Emergencies can strike anytime and anywhere. In times of crisis, the ability to quickly locate and deploy critical assets such as vehicles, equipment, and personnel can mean the difference between life and death, and not just for your company. With lives on the line, emergency response planning is essential to ensure your organization’s quick mobilization in the face of disasters.

Asset tracking, which involves the process of tracking and monitoring assets in real-time, can provide great advantages to your emergency response planning. By implementing an asset tracking system, your organization can gain greater visibility and control over your assets while enabling them to respond more effectively to emergencies. In this blog, we will discuss the importance of asset tracking in emergency response planning and how it can help improve your company’s emergency preparedness.

Why is Asset Tracking Important in Emergency Response Planning?

Asset tracking is essential in emergency response planning because it enables your company to quickly locate and deploy critical resources to where they are most needed. In the case of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or earthquake, an asset tracker can help emergency responders quickly identify the location of emergency shelters, medical facilities, and other critical resources.

In addition to improving emergency response times, asset tracking can also help your organization more effectively manage its resources in the aftermath of an emergency. By tracking the location of assets such as generators, fuel supplies, and other critical resources, your company can ensure distribution optimization in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

Asset tracking can also help your company manage its inventory of supplies and equipment before a disaster strikes. By tracking the movement of supplies and equipment in real time, your company will have a better understanding of usage patterns and will have the ability to make informed decisions about when to order new supplies or replace equipment. That way, when an emergency occurs, you can rest sound in the knowledge that you will have everything that you need in working condition.


 

Increase Your ROI by Investing in AirFinder Everywhere

  • Loss Prevention. Reduce the amount of loss that occurs during the supply chain process
  • Location Coverage. AirFinder Everywhere uses a combination of GPS, Cellular, and WiFi to determine location everywhere
  • Security Alerts. Know when a delay in shipment has occurred so the problem
    can be addressed immediately.

 

Asset Tracking in Logistics Emergency Response Planning

When natural disasters or other emergencies occur, logistics companies are often tasked with the vital responsibility of transporting supplies, equipment, and personnel to the affected areas. This can take many forms. For instance, trailer tracking is a specific type of asset tracking that helps logistics companies effectively transport the resources involved in these ventures, improving response times and ensuring that emergency responders have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively. Other ways that a tracking system might benefit emergency responders might be through personnel tracking or various forms of fleet and inventory management.

Here are some key reasons why logistics tracking is important in emergency response planning:

Improved Resource Management

Asset tracking enables logistics companies to effectively manage their resources during an emergency. By tracking the movement of supplies and equipment, your company can ensure that resources are distributed in the most efficient and effective manner. This can help to minimize waste, prevent shortages, and ensure that emergency responders have access to the resources they need when they need them.

Increased Visibility and Control

Logistics tracking also provides your company with greater visibility and control over its assets. By monitoring the movement of assets in real time, your company can quickly identify potential issues and take corrective action to prevent them from escalating. Increased visibility can help prevent theft, damage, or loss of critical resources. After all, the last thing you need on top of the disaster you’re responding to is another, internal disaster that prevents help from getting where it needs to go.

Improved Response Times 

By monitoring emergency assets, logistics operations can quickly locate and deploy critical resources to where they are most needed. When you retain visibility of the location of emergency response vehicles, medical equipment, and other critical resources the whole way from storage to destination, you can make transportation decisions that reduce response times and improve your ability to provide assistance when time is of the essence.

Data-Driven Decision-making

Asset tracking can also help logistics operations collect and manage data related to their assets and resources. By collecting data on usage patterns and other key metrics, your organization can make more informed decisions about when to order new supplies or replace equipment. Having this knowledge is crucial to ensure that you never go looking for something that you forgot to restock, and it takes the guesswork out of inventory management.

Enhanced Safety and Security

Through the implementation of a trailer tracking solution, your company can enhance the safety and security of personnel and assets during an emergency. By tracking the movement of emergency response vehicles and personnel in real time, your company can ensure that they are operating in a manner that ensures their own safety in the wake of whatever disaster they are going to face. This can help to prevent accidents and protect emergency response personnel from harm while in transit to the disaster site.

Increased Efficiency

Lastly, an asset tracking solution can help your logistics company operate more efficiently during an emergency. By streamlining the distribution of resources and improving response times, your company can improve its overall effectiveness and ensure that emergency response organizations are able to provide the assistance that is needed to protect lives and property during times of crisis.

Asset tracking is a critical component of emergency response planning. With the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters and public health emergencies, it is especially important for your logistics organization to implement an asset tracking system as part of their emergency response planning efforts. By doing so, your company can be better prepared to respond to emergencies and save lives without delay.

Link Labs’ Logistics Solution

Link Labs’ AirFinder Everywhere is a real-time location system (RTLS) for logistics that can be used for various applications, including emergency response planning. Our disaster response equipment leverages advanced technologies such as Bluetooth LE (BLE), GPS, and other wireless communication protocols to provide the most accurate location tracking and monitoring data available.

Here are some ways AirFinder Everywhere can be utilized for emergency response planning:

Personnel Tracking

During emergency situations, it is crucial to know the whereabouts of emergency responders, security personnel, and other staff members. AirFinder Everywhere can track and monitor the location of individuals in real time, ensuring their safety and enabling better coordination and resource allocation.

Geofencing and Alerting

AirFinder Everywhere supports geofencing capabilities, which allow you to define virtual boundaries or zones in designated areas. By strategically setting up geofences for evacuation zones or restricted areas, you can trigger automatic alerts when resources and personnel enter or exit these zones. This feature enhances situational awareness and enables timely responses to potential security breaches.

Emergency Evacuations

AirFinder Everywhere can also assist in emergency evacuation by providing real-time location updates. During emergencies, knowing the exact location of individuals within a facility or large premises can significantly improve response times and facilitate safe and efficient evacuations. Alternatively, they can also provide guidance for emergency responders to locate individuals who are unable to evacuate on their own.

Historical Data Analysis

The location data collected by AirFinder Everywhere can be stored and analyzed for future reference. By reviewing past emergency response events, your planners can assess response times and coordination strategies to identify areas for improvement, refine emergency protocols, and enhance overall preparedness.

While AirFinder Everywhere can provide the valuable location tracking and monitoring capabilities that your organization needs, it should be integrated into a comprehensive emergency response plan that considers other factors such as communication protocols, emergency protocols, and coordination with relevant stakeholders and authorities. If you want to learn more about how we can help your company with its emergency response plan or facilitate the effective deployment of emergency resources and personnel, visit our website and book a demo today!

Preparing for the Worst: The Importance of Asset Tracking in Emergency Response Planning

Written by Carson W. Garner

Carson W. Garner is a proactive business development and marketing professional with the goal of turning opportunities into sales. At Link Labs, Carson is heavily involved with project management, sales, customer success, and he hosts Link Labs' podcast Get Linked. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Marketing, Carson brings creativity, vision, organization, and dedication to the Link Labs team.

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