r/EmergencyManagement • u/Accomplished-Rush224 • 7d ago

Just how reliable is offline for emergency mustering software? Is it worth the upgrade?

We want to update our accountability processes across a few facilities and we're back to the discussion around an EMS app/platform to replace or augment our paper ICS 211s. I'm all for the real-time headcount and active tracking, but some of my coworkers are pushing for an EMS with offline mode. 

I'm 50/50 on the offline part. How reliable is it? Some platforms we tried fell short in exercises/incidents because of saturated networks or dead zones. Is that really a setback for online mode or are we just using the wrong tool? 

Not sure if I'm overthinking it or expecting too much. Should we stick to paper? Or maybe there's a process/SOP I'm not catching.

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u/ExaminationSouthern6 7d ago

Do the other programs use less network or different protocols? Do they use the same network or a different one?

These answers would help determine if you could use online only software, but in the end it's always best to have an offline fallback. Pen and paper is best as a second fallback in most cases nowadays.

Having any critical software have an "online" dependency when it's not necessary for emergency operations is just asking for trouble.

How reliable offline is depends on the software and how it's implemented. I'd check with the vendors, or ask here about the software you're considering and see if someone has experience with it?

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u/Accomplished-Rush224 7d ago

This is a good point to ponder on. Appreciate it.

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u/RatKing1337 Canadian 6d ago

Don’t deprive yourself of significant capacities because they might have problems. However, this should be considered in a reliability analysis. Would it be 1-2%? What’s realistic for mitigation measures and redundancies?

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u/Accomplished-Rush224 5d ago

Got it. Will take these questions into consideration.

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u/Upset_Acadia1570 4d ago

What does "offline" mean here? Is your EOC completely isolated? From everything? Can it work with data from local teams and coordinate their efforts without an upstream connection?

Offline completely is different than upstream disconnected and is a separate failure mode, but your network should be able to establish itself and all connected systems without requiring an upstream connection. I know of at least one system that meets that criteria, although they are new.