Enhancing crisis response capability to large-scale system failures within transportation networks
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Modern organisations are complex interdependent systems, large-scale technical systems.Transport infrastructure systems such as road, rail and aviation, comprise intricate components of interdependent "systems and networks," critical segments of which require complex coordination arrangements.These systems, which are critical to society, are vulnerable to crisis events due to the public aspect and costs of these systems.Failure in critical components of these wide area infrastructure systems can often result in cascading disturbances with secondary and tertiary impacts -some of which may become initiating sources of failure in their own right, triggering further systems failures across wider networks.Within road systems, the sources of disturbance impacting may not even be directly linked to the physical aspects of the infrastructure itself but might be triggered from other incidents such as loss of electricity, the business itself or other infrastructure components.Road systems (both surface and underground) are prime examples of large-scale technical systems that are both locations and potentially sources, for this type of wide-area disturbance.Challenges exist for transport system operators in the conceptualisation and implementation of response and subsequent recovery planning for significant events.Disturbances can vary from reduced traffic flow causing traffic congestion throughout the local road network(s) and subsequent possible loss of income to businesses and industry to a major incident causing loss of life or complete loss of an asset.Many organisations and institutions, despite increasing recognition of the effects of crisis events, are not adequately prepared to manage crises.It is argued that operators of land transport infrastructure are in a similar category of readiness given the recent instances of technical failures and unplanned closures in road tunnels and the government practice of privatising particular public infrastructure.These unexpected infrastructure failures, and their ultimately identified causes, suggest there is significant room for improvement.Risk profiles for road transport systems are often complex due to the human behaviours and the inter-mix of technical and organisational components and the managerial coverage needed for the socio-technical components and the physical infrastructure.In this sense, the span of managerial oversight may require new approaches to asset management that combines the notion of risk and continuity management.This research examined the challenges to applying effective crisis management practices in large-scale Australian road transport systems operating under commercial private public partnership settings.The specific setting was/is the operational command and control practices at the "so-called first response" to the higher order of response levels of crisis event.The research provided options for enhancing crisis and emergency management with all researched sites having different business frameworks with varying levels of crisis preparedness within transportation network organisations.
Author: Andrew B. Wheatley
Language: English
Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W29888892