Improving emergency

rescue response time

in Natural Disasters-
Caucasus area
Tofig
Blanca
Estabarak
Keshnie
Agenda

1. Overview - Application of Six Sigma on project

2. Define phase
3. Measure phase
4. Analyze phase
5. Improve phase
6. Control phase
 DMAIC Cycle Overview

Define Measure Analyze Improve Control

● Process
● Project flow ● Summary of ● Alternatives
Charter contributing that can be
● Risk
factors applied to
Analysis ●
● Review solve the Summary of
● Ranking of problem control plan
Existing ● Cause &
factors
data Effect
analysis ● Option
selected
● 5 Why’s
 DMAIC Cycle - Define

Objectives:
• Define the issue
• Define the project scope
 DMAIC Cycle – Define
PROJECT CHARTER

Project Title: Improving emergency rescue response time in Natural Disasters - Caucasus area

Project Team: Stakeholders: Problem Statement: In the past 12 years, the

•Project Leader: Estabarak •Emergency crews Caucasus region has lost a total of 45k lives as a result
•Project Sponsor: Caucasus Governments •Geo-technicians of natural disasters. This represents 0.5% of the
Caucasus population and has resulted in over 14
•Project Manager: Blanca •Dept of Security
billion $
•Team Members: Keshnie and Tofig •Government entities

Project Scope: Project outcome(s):

•To understand possible causes of emergency crews having high response time
in natural disasters in the Caucasus region
•To assess the factors that could be improved to reduce emergency crew
response time in natural disasters
•To implement a solution to reduce emergency crew response time in natural
disasters
Objective: Improve emergency crew response time in natural disasters for the
Caucasus region, by 20%.
By introducing drone surveillance at the time of a
natural disaster, the emergency crew would be able to
gauge the extent of the disaster, accurately identify
access routes and put together a search plan.
This will reduce the average time emergency crew
take to respond in the event of a natural disaster and
possibly assist in saving more lives.
 DMAIC Cycle – Define
PROJECT CHARTER...continued

Project Title: Improving emergency rescue response time in Natural Disasters - Caucasus area

Timeline: Target End Date: Actual End Date:

Project Start 11/11/2021 13/11/2021

Define 15/11/2021 17/11/2021

Measure 24/12/2021 30/12/2021

Analyze 25/01/2022 25/01/2022

Improve 25/02/2022 28/02/2022

Control 23/09/2022 30/09/2022

Project Complete 30/10/2022 11/11/2022

 DMAIC Cycle - Define
REVIEW EXISTING DATA:
The challenge is in the wake of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, flood, or fire, it’s often difficult
for first responders to assess the damage and provide aid to the most devastated areas. Although
manned aircraft and satellites can provide support in mapping the devastation, traditional aircraft can
be very costly and satellite imagery often doesn’t meet the high-resolution needs. And both solutions
are typically slow to deploy.
 DMAIC Cycle - Measure

Objectives:
• Deep dive into the process
• Identification of factors
• Validation of measurement system
DMAIC Cycle – Measure
 DMAIC Cycle – Measure

What can be noted from the process relating to delays (time wastage):
● First despondents arrive at the site to assess the scene before a formal
disaster alert is issued
● Only once the alert is issued does a full scale evaluation commence

● Search plans only commence once:

○ the president has declared a major disaster/emergency

○ a detailed investigation is concluded

DMAIC Cycle - Measure
 DMAIC Cycle - Measure
Cause and effect analysis - Emergency Response Time
 DMAIC Cycle - Measure
Applying 5 whys to the problem of emergency crew high response times:
• Why are response times high?
– The hierarchy process is lengthy
• Why are hierarchy processes lengthy?
– Insufficient information to declare alert immediately
• Why is there insufficient information to declare alert
– Scale of damage and rescue effort required difficult to assess
• Why is scale of damage and rescue effort required difficult to assess
– Emergency crew faced with obstacles such as confined spaces, blocked/damaged routes, weather
deterrents etc. that make it difficult to access the site
• Why is emergency crew faced with obstacles such as confined spaces, blocked/damaged routes, weather
deterrents etc. that make it difficult to access the site
– Emergency crew are human and are susceptible to deterrents which are a resultant of natural
disasters
 DMAIC Cycle - Analyze

Objectives:
• Determine variations
• Determine which factors are most important
 DMAIC Cycle - Analyze

Summarizing the factors linked to emergency high response time in Caucasus*

*Note: Extracted from article in International Conference on Total Risk Management 2003
 DMAIC Cycle - Improve

Objectives:
• Define alternatives
• Select optimal and implement
 DMAIC Cycle - Improve
Ranking the factors linked to response time:
 DMAIC Cycle - Improve
Ranking the factors linked to response time:
 DMAIC Cycle - Improve
Lack of preparedness/early warning is impacted by the most number of of wastes:
● Transportation
● Motion
● Waiting
 DMAIC Cycle - Improve

Improvements that can be made to assist in improving preparedness/early warning

based on analysis of process include:
1. Improve detection system
2. Implement training
3. Streamline process to exclude multiple site assessments
4. Update the hierarchy structure for emergency alerts to flat structure
5. Implement drone monitoring to allow faster site assessments and improved
emergency crew preparedness
 DMAIC Cycle - Improve
Emergency
So that: When: Drone feature:
crew wants to:

Have live view of they can locate a natural disaster Emergency crew
emergency site all survivors occurs and I deploy drone to
have poor pinpoint survivors
visibility from the using GPS
ground coordinates
indicated

Have thermal they can locate a natural disaster Emergency crew

view of all trapped occurs and they deploy drone on
emergency site survivors are not visible thermal image
from ground or mode to pinpoint
air trapped survivors
using GPS
coordinates
indicated
 DMAIC Cycle - Improve
Emergency So that: When: Drone feature:
crew wants to:

Emergency crew deploy

Have live I can monitor a natural drone and view true scale
emergency site the situation disaster images of site as required to
view as it changes occurs assess impact, aid with more
emergency crew as required.

Drone speeds range

between 30kph and 75kph
Get to the site as a natural allowing emergency crew to
I can draft a
quickly as disaster have quick and accurate
search plan
possibly occurs views of the emergency site
equally/faster than getting
there via transport.
 DMAIC Cycle - Control

Objectives:
• Create a control plan
 DMAIC Cycle - Control
Department: Process: Performance Outcome: Measurement Technique:

Management of initial Excel plot of time taken to

Emergency crew inspection of disaster site Time taken to raise alert conduct initial inspection per
using drone emergency

Record if detailed inspection

Excel chart listing number of
was required after initial
times a detailed inspection
inspection was conducted
was required
Management of detailed
Emergency crew inspection of disaster site
using drone Excel plot of time taken to
Record time taken to
conduct detailed inspection
conduct detailed inspection
per emergency
if it was required
Department: Process: Performance Outcome: Measurement Technique:

Emergency crew
DMAIC Cycle - Control
Analyse number of
crew dispatched
To ensure emergency crew
dispatched as per severity of
Excel plot of number of
emergency crew dispatched at
time intervals from initiation to
emergency
end of emergency

Excel chart noting the time taken

Management of time Record time taken to compile
for compiling search plan per
Emergency crew taken to compile search plan
disaster
search plan

Pie chart of percentage of

Dept. of Security Number of deaths Record fatalities and rescues survivors versus deaths per
emergency
DMAIC Cycle -Control
Potential Problem Analysis (PPA)