ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - There is a method to what some might call the madness.
The decision to delay or close this installation due to inclement weather is a well thought-out process involving communication between key APG tenants and staff and the Senior Commander, according to Rick Deoliveira, the post?'s chief of emergency management and anti-terrorism.
More importantly, said Deoliveira, the ultimate goal of the process is to ?"ensure the well-being of our workforce. People are our most valuable resource, and our job is to ensure they are safe."
The first step in determining the post status is evaluating the forecast, he said. Weather information is obtained from the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center (ATC) Meteorological Team, local media, and school and government liaisons.
?"In addition to the input we get from the National Weather Service, our ATC weather specialists are professional meteorologists and provide accurate, reliable and specific storm effects to APG," said Deoliveira.
Weather information is then evaluated during a destructive weather working group meeting hosted by the installation?'s Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, and attended by representatives from Morale, Welfare, and Recreation; Safety; Police; Fire; Public Works; 20th CBRNE Command; Human Resources; Public Affairs; Aberdeen Test Center; Communications-Electronics Command; Research, Development and Engineering Command and the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center.
Representatives develop recommended courses of action for APG senior leaders based on storm expectations and each staff element?'s capabilities and response requirements.
?"This means if a foot of snow is projected to fall overnight: how quickly and efficiently can our DPW teams clear and make safe our roads and parking lots before our workforce arrives?" said Deoliviera. Decision factors include current and forecast weather, the effect of DPW clearance operations (how much has been plowed, swept or cleared), hazardous conditions on post, surrounding county conditions, school and local government closures, installation infrastructure status (power, water, sewage, etc.) and the condition of each installation access control point.
Recommended courses of action are presented to APG?'s Senior Commander, who will make a final decision on closures and delays, usually no later than 4:30 a.m. The Senior Commander is the only individual authorized to make changes to installation status.
?"After we identify the weather, we make an analysis of how that affects APG," Deoliveira said. ?"We have to be conscious about warnings affecting Baltimore City or the state of Maryland because those may not necessarily apply to APG. We have to make sure its relevant to the installation."
Although the Senior Commander makes the overriding decision on the installation status, each tenant on post can authorize its own administrative instructions for its employees and is encouraged that they do so, Deoliveira said. Notably, Tenant leaders may designate sufficient personnel as mission essential in order to complete vital mission duties which cannot be delayed.
Decisions about installation status are released to local media before 5 a.m. to accommodate employee travel schedules.
DPW workers also prepare for storms before they hit, according to Deoliveira, by salting roadways and parking lots. Once a storm hits, and it is reasonably safe, workers are on continuous deployment to ensure roadways and parking lots remain clear. Ahead of significant events, DPW coordinates with individual tenants to identify and establish priority areas that need to be cleared in case of heavy snowfall.
?"In the end, we also know storms change, and so we?'re flexible," Deoliveira said.
The Installation Status condition is available through the APG Snow line at 410-278-7669, the APG webpage and the Post?'s social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
Social Sharing