The All-Hazard Incident Complexity Analysis Tool created by The Blue Cell, LLC is the culmination and collaboration of a number of doctrines to include, but are not limited to, wildland fire complexity, the concepts of managing and prioritizing objectives (life safety, incident stabilization and property conservation) and the advanced concepts found in both Department of Homeland Security (DHS) course of MGT-315, Threat and Risk Assessment for Local Jurisdiction and the Department of Defense (DOD) doctrine of criticality, accessibility, recuperability, vulnerability, effect, and recognizability, otherwise known as C.A.R.V.E.R. This acronym is used throughout the targeting and mission planning cycle to assess mission validity and requirements.
The primary factors on this tool are ones found in the current Incident Command System training 300 level, expanding incidents, national curriculum. In unit four, nine factors that contribute to an incident becoming more complex are identified. Additional sub factors were added under the primaries. Items frequent on many types of incidents. Several sub factors for aviation resource usage, non ICS form product development and terrorism were also added. With that said, the use of the Complexity Analysis Tool is still more art than science. The tool is influenced by individual input. The matrix weights life safety factors, heavier than incident stabilization, which in turn are weighted heavier than property conservation. The formulas are then designed to offer a suggestion or a possible solution. The red X , which moves based on percentage, moves from one category to another at the bottom of the tool and indicates the increasing and decreasing in complexity.
These are suggestions and does not necessarily mean you need to order an entire team. This is where the analysis comes into play, leading to a conclusion and a decision.
The tool encourages the current incident managers to more thoroughly examine specific deficiencies and determine whether position specific orders of a higher qualification are needed based on the line item in the matrix. In the event the form is being completed manually, five or more boxes checked would indicate the complexity increasing from the perceived current level. The weights for each factor were intentional hidden so as to support and reinforce objectivity for the user of the tool.
Created in 2010, this tool has been used unchanged and has been run on over 100 incidents in real time and, in some cases, after the fact. It has also been used in simulations and distributed on thousands of classroom disks by The Blue Cell, LLC and The Blue Cell Companies. The tool has been custom branded for multiple agencies at the State and Local levels and is under consideration for inclusion in the current re-write of the FEMA L-962, Planning Section Chief position specific course.
Here is a link to the tool on The Blue Cell website where it is branded under our new F.A.S.T. product line. It is free to download.
LINK TO COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS TOOL
LINK TO OUR COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS VIDEO
