Emergency Management

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has directed that all levels of government must maintain a specific level of training and preparedness.  Good business practice demands that private sector companies also be ready for those large-scale emergency or disasters possible in your geographical area. 

Watch House International has a staff diversely trained and experienced in law enforcement, security, fire, medical, emergency management and corporate management.  All of these areas are components of an all-hazards approach to emergency management.  Watch House maximizes the combined experiences of its staff to provide assistance in several critical areas that will help organizations maintain their readiness. 

We have built our emergency management division on five core components, which includes continuity, assessments, training, exercises and grants.  We know that our emergency management experts build sustainable programs that help to ensure continual operations through effective recoveries. 

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CONTINUITY

The Watch House business continuity team provides comprehensive disaster/business recovery and emergency management planning and solutions for your organization.  Watch House emergency management continuity services include:

  • Project Management
  • Management Training
  • Risk Assessment and Mitigation
  • Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP)
  • Emergency Response and Operations
  • Emergency Operations Center Review
  • Awareness and Training Programs
  • Exercise and Drill Training and Facilitation
  • Public Relations and Crisis Coordination
  • Coordination between Public and Private Partners

Watch House follows professional practices, standard methodologies and guidelines defined by industry standards:

  • National Fire Protection Association NFPA 1600: Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs
  • ISO/PAS 22399:2007 Guideline for Incident Preparedness and Operational Continuity Management
  • ANSI/ASIS SPC.1-2009 Organizational Resilience: Security, Preparedness, and Continuity Management Systems

 

 ASSESSMENT

All jurisdictions, organizations and facilities face a certain level of risk associated with various threats or hazards.  These risks may be the result of natural hazards, accidents, or intentional acts of harm.  All risks must be assessed with an all-hazards approach for any time of day or week.  We strive to identify and understand any weak areas and strategically plan how to make them become strong. 

The Watch House team provides assessments that are threat, risk, and/or capabilities-based and compliant with private sector and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) standards utilizing proper forms and assessment tools in addition to private sector standards including: 

  • ISO/IEC 31010:2009, Risk management – Risk Assessment Techniques
  • DHS Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep)
  • DHS Risk for Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS)

 

TRAINING

At Watch House, we promote training as the single most important function an organization can implement to run an effective and efficient operation.  We believe that when placed under stress, occasionally, individuals will rise to the occasion; but more likely we can expect them to default to effective training.  We build our courses on adult learning principles that not only teach best practices based on extensive experience, but also training applications that start the building blocks toward effective habits. 

Some of our emergency management-based training includes:

  • Incident Command Systems (NIMS)
  • Command for Businesses
  • Emergency Response Plan Familiarization
  • Continuity of Operations Planning Development
  • Managing Emergency Operations – Basic and Advanced EOC/DOC operations
  • Corporate Exercise Design and Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) – Basic and Advanced
  • Leadership in Emergency Management
  • Team Building Events
  • Crisis Communications
  • Media Relations
  • Custom programs designed to meet client specific requirements

 

EXERCISES

Once plans are written and implemented the next step is to test them.  There are 15-National Planning scenarios which provide a framework from which to begin.   We offer a wide range of comprehensive and cutting edge exercise scenarios for a broad range of clients from government to business and industry.

Watch House uses the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) which includes reviewing and/or writing plans, policies and procedures, conducting State, Federal and private  sector compliant exercises (customizable for each client); and providing clients with an integrated remediation plan to address planning deficiencies and future needs.

Comprehensive exercise services include:

  • Simulations, Drills, Tabletops, Functional and Full-Scale Exercises
  • Simulation Cell Role Players
  • Exercise Props and Equipment
  • Full After Action Report Development

 

GRANTS

We recognize the importance of the difficulties associated with funding current programs and projected expansions.  The demands on agencies change daily and the ability to recognize, respond and recover from a disaster event is strongly dependent on funding.

Watch House team professionals provide relevant knowledge and understanding of current grant guidelines.  We focus on evaluating a client’s needs, researching grant opportunities and submitting successful proposals to provide our clients with the most successful opportunity to win grant awards to fund their projects.