Happy National Emergency Management Awareness Month!

After spending over 20 years in this field, from EOC activations to plan development across multiple jurisdiction types, I am genuinely excited about how AI tools like Preppr.ai are changing our field for the better and giving EM staff some time back.

How I see it….

I tend to think in stories and analogies. An experienced contractor doesn't use a handheld screwdriver for every screw when building a home. They use a power drill for tedious and largescale work like drywall. A power drill allows them to drive hundreds of screws quickly and efficiently. However, when they're working on more delicate items, like electrical outlets or hard to get to places; they pivot right over to their trusty manual screwdriver. The power drill didn't replace their skills or judgment. The automation of the drill simply cleared the path and time to get from tedious to essential, letting them channel their expertise where it truly matters.

That's exactly what's happening with AI in emergency management.

Many seasoned emergency managers shutter when thinking through the hours spent combing through multiple plans to deconflict or cross walk processes to ensure drafted plans are congruent and complimentary. Many of us recall the numerous weeks and months that it takes to design a full-scale exercise from a blank HSEEP template. How many times have you been watching an emergency in a faraway place on the weekend, only to receive an email from your boss to “throw together” a tabletop exercise for the same type of scenario in your jurisdiction with a very aggressive turnaround time?

This stuff is essential, but it eats up time we don’t always have with small teams and big expectations, stakeholder coordination, and the nuanced decision-making that actually defines good emergency management.

More POWER….and TIME!

Tools like Preppr.ai are offering compelling capabilities and time savings advantages. It provides instant analysis across your emergency documents, rapid intelligence from 80,000+ sources, and HSEEP congruent exercise design artifacts created through simple conversation. We are talking up to 90% in staff time cost savings and upwards of 80% faster completion times.

But here's the point, it still doesn’t replace emergency management expertise and experience. It becomes a time hack!

You Still Need the Screwdriver

Just like a contractor reaching for the manual screwdriver, there are aspects of our work that will always need the human touch:

• Strategic Decisions: AI can process information fast, but when you're in an activated EOC juggling competing priorities and personalities, it takes experience to know what actually matters.

• Relationships: Building trust with elected officials, community partners, and other agencies requires emotional intelligence that no algorithm can handle.

• Adaptation: When things go sideways (as they will) it's human creativity, ingenuity, and experience that adapt process and people to unprecedented situations.

• Judgment Calls: Decisions about resources, evacuations, and risk communication involve values, empathy, and ethics that require human oversight.

The Efficiency Game-Changer

“I need more stuff to do!” – said no emergency manager…...ever. What excites me about AI tools like preppr.ai isn't just the speed, it's what we can do with that reclaimed time. Instead of manually cranking out exercise injects in HSEEP formats, we can focus on making sure the scenario authentically reflects how incidents actually unfold in our communities. Instead of manually cross-referencing plans during activations, we can focus on coordination and decision-making.

The Bottom Line

Emergency management isn't getting any easier or more resourced; it's getting more strained and ever increased expectations placed on it. Preppr.ai isn’t going to replace emergency managers any more than power drills replaced contractors however it will free us from the repetitive to pursue the remarkable.

The future isn't about choosing between the loss of human expertise and AI—it's about using both to be more effective in focusing on the nuance of needs. And honestly? That future is already here.

Hal

Industry Outreach and Development

Preppr.ai