8 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM are organizations that have not made this change yet, I see it as vital. Once time is logged in a computerized system it becomes much easier to mine the data needed to substantiate to FEMA total costs accrued for force account labor. This is important since such labor is partially reimbursable. I think with any public organization there is always room to grow and evolve when it comes to better identifying and detailing the work that was performed during exact periods of time. Murphy: While force account labor is an important piece to a recovery, so is force account equipment. What do you think could be done to better prepare an organization such as a port authority? Gibbs: Just like staff time, track equipment usage. And since the time and associated costs for the equipment can potentially be reimbursed, it is something that could benefit any organization. Since operating equipment might be additional cost to a budget that likely has not accounted for usage during an emergency situation, knowing how and why to capture these costs will provide peace of mind to an organization. When the time comes to make quick decisions to expend the funds to operate the necessary equipment, the decision will be easier to make. This is important because the faster the equipment is up and operating, the better the chances will be of mitigating the severity of the loss. This can then reduce the overall loss and protect any assets or facilities that might be compromised due to the disaster. A few tips to capture equipment and usage are, tracking mileage, hours or usage such as for a generator, and capturing fuel usage, etc. I would imagine if there was an easier way to capture this information and quickly for that matter, it would help many organizations collect the data they need in a timely and efficient manner. It’s also important to mention that, organizations that have been through disasters most likely have learned through trial and error and have been able to perfect the capturing of information more efficiently. On the other hand, organizations that have not experienced disasters will find it more difficult to effectuate when the time comes. Unfortunately, numbers of the latter are increasing as disasters have become more common in parts of the country that are not used to experiencing them. A good start is to have an updated log of all equipment — currently being used and equipment that is held in reserve. This helps establish some sort of a benchmark. Murphy: Let’s talk about documentation. You just shared why it’s important to track staff time and equipment usage. What else should be documented, and how? Gibbs: Documentation is necessary when working through an insurance claim or essentially any situation we might be trying to argue: evidence is powerful and wins cases. And when we mention documenting here, I mean photos, detailed descriptions of the incident, even drawings/diagrams and how a scenario may have played out.
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