netEOP and netPlanner Questions and Answers
How do netEOP and netPlanner address the challenges faced by planners?
Since these tools are Web-based, it is easy to keep plans, protocols and supporting guidelines up-to-date and distributed to all stakeholders. Changes and enhancements to plans and protocols can now be made and distributed with the click of a mouse. The most current version is always immediately available to plan stakeholders – both ensuring plans are current and increasing awareness and understanding by responsible agencies and organizations.
Why were netEOP and netPlanner developed and for what audience?
These Web-based planning tools were developed by Planners for Planners at all levels – local, state and federal government, as well as the private sector and voluntary agencies. netEOP and netPlanner solve many, many planning challenges. They make emergency planning less time consuming, more effective and help to keep responsible agencies involved in the planning process.
Who would best benefit from these Web-based planning solutions?
Any agency or organization that maintains any type of emergency plans, protocols, standard operating guides and other supporting documents, including all levels of government (local, state and federal), as well as hospitals, schools, volunteer agencies, business and industry. Recent natural disasters and technological disasters have reinforced the importance of emergency planning and preparedness for all types of agencies and organizations, both public and private.
Why have these products been so successful?
Because they are very intuitive and easy to use with little or no training, and because they are so flexible and interactive. For the first time ever, your emergency plans and protocols are always current and always accessible to everyone with emergency responsibilities. The agencies and organizations currently using our planning solutions have found this to be very valuable. netEOP and netPlanner also greatly increase collaboration and coordination among responsible agencies.
How do netEOP and netPlanner encourage participation in the planning process?
Both tools are very interactive and allow agencies and organizations with emergency responsibilities to suggest changes and make corrections and enhancements to the plan. Web-based, collaborative planning allows agencies and organizations with emergency responsibilities to easily interact with each other. This coordination prior to the emergency and a thorough understanding of “who is going to do what” leads to successful emergency preparedness and response.
What features do netEOP and netPlanner have that similar tools do not?
First and foremost, netEOP and netPlanner are interactive, easy to use and encourage collaborative planning among plan stakeholders. In addition, our products have a variety of built in tools that make emergency planning easier and faster. For example, they automatically build organizational charts based on assigned responsibilities, provide automatic updates to plan users that a suggestion or change has been made, and they allow plan users to update their own contact information. Our planning solutions remove much of the administrative burden from the agency’s emergency planner. Our Web-based planning tools are also very cost effective because once the plans are online, it is very easy to keep them up to date and distributed to stakeholders.
How difficult are these tools to use?
They aren’t! netEOP and netPlanner are very easy to use – they are intuitive and require very little training. We have found that anyone familiar with windows and a using a mouse can master and use these tools with little or no training.