March Technology Work Group Notes

Posted By: Ian Feldman March 25, 2021

The following items were covered at the March UASI Technology Work Group meeting:

  • Updates were received from various regional technology administrators.
    • Jetty is still working to address document security issues, and has not provided an update to Justin Jurek since the last meeting.
    • Houston OEM has filled both the WebEOC Administrator and Programmer positions. CJ Pacheco (celso.pacheco@houstontx.gov) is the new administrator and Geetha Sakalabhaktula (geetha.sakalabhaktula@houstontx.gov) is the new programmer; both should be on next week’s WebEOC Work Group call for formal introductions. The new staff is hitting the ground running on open items. Per Lisa Spivey, the Work Group should expect to begin reviewing PAR performed by Juvare, working on items for improvement identified in the PAR (user audits, for example), and reviewing and updating the WebEOC Governance document. In addition, though WebEOC 9.0 is expected to be released soon, our region is waiting on TDEM CIS to verify that the upgrade will not affect fusioned boards prior to proceeding. As a reminder, due to the fact that this month ends mid-week, the March WebEOC meeting will be next week Tuesday (instead of the Tuesday before our meeting as normal).
    • Haystax completed the open item regarding Assessment security that was identified after the upgrade from Digital Sandbox. In addition, new assessment templates are being added that are designed to be quicker to complete; these will ideally include analysis to help stakeholders identify sites that require more in-depth follow-up. Jurisdictions should also keep their eyes open for information on an FY2020 project related to site assessment training and election security (though the information presented will be applicable to all CI/KR sectors).
    • Will Alvis has finalized the UASI ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online setup. He will meet virtually with Nicole Ceranek to discuss next steps, including user accounts, groups, and so forth. Once users are added, this will regional partners to more easily share GIS data between each other, and the server setup was a key technical step to achieving this goal.
    • Ian Feldman asked if an updated status on i-Info use in the region could be gathered. The system had anticipated use cases for public health related to mass prophylaxis appointment scheduling, but it does not appear that that feature was used during either the most recent SNS exercise or during COVID (for either testing or vaccination). Meghan Arthur will work to produce an updated list of agencies still actively using the system and for which purposes.
  • A vendor advised that they will be in the region in April for a product demonstration. Alertus will be showing the use of its Mobile High Power Speaker Arrays on 12 April and 20 April, both at 11:00 AM at ASAP Security, 8713 Fallbrook Dr, 77064 (near W Sam Houston Pkwy). This product is a portable, trailer-mounted system to broadcast voice, siren, or text-to-speech audio over large areas. The demonstration requires advanced registration to ensure that appropriate distancing can be maintained. Details can be found in the flyer as well as the two product sheets (1 and 2). This invitation is also being sent to the First Responder-Law Enforcement Committee, and you may feel free to share it with other emergency management/public safety partners you think may be interested.
  • Alison Belcher asked about the feasibility of socializing regional technologies in a manner similar to past Technology Fairs. Ian Feldman mentioned that draft versions of one-page overviews of each of the technologies exist (modeled after the plan one-pagers). He will locate these and begin the process of reviewing and updating them with the technology administrators, and then can get them posted to the UASI website. An example of a current one-pager for the Haystax platform can be viewed online. While a full Technology Fair may not be practical, scheduled webinars (similar to the regional plan webinars) could help socialize technologies as well. This item will likely be discussed further at the April meeting.
  • The next meeting will be Thursday 29 April 2021 at 1:00 pm via HSIN Connect and teleconference.