Real-Time Data Management for Incident Command Case Study: Enbridge Oil Spill, Marshall, Mich.

摘要

Oil spill response is a daunting management task. Responses commonly require mobilization of a large work force to recover oil, rescue and clean wildlife, monitor conditions, report progress, and prepare plans for future actions on a 24/7 basis until the spill is contained, recovered, and remediated. Clean up efforts are documented meticulously with photographs, manifests, chains of custody, personnel logs, equipment inventories, and written reports. The daily volume of data generated is enormous. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) taking a more active role in federalizing spill responses across the country, pipeline companies and first responders must be even better prepared. Incident command team leaders require up-to-the-minute information to guide the response team; they need to know if the leak is stopped, if the spill is contained, where resources need to be focused, what kind of equipment available, and how many people are on site to help. Real-time summarization of the enormous volume of documentation is simply unrealistic. This paper describes how one pipeline company, Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., used web-connected touchpad personal computers, Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled digital cameras, and OneTouchPM® to present enormous volumes of information in real time at an oil spill site in Marshall, Mich.