Lessons on Interoperability: The Shootings at Columbine

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Lessons on Interoperability The Shootings at
Columbine

• National Capital Special Operations Symposium
• Ottawa, Ontario
• November 14-15, 2012

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Presentation Outline

• Case Study Columbine
• Lessons, Problems, and Barriers
• Improving Interoperability and Response Outcomes

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Columbine High School

• Approximately 2,000 students
• 120 Teachers
• 20 Staff Personnel
• 75 Classrooms
• 25 Exterior Doors
• Gymnasium, Cafeteria, Library and Auditorium
• 250,000 square feet

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Explosives
Walk in, set bombs at 1109 for 1117.
Leave. 
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Small Arms and Knives
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Improvised Explosive Devices

• 46 EXPLODED DEVICES
• Outside 2
• Library 26
• Class/Hall 14
• Cafeteria 4
• 30 UNEXPLODED DEVICES
• Outside 13
• Library 5
• Class/Halls 6
• Cafeteria 6

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Initial Operations Fire/EMS

• Triage/Transport
• Transported 26
• Triaged over 160
• Staging Resources
• Fire Strike Team
• Command and Control
• Communications

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Fire/EMS Organization
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Initial Operations Law Enforcement

• SWAT
• Find shooters
• Protect students
• Transport wounded
• Secure perimeter
• Check evacuees for weapons
• Reunite parents and students

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Law Enforcement Organization
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Jefferson County Schools

• Help get students out of building
• Account for students
• Move students to another location
• Reunite students parents
• Mental health service
• Victim advocates
• Brief families and media

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Communications Problems

• Controlling ground-space
• Incompatible communications
• Channel congestion
• System overload

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Command and Control Problems

• Weak coordination
• Low situational awareness
• Paramedics under fire

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Impact

• Slows down the response
• Creates inefficient use of resources
• Reduces operational effectiveness
• Endangers first responders

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Unified Command Strategic Objectives

• Secure perimeter
• Locate/eliminate shooters
• Reach/move wounded
• Triage, treatment, transport

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Joint Operations Total Response

• FIRE
• 6 Departments
• 166 Personnel
• EMS
• 7 Agencies
• 80 Personnel
• LAW ENFORCEMENT
• 28 Agencies
• Over 900 Personnel

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Incident Dynamics

• Improvised Explosive Devices
• Small Arms Fire
• Multiple Casualties
• First Responders Taking Fire
• Structure Fire
• Crime Scene

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Incident Details

• 188 Shots Fired by Harris and Klebold
• 141 Shots Fired by Law Enforcement
• 89 Improvised Explosive Devices
• 15 Killed
• 160 Triaged
• 24 Transported

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Lessons Learned

• Information
• Situational Awareness
• Communications
• Redundancy
• Multi-channel/system operations
• Command and Control
• Resource Management
• Joint Operations
• Multiple jurisdictions and disciplines

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Common Problems

• Planning
• Independent Planning
• Jurisdictional/Organizational Boundaries
• Organizing
• Not Coordinated or Integrated
• Separate Structure/Process
• Communications
• Incompatible Systems
• Congestion/Overload
• Loss of Infrastructure

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Operational Outcome Factors

• Inter-Organizational Planning
• Response Structure
• Decision Making Process
• Communications Systems

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Planning Options

• No Planning
• Not important, not enough time
• Position Based Planning
• This person, in this position, does this function
• Threat Based Planning
• If/Then

• Jurisdiction Based Planning
• Separate Structure/Process
• Capabilities Based Planning
• Objectives/Priorities/Resources
• Joint Regional Planning
• Integrated and Coordinated Structure/Process

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Response Planning
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Organizational Structure

• Separate
• Coordinated
• Integrated

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Separate Structure
A
B
C
E
D
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Coordinated Structure
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Integrated Structure
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Operational Decision Making Cycle
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Social Context of Decision Making

• Local view of operations
• Local actions effect others
• Available time effects success of operations
• Common intent to achieve coordinated action
• Develop common ground before incident
• Consistent exchange and interaction builds social
  relations

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Results of Improved Social Relations

• Improves acquisition and interpretation of
  information
• Reduces decision time and improves quality of
  decisions
• Reduces uncertainty regarding roles,
  responsibilities and abilities
• Reduces goal conflict
• Improves coordination
• Improves ability to adapt

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Communications Systems

• Effective coordination depends on efficient
  communication
• Development of systems based on typical incidents
• High frequency events
• Simple
• Low information demands
• System not capable of dealing with catastrophic
  incidents
• Low frequency events
• Complex
• High information demands

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Frequency and Complexity
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Barriers to Integrated Operations

• Denial/Avoidance
• Financial
• Limited Resources
• Competing Priorities
• Technical
• Obsolete Equipment
• Incompatible Systems
• Cultural
• Competition
• Territorialism
• Self-Sufficiency

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Operational Effect

• Delayed information
• Inaccurate information
• Incomplete information
• Different levels of awareness
• Unclear reporting relationship
• Conflicting decision strategies
• Inefficient resource use
• Increased risk to personnel

• Separate Structure
• Separate Process
• Separate Systems

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Improving Response Effectiveness

• Technology
• People

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Inter-Organizational Approach

• Technological
• Independent organizations that need to talk to
  each other
• Communications systems are the primary concern
• Operational practices do not need to change
• Operational
• Inter-dependant organizations that need to work
  together
• Operational systems are the primary concern
• Operational practices must change

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Definition of Interoperability

• Technical Interoperability the condition
  achieved among communications systems when
  information can be exchanged directly and
  satisfactorily between users
• Operational Interoperability ability of agencies
  to accept services from other agencies and to use
  those services so exchanged to enable them to
  operate effectively together

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Common Sense Definition

• The degree to which organizations or individuals
  are able to operate together to achieve common
  goals.

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Developing Technological Solutions

• Focus
• Communications systems, equipment
• Purpose
• Establish a link voice/data
• Problems
• Ignores importance of operational practices
• Does not recognize complexity of large scale
  incidents
• Impact
• High dollar cost, low impact on effectiveness

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Developing Operational Solutions

• Focus
• Regionalized Operational Networks
• Purpose
• Integration, Collaboration, Coordination
• Problems
• Difficult to change organizational culture
• Denial, competition, territorialism,
  self-sufficiency
• Impact
• Low dollar cost, high impact on effectiveness

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Separate vs. Integrated Operations
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Unity of Effect
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A New Framework

• Old Framework
• Interpretation Interoperability is a technical
  problem
• Approach More money, better technology
• New Framework
• Interpretation Interoperability is a people
  problem
• Approach Change the way we work together, use
  technologies to support operational networks

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Operational Networks

• Relationships formed in order to work together to
  pursue shared goals, address common concerns, and
  attain mutually beneficial ends.
• Organizations exchange information and undertake
  joint activities but retain their individual
  autonomy
• Organizations rely on trust and embedded social
  relationships to provide effective services and
  reduce costs
• Problems are typically resolved through
  discussion, and rules and norms of reciprocity
  ensure cooperation

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Initiating Operational Networks

• Small groups of leaders
• Accept interdependence
• Acknowledge shared latent risk
• Motivated to improve capacity and performance
• Approach change working relationships
• Goal small wins, build network gradually

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Developing Operational Networks

• Determine which organizations should be included
  in the Ops Net
• Understand the nature of current relationships

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Relationships

• Number of links
• Type of interactions
• Level of interactions
• Strength of relationships
• Willingness to commit to collective action
• Power and decision making
• Accountability

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Interactions

• Breadth
• Depth
• Frequency
• Level
• Strength/Trust
• Content/Issues

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Operations

• Incident Structure
• ICS/NIMS
• Integrated
• Decision Process
• Assessment
• Planning
• Action

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Operational Performance

• Organizational Integration
• Decision Coordination
• Quality of Information
• Shared Awareness and Understanding
• Resource Coordination

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Outcomes

• Lives Lost/Saved
• Property Damage
• Social, Political, Economic Impact
• Time to Recovery

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Evaluating OP NET Interactions
Fire B Law EMS
Fire A X X X
Fire B X X
Law X

• Breadth
• Depth
• Frequency
• Level
• Strength/Trust
• Content/Issues

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Evaluating OP NET Operations

• Incident Structure
• ICS/NIMS
• Integrated
• Decision Process
• Assessment
• Planning
• Action

Fire B Law EMS
Fire A X X X
Fire B X X
Law X
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Evaluating OP NET Performance

• Organizational Integration
• Decision Coordination
• Quality of Information
• Shared Awareness and Understanding
• Resource Coordination

Fire B Law EMS
Fire A X X X
Fire B X X
Law X
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Evaluating OP NET Outcomes

• Lives Lost/Saved
• Property Damage
• Social, Political, Economic Impact
• Time to Recovery

Incident A Incident B Incident C
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Preventing C3 Breakdown

• Operational
• Break down cultural barriers
• Develop a joint operations mentality
• Establish regional C3 practices
• Integrated structure and process
• Regional planning and leadership

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Preventing C3 Breakdown

• Technical
• Multiple channel/system operations
• Regional communications
• Leverage existing equipment, infrastructure
• Back-up communications systems
• Offload logistical communications to secondary
  channels or systems
• Use currently available, affordable solutions

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Improving Response Outcomes

• Bring your operational network together
• Map out how the Ops Net functions
• Who included
• How work together Structure/Process
• How exchange information Communications
• Evaluate current performance against criteria
• Develop goals for future performance
• Plan changes operational and technical approach
  to achieve goals

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Improving Operational Performance
People
Decision Process
Organizational Structure
Communications Technology
Performance
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• Understand Command, Control and Communications
• Support the development of operational networks
• Establish operational and technical performance
  criteria
• Evaluate technical systems against operational
  needs

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• Even if you are on the right track, you will get
  run over if you just sit there.
• Will Rogers

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William L. Pessemier, PhD

• Firefighter Safety Research Institute
• wlpessem_at_mho.net
• 303-419-0599