Emergency Management Resource Guide
Understanding Emergency Management
Emergency management involves much more than responding when something goes wrong. It is the process of identifying risk, developing plans, strengthening capabilities, training people, and building the systems needed to protect life, property, and continuity of operations.
The terminology can be complex. This guide explains common emergency management terms and how Doberman Emergency Management applies them across schools and universities, communities, venues, critical facilities, and other organizations.
Planning & Preparedness
Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
An Emergency Operations Plan establishes how an organization will respond to emergencies and coordinate people, resources, and decisions. Doberman develops, reviews, and updates EOPs using stakeholder input, risk data, site-specific conditions, and training to ensure plans work beyond the page.
Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
An Emergency Action Plan outlines immediate actions people should take during a specific emergency or operational situation. Doberman helps organizations develop practical procedures that clarify responsibilities, communications, evacuation, sheltering, and response actions.
Occupant Emergency Plan (OEP)
An Occupant Emergency Plan organizes how people within a facility or campus will respond to an emergency. Doberman adapts OEP principles to the needs of schools, universities, facilities, and other complex environments, including leadership roles, response organizations, and site-specific procedures.
Incident Action Plan (IAP)
An Incident Action Plan provides a structured approach for managing a specific incident or operational period. Doberman uses IAP principles to help leadership and response teams establish objectives, assignments, resources, communications, and operational priorities.
Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)
A Continuity of Operations Plan identifies how an organization will continue its most important functions during and after a disruption. Doberman helps organizations identify critical operations, dependencies, personnel, facilities, technology, and recovery priorities.
Emergency Management Program
An emergency management program brings together the plans, people, training, resources, policies, and processes an organization needs to manage risk and respond to emergencies. Doberman can help organizations establish a program from the ground up or strengthen an existing one.
All-Hazards Approach
An all-hazards approach considers the broad range of natural, human-caused, and technological hazards that could affect an organization. Doberman uses data and site-specific analysis to determine which hazards actually matter most to each client rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
Risk & Vulnerability Assessments
Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA)
A Hazard Vulnerability Assessment identifies and evaluates hazards that could affect an organization, community, campus, or facility. Doberman combines hazard data with potential impacts to life, property, and continuity of operations to help clients prioritize mitigation and planning resources.
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment examines threats, vulnerabilities, likelihood, consequences, and existing protective measures to understand where an organization is most exposed. Doberman uses research, field experience, data, and site-specific information to develop actionable recommendations.
Threat & Vulnerability Assessment
Threat and vulnerability assessments examine what could threaten an organization and where existing systems, processes, or infrastructure may be vulnerable. Doberman evaluates both the physical environment and operational practices to identify opportunities to reduce risk.
Physical Security Assessment
A physical security assessment evaluates the physical features, technology, procedures, and practices that protect people and property. Doberman conducts site assessments that can include access control, surveillance, emergency communications, site conditions, and geospatial data collection.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
A Business Impact Analysis identifies the consequences of losing critical functions, systems, resources, or facilities. Doberman uses BIA findings to help organizations prioritize continuity strategies and determine what must be protected or restored first.
Response & Coordination
Incident Command System (ICS)
The Incident Command System provides a standardized structure for managing incidents and coordinating personnel and resources. Doberman incorporates ICS principles into planning, training, and exercises so organizations can integrate effectively with emergency responders and other agencies.
National Incident Management System (NIMS)
NIMS provides a common framework for governments, organizations, and response agencies to work together during emergencies. Doberman helps clients integrate NIMS principles into emergency plans, training, exercises, and interagency coordination.
Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
An Emergency Operations Center is a designated location or capability where leadership and support personnel coordinate information, resources, and decisions during an incident. Doberman supports EOC design, organization, procedures, and management based on the operational needs of each organization.
Crisis Response Organization
A crisis response organization establishes who is responsible for making decisions and carrying out critical functions during an emergency. Doberman helps clients identify key stakeholders, establish roles and authorities, and build an organization that can function under pressure.
Interagency Coordination
Interagency coordination brings multiple organizations together before and during an emergency to establish communication, responsibilities, resources, and response procedures. Doberman works with public safety agencies, emergency managers, organizational leadership, and other partners to strengthen coordination before an incident occurs.
Mutual Aid
Mutual aid agreements establish how organizations or agencies can share personnel, equipment, resources, and assistance during emergencies. Doberman helps communities and organizations identify coordination needs and incorporate mutual aid into their emergency planning.
Communication & Situational Awareness
Emergency Mass Notification
Emergency mass notification systems distribute critical information to people during an emergency. Doberman develops communication strategies, policies, message templates, training, and testing procedures while remaining technology-provider agnostic.
Crisis Communications
Crisis communications establish how an organization communicates with employees, stakeholders, the public, media, and response partners during a crisis. Doberman helps leadership develop clear communication strategies and decision-making frameworks before an emergency occurs.
Situational Awareness
Situational awareness is the ability to understand what is happening, what has changed, and what may happen next. Doberman combines real-time information, historical incidents, threat information, vulnerability data, and geospatial technology to give decision-makers a clearer operational picture.
Geospatial Intelligence
Geospatial intelligence uses location-based information to understand hazards, vulnerabilities, resources, and operational conditions. Doberman's analysts use geospatial data and custom tools to support risk assessments, planning, evacuation, situational awareness, and emergency response.
Emergency Notification Policies
Emergency notification policies establish when, how, and by whom emergency messages are issued. Doberman helps organizations develop policies and scenario-specific templates that support fast, consistent, and accurate communication.
Training & Exercises
Tabletop Exercise (TTX)
A tabletop exercise is a facilitated discussion in which leaders and key personnel work through a simulated emergency scenario. Doberman uses realistic scenarios to test plans, decision-making, communication, coordination, and identify areas for improvement.
Functional Exercise
A functional exercise tests specific emergency-management functions without requiring a full physical deployment. Doberman designs exercises around an organization's actual plans, capabilities, personnel, and risks.
Full-Scale Exercise
A full-scale exercise simulates an emergency with a higher degree of operational realism and may involve multiple departments, agencies, responders, and resources. Doberman develops and facilitates exercises designed to test coordination and real-world response capabilities.
Drills
Drills provide focused practice of a specific procedure, system, or skill. Doberman develops site-specific drills for activities such as evacuation, shelter-in-place, emergency communications, severe weather, fire safety, and other critical response procedures.
After-Action Report (AAR)
An After-Action Report documents what happened during an incident or exercise, what worked, what did not, and what should change. Doberman uses after-action findings to develop practical improvement recommendations and strengthen future readiness.
Improvement Planning
Improvement planning turns lessons identified through exercises, incidents, assessments, and after-action reviews into specific actions. Doberman helps organizations establish priorities, responsibilities, and measurable steps to strengthen their emergency management capabilities.
Emergency Response & Life Safety
Evacuation Planning
Evacuation planning establishes how people will safely move away from a hazard or dangerous area. Doberman evaluates routes, building and site conditions, population considerations, communications, accessibility, and coordination requirements to develop practical evacuation procedures.
Mustering Locations
Mustering locations are designated areas where people gather after evacuating a building or site. Doberman uses site-specific analysis and geospatial information to identify locations that support safe accountability, emergency access, and response operations.
Shelter-in-Place
Shelter-in-place procedures direct people to remain inside a building or designated area when evacuation would create greater risk. Doberman develops shelter-in-place procedures based on the hazards, facility characteristics, population, and response capabilities of each client.
Reunification Planning
Reunification planning establishes how students, employees, families, or other affected populations will safely reconnect following an emergency. Doberman addresses locations, transportation, accountability, communications, security, and the coordination required to manage reunification effectively.
Crisis Response
Crisis response encompasses the immediate actions taken to protect people, stabilize an incident, communicate information, and support the transition toward recovery. Doberman helps organizations establish the plans, roles, resources, and training needed to respond effectively.
Mass Casualty Incident (MCI)
A Mass Casualty Incident occurs when the number or severity of patients exceeds the immediate capacity of available medical resources. Doberman incorporates MCI considerations into planning, training, exercises, medical response strategies, evacuation, and coordination with emergency responders.
Bleeding Control
Bleeding control focuses on providing immediate lifesaving care for severe bleeding before professional medical help arrives. Through its Impulse program, Doberman helps organizations strategically place bleeding-control kits and train personnel to use them effectively.
Specialized Hazards
CBRN
CBRN refers to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear hazards that can create complex emergency response challenges. Doberman incorporates CBRN considerations into risk assessments, emergency plans, training, exercises, and coordination with specialized response partners.
Hazardous Materials (Hazmat)
Hazardous materials can create risks through spills, releases, fires, exposure, or contamination. Doberman evaluates potential sources, identifies vulnerabilities, and develops planning and response strategies appropriate to the surrounding environment.
Severe Weather Planning
Severe weather planning prepares organizations to make timely decisions during threats such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flooding, extreme temperatures, and other weather events. Doberman develops procedures, communication strategies, decision points, and training based on the organization's location and specific vulnerabilities.
Active Threat Response
Active threat response planning prepares organizations to recognize, communicate, respond to, and recover from rapidly evolving acts of violence. Doberman combines awareness training, site-specific planning, coordination with first responders, and exercises to strengthen organizational readiness.
Cybersecurity Incident Response
Cybersecurity incidents can disrupt critical systems, communications, operations, and essential services. Doberman incorporates cybersecurity considerations into emergency management planning and works with specialized cybersecurity partners when deeper technical assessment is required.
Mitigation & Resilience
Hazard Mitigation
Hazard mitigation focuses on actions taken before an incident to reduce its likelihood or impact. Doberman identifies vulnerabilities and recommends changes to infrastructure, technology, procedures, resources, and operations that can reduce risk.
Critical Infrastructure Protection
Critical infrastructure protection focuses on identifying and safeguarding the systems and assets an organization or community depends upon. Doberman evaluates vulnerabilities and continuity requirements to help protect essential operations during disruption.
Business Continuity
Business continuity focuses on maintaining critical organizational functions when normal operations are disrupted. Doberman helps clients identify essential functions, dependencies, resources, and recovery priorities so operations can continue through challenging circumstances.
Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery addresses the restoration of systems, facilities, operations, and services following a significant disruption. Doberman integrates recovery considerations into broader continuity and emergency management planning.
Resilience
Resilience is an organization's ability to withstand disruption, adapt to changing conditions, continue critical functions, and recover from an incident. Doberman strengthens resilience through planning, mitigation, training, technology, coordination, and continuous improvement.
Emergency Management for Your Organization
Emergency management terminology only matters when it translates into action. Doberman Emergency Management works with schools and universities, communities, venues, critical facilities, and other organizations to turn assessments, plans, technology, and training into practical readiness.
Identify the risk. Build the plan. Train the people. Strengthen readiness.