An Operational Period is the time interval scheduled for completion of a given set of actions during an incident. For example, a strategic goal to "reduce reservoir level to 35 feet by 0800 tomorrow" might involve "reduce/divert inflow", "open spillways", and "use pumps" objectives. A different operational period could be established to complete each objective. Operational periods may be as short as one hour or as long as 24 hours. Typically, a different operational period is established for each shift change.
Operational periods must be associated with an incident and can be linked to Daily Logs, injury/illness records, messages, and plans such as a communication, safety, medical, or weather plan. A new operational period record is automatically created when an incident is established. Use the Operational Period form to edit the record or to define a new period for tracking objectives, strategic goals, and tactics during an incident.
Note:
When an operational period is established for an incident, a message
is automatically logged.
For additional instruction on operational periods, click the following links or use the scroll bar to scan the page.
To establish operational periods
Tip: When accessing the Operational
Period form via the Watch List,
begin with step 4.
Click Data Entry > Incidents > Operational Periods in the Navigation Tree (or use the shortcut menu) to access the Operational Periods list.
Click the New
button.
The Operational Period form
is displayed with an Open status and the current date and time as
default entries.
Select an Incident
from the list.
If the applicable incident is not listed, click the Ellipsis
button and add it.
Change the Status
when necessary by selecting a new value from the list.
If the applicable status is not listed, click the Ellipsis
button and add it.
Select an operational period Name from the list.
If the appropriate name is not listed, click the Ellipsis
button and add it.
Enter a Location for the operational period.
Change the Start Date and Start Time when applicable. The Calendar button is available to select a different date.
Enter an End Date when applicable or click the Calendar button and select one.
Enter the End Time when applicable.
Expand the Objectives, Strategies, Tactics section, when necessary, and enter strategic goal information.
Add files from third-party applications in the Links and Attachments section.
Click the Save button on the form.
Define objectives for an incident on the Operational Period form. For each objective, one or more strategies can be identified. For example, an objective to "Secure the Fifth Avenue Retail Center" might involve the "Evacuate employees and customers" and "Reroute traffic" strategies. For each strategy, one or more tactical directions can be defined. For the example, the tactical direction "Barricade all parking lot entrances" could be entered for the "Reroute traffic" strategy. For each tactical direction, one or more tactical alternatives can be established, such as the alternative "Divert all traffic north of 5th Avenue and Main" for the "Barricade all parking lot entrances" tactical direction in the example.
Files from third-party applications can be linked with each objective, strategy, tactical direction, and tactical alternative. Refer to Adding and Viewing Reference Documents for additional information.
To define objectives, strategies,
and tactics
Open the Operational Period form, and expand the Objectives, Strategies, Tactics section if necessary.
Click Add
Objective.
The Objectives form is displayed.
Enter the Objective. A maximum of 254 characters is available.
Enter the name or title of the person preparing the objective in the Prepared By field and any initial notes in the Discussion field.
Click the Save
button on the form.
The Strategies and Attachments
sections are displayed.
Click Add
Strategy to open the Strategies
form and enter a strategic goal.
Otherwise, close the Objectives
form. The objective information is displayed as a line item in the
Objectives, Strategies, Tactics
section.
Enter the Strategy. A maximum of 254 characters is available.
Enter the name or title of the person preparing the Strategy in the Prepared By field and any initial notes in the Discussion field.
Click the Save
button on the form.
The Tactics and Attachments
sections are displayed on the Strategies
form.
Click Add
Tactic to open the Tactics
form and enter a tactical direction for the strategy.
Otherwise, close the Strategies
form. The strategy information is displayed as a line item in the
Strategies section on the
Objectives form.
Enter the Tactical
Direction, select the individual to whom the tactical direction
is Assigned To from the list,
and enter any initial notes in the Tactical
Discussion field.
A maximum of 254 characters is available for the tactical direction
entry. If the appropriate person is not listed for the Assigned
To field, click the Ellipsis
button and add the individual to the Contacts
and Personnel form.
Click the Save
button on the form.
The Tactical Alternatives and
Attachments sections are displayed
on the Tactics form.
Click Add
Tactical Alternative to open the Tactical
Alternative form and enter an alternative for the tactical
direction.
Otherwise, close the Tactics
form. The tactical information is displayed as a line item in the
Tactics section on the Strategies form.
Enter the Tactical
Alternative, select the individual to whom the tactical alternative
is Assigned To from the list,
and enter any initial notes in the Tactical
Discussion field.
A maximum of 254 characters is available for the tactical alternative
entry. If the appropriate person is not listed for the Assigned
To field, click the Ellipsis
button and add the individual to the Contacts
and Personnel form.
Click the Save
button on the form. The tactical information is displayed as a line
item in the Tactical Alternative
section on the Tactics form.
At this point, the objective, strategy, tactical direction, and tactical
alternative have been saved and are all part of the operational period
record. You can add other goals, objectives, and tactical information,
add attachments, or close the form
windows.
The following two methods are available for adding related files that exist in third-party applications, such as Microsoft Word, to an operational period record using the Attachments section on the Operational Period form:
Document Links - Set up a hyperlink to the file. Optionally, the location of an off-line reference can be specified without a link.
Document Attachments - Add a file to the record. The default maximum file upload size supported by ASP.NET is 4096 KB (4MB). The default can be modified to support larger file uploads, i.e., attaching files larger than 4MB. For instructions to increase the default value, refer to Microsoft (https://docs.microsoft.com) and view the article: httpRuntime Element (ASP.NET Settings Schema).
An Attachments section is also available on the Objectives, Strategies, Tactics, and Tactical Alternative forms once the record is saved. Each link or attachment is displayed as a line item in the section where it was added. Attachments and linked documents can be viewed by clicking the link.
Note:
In order to view a file listed in the Attachments
section, desktop access to the particular software used to create the
file must be available. For example, access to Microsoft Word is required
to view an attachment created as a Word file (.doc, .docx).
Expand the Attachments section on the Operational Period form or the Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics, and Tactical Alternative forms.
Click Add Link.
Enter a Description of the document.
Enter the full file path to the document in the Document Location field.
Select a Document
Type from the list.
If the appropriate type is not listed, click the Ellipsis
button and add it.
Ensure the Is
Hyperlink check box is selected to establish the link.
When specifying an off-line location, ensure the Is
Hyperlink check box is not selected.
Click OK.
The document information is displayed as a line item in the section
where it was added. Click the link to view the file. Edit existing
attachment information using the buttons adjacent to the line item.
Click Save.
Repeat steps 2 through 8 to add other document links.
To add document attachmentsExpand the Attachments section on the Operational Period form or the Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics, and Tactical Alternative forms.
Click Add Attachment.
Enter a file path in the File field or click Browse to locate and select a file.
Enter a Description of the attachment. A maximum of 70 characters can be entered.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 to add a second and/or third attachment.
Click OK.
Each attachment is displayed as a line item in the section where it
was added. Edit existing attachment information using the buttons
adjacent to the line item.
Click Save.
Repeat steps 2 through 7 to add other attachments.
During an incident, it may be necessary to review existing operational period objectives, strategies, and tactics to track progress. It is likely circumstances surrounding an incident will change, which could require an update to existing entries or a new set of strategic goals. A Discussion field is included for each objective, strategy, tactical direction, and tactical alternative established for an operational period. Pertinent notes can be viewed and added to these Discussion fields at any time.
Objectives, strategies, and tactics are related to each other on a hierarchical level; i.e., objectives are associated with operational periods, strategies are associated with objectives, tactical directions are associated with strategies, and tactical alternatives are associated with tactical directions. Therefore, to establish a tactical direction for an operational period, the objective must be defined first, the strategic goal next, and then the tactical direction.
When objectives, strategical goals, tactical directions and alternatives are defined, the information is displayed as a line item in the corresponding section on the "parent" form. For example, when tactical directions have been defined for a strategy, each tactical direction is displayed as a line item in the Tactics section on the strategies form. Accordingly, the following steps would be performed to view an existing tactical direction:
Click the Edit button adjacent to the applicable objective line item in the Objectives, Strategies, Tactics section on the Operational Period form.
Click the Edit button adjacent to the applicable strategy line item in the Strategies section on the Objectives form.
Click the Edit button adjacent to the applicable tactical direction line item in the Tactics section on the Strategies form.
To view and update objectives,
strategies, and tactics
Tip: The Attachments
section may contain links to files from third-party applications. Click
an attachment link to view the file. New files can be linked with each
strategic goal, objective, tactical direction, and tactical alternative
at any time. Refer to Adding and Viewing
Attachments for additional information.
Locate the operational period on the Operational Periods list and click the incident link to open the Operational Period form. Or, click the Edit button adjacent to the operational period line item on the Watch List Operational Periods tab.
Expand the Objectives, Strategies, Tactics section if necessary and follow these guidelines to view or update objectives:
To add a new objective, refer to Defining Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics.
To remove an objective from the record, click the Delete button adjacent to the appropriate line item.
Click the Edit button adjacent to the appropriate line item to open the Objectives form.
Review/update the field entries on the Objectives form. Click the Save button on the form after any edits.
Expand the Strategies section on the Objectives form if necessary and follow these guidelines to view or update strategical goals:
To add a new strategy, refer to Defining Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics.
To remove an existing strategy from the record, click the Delete button adjacent to the appropriate line item.
Click the Edit button adjacent to the appropriate line item to open the Strategies form.
Review/update the field entries on the Strategies form. Click the Save button on the form after any edits.
Expand the Tactics section on the Strategies form if necessary and follow these guidelines to view or update tactical directions:
To add a new tactical direction, refer to Defining Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics.
To remove an existing tactical direction from the record, click the Delete button adjacent to the appropriate line item.
Click the Edit button adjacent to the appropriate line item to open the Tactics form.
Review/update the field entries on the Tactics form. Click the Save button on the form after any edits.
Expand the Tactical Alternative section on the Tactics form if necessary and follow these guidelines to view or update tactical alternatives:
To add a new tactical alternative, refer to Defining Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics.
To remove an existing tactical alternative from the record, click the Delete button adjacent to the appropriate line item.
Click the Edit button adjacent to the appropriate line item to open the Tactical Alternative form.
Review/update the field entries on the Tactical Alternative form. Click the Save button on the form after any edits.
Click the Save button on the Operational Period form to save any objective, strategy, and tactic updates made.
