Mobile Just-In-Time Training of Emergency Response Personnel - Phase II

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Skilled Service Personnel (SSP) support emergency response organizations during an emergency incident, and include laborers, operating engineers, carpenters, ironworkers, sanitation workers and utility workers. SSP called to an emergency incident rarely have recent detailed training on the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and/or explosives (CBRNE) agents they may encounter or the personal protection equipment (PPE) relevant to the incident. This increases personal risk to the SSP and mission risk at the incident site. Training for SSP has been identified as a critical need by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, Worker Education and Training Program. The proposed SBIR Phase II project a ddresses this SSP training shortfall by developing a wireless lesson delivery system called the Just-In-Time Training for Emergency Incidents System (JITTEIS). SSP dispatched to an emergency incident receive brief site-specific multimedia lessons on their cell phones derived from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) #7600 Disaster Site Worker Course. The lessons describe the CBRNE threats and safety protocols (including PPE) identified by the Safety Officer (SO) at the incident site. Use rs are permitted to upload new content for immediate broadcast, such as pictures or video clips of newly discovered hazards. JITTEIS builds upon the Phase I effort, which achieved (1) interoperability among diverse mobile devices, wireless service provider s, calling plans, and incident management systems, (2) instructional designs and production procedures for lessons rendered on mobile devices user modeling and system ergonomics, (3) pushed versus pulled content delivery, and (4) training adaptation to rap idly changing threats. The proposed effort will complete the development of a fully operational JITTEIS, develop a set of available training lessons based on needs, and deploy and evaluate the system in two settings that together encompass many of the requ irements of CBRNE incidents: a large New Jersey construction sites involving hazardous waste material and a distributed work force, and the command center and distributed vehicle fleet of New Jersey's largest paramedic organization. It is anticipated that JITTEIS will become a valuable commercial service to emergency response organizations and other organizations with widely dispersed, mobile workforces who need safety and health just-in-time training and information.