IMI - An information system for effective Multidisciplinary Incident Management

The field of crisis response and disaster management can be characterized, upon many other factors, by distributed operations, not daily routine work and multidisciplinary aspects. In designing and developing information systems for crisis response these factors need special attention. On behalf of regional emergency services, TNO Physics and Electronics Laboratory designed and guided commissioning of the IMI project (Information System for Multidisciplinary Incident Management). Four regional fire departments in Zuid-Holland decided to develop the information system. The Rotterdam region was selected as project pilot. The IMI-project was carried out with experiences and a background of military command and control where the above three factors also play a major role. In this paper we will elaborate on the reasons behind the design of the functionalities of the IMI-system