Global Emergency Management was created to provide a venue for innovative and comprehensive emergency management through teamwork. GEM's moto, Success through Teamwork, outlines our approach to all projects. You, as the client, are a valuable member of the project team providing input and decision making every step of the way. When decisions must be made you will be provided with alternatives and recommendations. Your decisions become informed choices! When the project is completed you will have a sense of ownership in the final product as you played a significant role in its development.
No matter if you are a public agency or a private business with 10 or 10,000 employees--our services are tailored to suit your needs. Within the capabilities of GEMS's staff we address any problem or need. However, conditions arise that may require the involvement of highly specialized individuals. In these cases, GEM works with sub-consultants who have a proven track record.
The following briefly outlines our services:
Preparedness
One of the key components of emergency management is preparedness. That is being prepared to anticipate, respond to and recover from any situation. We will develop and present materials designed specifically for your employees' and workplace preparedness as well as home preparedness. Our services are not aimed at one or possibly two hazards: we take an "all hazards" approach considering natural, technological, and man-made hazards.
Mitigation
Mitigation is the process of reducing your vulnerabilities to hazards. By reducing the vulnerability, you reduce the potential for damage, and you increase the probablity for remaining operational following a disaster. Mitigation strategies consist of both structural and non-structural options and can include: strengthening your structures to better respond to the forces imposed by hazards; nonstructural work such as anchoring bookshelves, file cabinets, computers, etc.; obtaining emergency generators to provide your electrical needs if the power is out; identifying alternate locations to resume business; or any action aimed at protecting your assets. GEM will identify measures, evaluate their cost-effectiveness, develop hazard mitigation plans prioritizing options, assist you in finding engineers and contractors to design and implement the projects, and represent you during construction.
Response
Response covers several areas of services we provide. For public agencies we provide full planning services to develop your emergency response plans to include: response organization, coordination, communication, checklists, position descriptions, etc. For agencies in California we are fully versed and certified in the Standardized Emergency Management System and ensure that your plans will comply with SEMS regulations. Outside of California GEM staff has the knowledge and experience to implement and enhance your emergency responses through the Incident Command System. For departments within governments, GEM develops Standard Operating Procedures to comply with your jurisdiction's emergency plan and SEMS and/or ICS requirements. For a plan to work effectively, the staff must be trained. GEM provides complete training for staff including the development and implementation of tabletop, functional, and field exercises. GEM staff also provides assistance during your response operations. For private sector business, see Business Continuity Planning.
Recovery
An effective emergency response does not necessarily restore the agency or business to pre-disaster operations. For all disaster management it is imperative that emergency response plans include a recovery annex. GEM develops the recovery annex tailored to the needs and operations of the jurisdition, department, or agency. As a public entity or private non-profit agency, being prepared for recovery opeations allows you to capitalize on FEMA's Public Assistance Program and maximize reasonable and timely settlements ensuring that facilities are properly repaired and the reasons for the damage are mitigated. Additionally, for public entities, we assist you in developing repair codes and ordinances. Federal regulations now require that repair codes or ordinances must be formally adopted and in place prior to the date of disaster declaration (by the President) to be eligible for consideration in funding repairs. Staff must be trained in recovery plans to rapidly recover from any event. GEM's training services extend into recovery operations. GEM staff provides valuable assistance to you during recovery operations. For private sector business, see Services Provided under Business Continuity Planning.
Business Continuity Planning
For the private sector we provide full planning services to develop your business continuity plans. These are plans intended to minimize the potential for business interruption/ disruption and include: a business impact analysis to identify vulnerabilities; response and recovery organization and operational guidelines; and functional annexes to address specific needs and issues. GEM provides full services in this arena that include training. We develop and present training to your entire staff in the use of the business continuity plan. After training, we design and develop tabletop exercises to walk you through operations and then design and implement a functional exercise intended to 'test' the concepts included in the plan. Our staff evaluates the exercises and assists you to identify any modifications that need to be made in the plan. GEM is available to assist you during actual operations and represent you with your insurance carrier(s).
