How Illinois USAR Task Force 1 Ensures Personnel Readiness with D4H

Customer Background

USAR incidents can be caused by a variety of events such as man-made, natural (weather), or terrorist incidents that cause widespread damage to a variety of structures and entrap hundreds of people. USAR operations are unique in that specialized training and equipment are required to mitigate the incident in the safest and most efficient manner possible.

USAR can be Light, Medium, or Heavy based on the associated training requirements and equipment. Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) is the most technically specialized form of USAR. As a Type 1 Heavy Search and Rescue Team, IL-TF 1 is trained to conduct safe and effective search and rescue operations at structure collapse incidents involving the collapse or failure of Heavy Floor, Pre-cast Concrete and Steel Frame Construction, high angle rope rescue (including highline systems), confined space rescue, and mass transportation rescue.

The Challenge

IL-TF1 needed a solution that would allow them to streamline their personnel management processes. With various pieces of information spread across multiple platforms, team communication and coordination had become fragmented.

Further, without a centralized location for all of this information, important data was difficult to trace and maintain. The issue of managing personnel and ensuring the availability of skilled members was a real challenge.

“Before deploying D4H we tracked everything on spreadsheets. Information was difficult to track and became obsolete very quickly.”
—John Gaughan, MABAS Branch Chief, USAR Administration.

The Solution

D4H Personnel and Training allows IL-TF1 to easily see if any members are missing qualifications based on the expectations for their role. Forecasted qualification expiry dates and proactive alerts ensure no lapse in training for members. IL-TF1 can now summarize the entire task-force down to a single green traffic light as ready-to-go. Program managers can also keep an up-to-date list of task force members who are qualified, trained, and deployable.

“D4H helps us maintain our fully capable status by proactively ensuring our member’s qualifications and training are up to date.”
— John Gaughan, MABAS Branch Chief, USAR Administration

By deploying D4H’s personnel and training management platform IL-TF1 has reduced their administrative burden, allowing them to make better use of their time and increase their overall efficiency.