A critical incident is a devastating event that occurs suddenly and all of a sudden and deviates from the normally expected experiences. Such events can cause deep fear, create horror, and make people feel totally out of control. The occurrence of a critical incident impacts both employees and organizations. All organizations are vulnerable to suffering from events outside their control, leaving them without a few options to adapt as they occur without warning. Some examples of critical incidents include but are not limited to acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and armed robberies. An alarm and critical incident response are vital to safeguard lives and property and minimize exposure to indirect liability (Cesarec, Mikac & Spevec,2020).
Warning Process in Critical Incidents
The first step in the warning process in critical incidents involves building the organization’s capability to issue the warning by putting a system in place. The organization should develop various message delivery channels, integrate a mix of technologies, and test methods that reach unique groups of people to produce and distribute alerts during a disaster (Cesarec et al., 2020). Individuals responsible for issuing the alarms should receive adequate training on the steps and policies to be followed when giving warning alerts. The warning system can incorporate sound alarms, phone notifications, and messages displayed on TV screens within the organization, among other technologies (Dikshit, Satyam, & Towhata,2018). The responsible people in triggering the warning systems need to clearly understand the standards to be followed when issuing the warning.
After putting a warning system in place, the next important step is to conduct education and raise awareness among all individuals within the organization and the surroundings. To reduce confusion, all people must thoroughly understand the alerts’ goals and importance (Sellnow & Seeger,2021). People must be well aware of the type of messages they anticipate when disasters strike, from what channels, and how they should react. The organization should be keen to notify people when there has been a rise in the probability of a threat occurring. For example, if they receive communication from security agencies that terrorists may target the city, people need to be notified. A surprise disaster reduces the chances of people reacting effectively to a late warning.
When the threat becomes imminent, the team responsible should evaluate the potential impacts of the incident. It is essential to collaborate with other state agencies that may have models to predict the impact of the incident. For example, if it is the case of a fire incident, the fire department can offer insights on the likely rate of spread and damage. Most of the time, the potential impacts fall within an area that can geographically be identified. It is also essential to determine whether the incident poses a threat with a threshold that makes it necessary to issue a warning (Cesarec et al., 2020). With such insights, it is easier for the team to determine the coverage area that requires warning alerts immediately. After assessing the potential impact of the threat, specific recommendations should be developed. The critical action at this stage is to determine what people need to know to take actions that can guarantee their safety. Determining the recommended action is vital in enabling people to respond swiftly as the recommended action influence the amount of time people take to respond (Sellnow & Seeger,2021). Unless the recommended actions clarify that immediate action is required, people can delay responding as required. Some actions may include taking shelter immediately, heading to the staircase for evacuation, or avoiding a particular area.
Another critical step in the warning process is composing the warning message. Pre-written messages that vary in length can be utilized to compose effective warning messages effectively. Having some Common Alerting Protocol templates that are pre-scripted that have spaces to fill in the message are simple and effective. The message should contain the hazard, location, time, guidance, and source for effectiveness. In this case, the time refers to when people should start acting, the guidance offers the protective action to be taken, and the source indicates where the message originates (Sellnow & Seeger,2021).
After the message has been formulated, the next step is the actual distribution. The message distribution depends on the built-in warning system and the developed warning protocol. The same message should be delivered through as many communication channels as possible to enhance compliance among the targeted people (Wogalter, Mayhorn & Laughery,2021). Consistency in delivering the message is critical in ensuring that all people receive the same message irrespective of the communication channel they received their message. Another essential step in issuing a warning in critical incidents is monitoring the effectiveness of the warnings. After the warning has been delivered, it is essential to determine whether the target group is acting in the manner prescribed in the message. Sometimes it can be necessary to send additional warnings, make some corrections or even offer complementary information. The warnings should be repeated until the team in charge is satisfied.
After the threat has been controlled, the next step is to inform people that the situation has been controlled. If people have taken shelter, for example, they must be notified when they can come out. It is essential to provide updates on social media pages to ensure everyone knows the situation has changed and the threat has been contained (Mirbabaie, Bunker, Stieglitz, Marx, & Ehnis, 2020). Finally, it is crucial to evaluate the warning system’s success and recommend improvement in areas where gaps were noted by getting feedback from people in the threat incident.
Issues That May Detract or Nullify Warnings
Several issues may detract from or nullify warnings. One of the factors is having too many false alarms and evacuation drills. People can develop fatigue in reacting to emergency warnings if an organization raises too many false alarms to a level where the employees and people no longer take them seriously or respond lazily. When an impending natural disaster raises the alarm, some people may react poorly by viewing it as routine. Such false alarms may also cause boredom among government agencies that must act during emergencies. When emergency government agency employees develop fatigue due to too many false alarms, they may need more time to be ready to offer timely situational analysis when disaster strikes. Another probable detractor in the delivery of warnings is the language barrier. If a warning is designed to relay messages in a selected language without considering diversity and non-locals, the effectiveness of the warning is, to some degree, undermined (Wogalter et al., 2021). A communication problem may detract warning system designed without the diversity of the target population due to the language barrier.
Another factor that may detract from or nullify warnings is the failure of technological devices. Suppose, for example, the warning system for critical incidents relies on a mobile network to relay messages. The warning system can fail to deliver the required messages if a network disruption occurs. Some natural disasters like floods and hurricanes can destroy critical infrastructure essential to relaying information to people. In such cases, the designers of the warning system should anticipate technological and infrastructural failures and look for alternatives that can be relied on during such incidences. If the system also relies on devices that need electric power, like alarms and speakers, and there is a power failure, the message may not reach the people as initially intended (Cesarec et al., 2020).
Having incomplete information is another issue that can detract from or nullify warnings. When an alarm is issued without a complete understanding of the threat or the most appropriate protective action that can be taken, panic spreads and it becomes hard to give further communication. When responsible individuals need a clearer understanding of the hazard involved and are unavailable, they are likely to relay incomplete information that people cannot rely on to respond accordingly. Such situations can result in delays as people need to determine whether it is safer to remain in the building or whether evacuation is the best option.
The other potential detractor of warnings is people’s mistrust towards the warning source. Lack of trust is closely related to past experiences where the same source raised false alarms. Some people may view messages originating from a source used to raise a false alarm as suspicious and therefore fail to respond to the warning (Wogalter et al., 2021).
Conclusion
Creating an effective critical incident warning process protects lives and shields an organization from liability. Ensuring that warnings are relayed effectively during critical incidents requires careful planning and preparedness. When designing the system and procedures, it is crucial to study the targeted people carefully to ensure that issues like language barriers are considered, and people will understand how they should react. Emphasizing the use of many communication channels to deliver the message is vital in ensuring that all people are reached during this critical time. Teamwork is also crucial to ensure a coordinated process to understand the anticipated impact of the incident and how best to deal with it from an informed point of view. Lastly, organizations must occasionally review their critical incident warning systems to ensure they can respond to changing threats globally.
References
Dikshit, A., Satyam, D. N., & Towhata, I. (2018). Early warning system using tilt sensors in Chibo, Kalimpong, Darjeeling Himalayas, India. Natural Hazards, 94, 727-741.
Cesarec, I., Mikac, R., & Spevec, D. (2020). The concept of human security as a basis for the application of big data concept in establishment of early warning system for crisis management in the Republic of Croatia. Croatian International Relations Review, 26(86), 72-95.
Mirbabaie, M., Bunker, D., Stieglitz, S., Marx, J., & Ehnis, C. (2020). Social media in times of crisis: Learning from Hurricane Harvey for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic response. Journal of Information Technology, 35(3), 195-213.
Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W. (2021). Theorizing crisis communication. John Wiley & Sons.
Wogalter, M. S., Mayhorn, C. B., & Laughery Sr, K. R. (2021). Warnings and hazard communications. Handbook of human factors and ergonomics, 644-667.
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