RESOURCE TRACKING MANAGER: A DYNAMIC ELECTRONIC RESOURCE TRACKING AND MAPPING SYSTEM

ABSTRACT Tracking resources in real time during response situations has proven to be an integral part of decision making within an Incident Command System (ICS) structure. To help with this process, a new and portable product called Resource Tracking Manager (RTM) was designed and developed. This product is built from two off-the-shelf technologies, ESRI ArcView® and Microsoft Access®. This paper discusses the use of both products in the RTM and explains how bridging them together creates a system that is accurate, easy to use, and informative. The primary features of this tracking system include: 1) The ability to edit resources on a map and have these edits reflected in the database. 2) The ability to edit resources in the database and have edits reflected on the map. The development of RTM has important implications for resource management in a response scenario. Knowing where resources are, and allocating them efficiently and effectively is key in responding successfully.