and
training for them. They cited the VOIS team - Tammy Thomas, David Parker,
and Mark Eggeman - for their constant readiness to help them with glitches.
Lynne
Sprinkel, Culpeper Residency executive secretary, de-scribed the
software as "a lot friendlier and much easier." She likes the drop-down
boxes and icons, which she says make the reporting system a lot simpler.
The system does not require much typing to describe routes and details, as
did the old forms, which were often troublesome for some maintenance team
members who did not type, she noted. "I'm very excited about this program,"
Sprinkel added.
David
Morrison, Materials Section, Bristol District, described the new
software as "easier to access" and "available to more people." He also
thought that the new software facilitated more accurate road
information-and more timely information as well.
Timeliness
of information (as in moving toward "real time" information)
will change with the new web-enabled system because field personnel will no
longer report road conditions at particular times as in the past. Rather,
they will report road condition changes as they happen, on a continuous
basis.
Reporting
in the future will be quicker and more timely because VDOT
residencies will enter conditions for the counties they serve, rather than
transmitting them to a district office, which used a dedicated computer to
send the conditions on to the Emergency Operations Center in the Central
Office. In addition, any residency employee, with training and
authorization can enter the conditions on his or her own terminal through
the intranet, because fewer computer skills are required now.
"It's
going to be a world of difference," says Bristol District's Morrison.
Thanks to
Holly Winslow, Chuck Armstrong, Donna Purcell Mayes and the
Public Affairs staff at VDOT for providing these articles.
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The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically
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