Note - At the client's request, all identifying details have been anonymized. The insights and results presented remain accurate.
About
A city in Texas, is no stranger to emergencies ranging from severe weather events, to public safety incidents that require swift coordination and communication. For the Emergency Preparedness Team, ensuring that city staff, first responders, and key stakeholders can collaborate in real time is critical to safeguarding the community.
Under the leadership of the Director of Emergency Management, and his Deputy, the department manages the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). With a team of five, they facilitate communication, shared situational awareness, and resource management to ensure approximately 56 city departments and external partners can respond effectively to emergencies.
Challenge: Inefficient, complex system delayed critical emergency response
In 2018, the department relied on a legacy software platform to manage the EOC. However, the system presented significant challenges:
- Cumbersome user experience - It took 45 minutes during every activation to log users in and onboard them, delaying critical operations.
- Complexity - the platform required extensive training and had confusing processes, particularly for managing forms and workflows.
- Inefficiency - the delays in onboarding compounded the activation time for the EOC, setting emergency response operations back by over an hour.
This inefficiency posed a significant challenge, particularly in time-sensitive circumstances where effective communication and situational awareness were critical.
Solution: User-friendly communications platform for effortless collaboration in critical situations
Seeking a user-friendly, efficient, and reliable platform, the department evaluated multiple solutions, including Java-based and custom-built options. Eventually, they selected Rocket.Chat for its intuitive interface, ease of deployment, and minimal training requirements.
Key features of Rocket.Chat that addressed the department’s needs included:
- Intuitive UI allows users to quickly adapt without much training.
- Accessibility - Mobile apps, web browser access, and push notifications, ensuring users could stay connected anywhere.
- Access and user controls - Rocket.Chat’s access control system ensures only authorized personnel can access critical communication channels. Departments manage their own governance, determining access based on operational needs. For example, the police department may restrict access to lieutenants and above, while the fire department may limit it to battalion chiefs and above. Administrators can easily set up private channels and invite only necessary team members.
- Dedicated channels - Critical incidents are coordinated seamlessly through pre-configured channels for each situation.
- Conversation history - Incoming teams can review the conversation history to see everything that has occurred before their arrival at the EOC, reducing the need for lengthy incident briefings.
- Message auditing and exporting capabilities facilitate comprehensive documentation of activities, ensuring compliance with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursements of emergency expenses.
“Rocket.Chat was one of the easiest software integrations I've ever done. It’s user-intuitive and requires very little training. It transformed how we manage critical communication and situational awareness, saving us time and improving our operational efficiency. The reduced onboarding time from 45 minutes to less than five minutes during EOC activations has enabled faster and more efficient responses. The ability to maintain control, ensure security, and export logs for FEMA reimbursement has been essential."
~Director of Emergency Management at the U.S. City
Examples of common critical situations:
Power outages at critical infrastructure
When a power outage occurs at critical facilities like police or fire stations, the incident is quickly posted. Traffic management, utility services, and other teams coordinate seamlessly, sharing updates and allocating resources, without the need for multiple phone calls.
Severe weather monitoring
Storm spotters and the National Weather Service share live updates, including photos and videos, in dedicated channels. Emergency management relays key information to other departments, ensuring timely decisions and resource deployment.
Public messaging and media coordination
Public information officers use channels like a Joint Information Center to store pre-drafted posts for emergencies. Messaging is easily accessed and deployed, while separate channels facilitate collaborative media planning.
Backup communication during outages - During phone system outages, Rocket.Chat provides a reliable alternative for dispatch centers and first responders to communicate effectively.
Results: 90% faster onboarding and improved cost recovery documentation for more efficient and compliant response operations
Rocket.Chat transformed the way the department manages emergency response operations:
Efficient response operations
- Time savings - Reduced onboarding time from 45 minutes to less than five minutes during EOC activations, enabling faster and more efficient responses.
- Enhanced situational awareness - Leadership and team members across departments could monitor incidents in real-time, reducing the need for lengthy briefings and manual updates.
- Improved crisis communication - Partners at the city, state, and regional levels are integrated into the platform, allowing quick coordination during incidents, including resource management and information sharing.
"Implementing Rocket.Chat has significantly improved our department's preparedness, streamlined our communication processes, and enhanced our ability to respond to emergencies with greater efficiency and effectiveness."
~ Director of Emergency Management at the U.S. City
Cost recovery - Up to 75% reimbursement by FEMA
During federally declared disasters, local jurisdictions may qualify for up to 75% cost reimbursement. Rocket.Chat’s message auditing enhances record-keeping, helping cities maximize FEMA funding. By providing detailed documentation of Emergency Operations Center (EOC) actions, jurisdictions can streamline and strengthen reimbursement claims.
“Rocket.Chat’s message auditing capabilities have improved our record-keeping, helping us maximize FEMA funding. With detailed logs of Emergency Operations Center (EOC) actions, we can streamline and strengthen our reimbursement claims, ensuring we recover up to 75% of costs.”
~ Director of Emergency Management at the U.S. City
