SGER: Hurricane Katrina Debris Removal Operations: The Role of Communication and Computing Technologies

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ABSTRACTThe nature and quantity of debris following a large-scale disaster can create considerable challenges to cleanup efforts and thus to societal recovery. Risks associated with debris can potentially impact both social and technological systems and must therefore be managed as part of debris removal operations. When debris-inducing disasters occur in a built environment, there may be challenges related to the placement and use of debris removal equipment and personnel. Communications and computing technology is now widely deployed to support response personnel during cleanup operations. Yet despite ongoing improvements in CCT, disasters continue to present response personnel with unique problems, at times requiring them to take on new or expanded roles and to develop new plans under tight time pressure. To enable effective use of available communications and computing technology in such circumstances, it is advisable to have heuristics that can support response personnel in deciding which technologies are most appropriate for supporting response activities. To this end, this study will observe and develop recommendations on the use of communications and computing technology (CCT) in support of debris removal operations following a large-scale disaster. The study's main intellectual merit is in testing the adequacy of task-technology fit theory, which specifies the types of technologies that are best suited to supporting various types of tasks. Theory testing will be accomplished through observational study of CCT use during debris removal operations associated with Hurricane Katrina, and through a comparison of the results of this study to a similar one on debris removal operations at Ground Zero following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. The broader impacts of this work include the development of theoretically-grounded recommendations on how CCT might better support debris removal operations following large-scale disasters. The data collection methodology is also expected to result in documentation of a number of innovations from the field, thus contributing to engineering practice. The resulting understanding should lead to advances in how CCT may be used to support organizations in preparing for, managing and learning from large-scale debris removal operations.