PROJECT

Advanced Emergency Response Integrated Environment

When a Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) team evaluated the newly constructed Integrated Emergency Operations Center (IEOC) when it opened in 2009, its assessment was that the IEOC was only integrated in name.

The organizations that occupied the center had no visibility into each other's view of building status or security posture.

We were asked to integrate the security and building automation systems at the Pentagon into an Advanced Emergency Response Integration Environment (AERIE), which the IEOC uses daily to respond to emergencies and provide situational awareness to first responders. At the end of the project, the completed system, documentation, configuration guides, source code and support information was provided to the support groups.

At its foundation, AERIE is a geospatial visualization system built on Google Earth Enterprise that integrates Pentagon, Reservation and National Capital Region (NCR) static and dynamic data. The high-resolution Reservation and NCR maps are combined with building floor plans to provide the IEOC with a unique external and internal view of the Pentagon. Dynamic data from the building automation, fire detection, swipe access, security systems, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear sensors is integrated with static data from the various Pentagon Force Protection Agency and Washington Headquarters Services directorates and public data sets from the NCR.

This integration provides the IEOC with real-time information about the building and the Reservation. Sensors, alarms and CCTV cameras are located on the appropriate floors of this in-building mapping system, allowing the IEOC to overlay evacuation routes, emergency exits and standpipe locations near a fire alarm and activate the closest camera to the alarm. The public data and CCTV feeds from the leased facilities in the NCR give the IEOC a broad view of the region.

Client

Pentagon Force Protection Agency

Location

Arlington, Virginia

Region

Mid-Atlantic

Service

Environmental Emergency Response

Industry

Government, Military & Municipal

New Technologies Integration

In addition to integrating the legacy systems, the AERIE project has brought new technologies to the IEOC. A joint Visual Information Concept of Operations (VI CONOPS) system allows the IEOC to track the tasks and resources for responding to an incident or emergency. The system is integrated with the AERIE Common Operational Picture (COP) so the location of the incident and its current status can be correlated to alarms and overlays.

In order to integrate new technology with legacy systems, the new systems had to be certified and accredited to receive an Authority to Operate (ATO), and the ATOs of the legacy systems had to be amended. To meet this requirement, Burns & McDonnell identified the vulnerabilities of the systems through scans and mitigated the identified vulnerabilities. The team further hardened the systems using the Secure Technical Information Guides and worked with the technical directorates to complete the accreditation process.

While the data integration on the COP allows for a single frame of reference view, the data from some systems cannot be integrated. To bring those systems into the context of the COP, the IEOC's audio-visual system was updated with Activu's software-based system. The Activu system allows force protection and building operations and maintenance operators and analysts to share views of their systems and visually integrate data and systems from secure networks with the AERIE COP into a comprehensive operational picture without bridging networks.