As part of the City's disaster logistics management planning efforts, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) developed an emergency resources and essential skills database through an interagency task force.

In December 2003, the City launched the Citywide Asset and Logistics Management System (CALMS), a web-based system designed to capture information on resources commonly used in disaster response and recovery. It includes modules for identifying facilities, fleet, heavy equipment, and emergency supplies from City agencies to fulfill critical needs during emergency and routine operations. CALMS also captures information about City personnel that enables emergency managers to quickly identify workers with special skill sets when additional assistance is requested.

The task force convened weekly between August and December 2003 to discuss, draft, and revise section topic areas such as communications, operational processes, information systems management, contracting and procurement, resource management considerations and typing, warehousing and staging, transportation and distribution, integration of State and Federal assets, and special issues, such as the management of fuel, portable generation, and portable lighting.

CALMS is the only system in New York City that integrates multiple resource management systems and provides a single view of the resources owned and managed or accessible to response agencies. CALMS aids decision-making in the Emergency Operations Center and allows OEM to better fulfill the resource requests made by City agencies during emergencies.

Additionally, the CALMS database incorporates regional, State, Federal, non-profit and private sector resources.

CALMS was recently tested in Operation Transit Safe and Operation United Response, the largest exercise ever held in New York City. The system successfully helped identify equipment needed at the scene of the emergency.

Downloadable CALMS handout (in PDF).