When incidents occur, whether they be natural disasters, terrorist attacks, industrial accidents or a major pile up on the freeway, something everyone involved in or affected by the incident is trying to get very quickly is good Situational Awareness (SA). Knowing what is happening, where it’s happening, where resources are and what they’re doing is important. In my Navy career aboard ships, we referred to this as getting and keeping the tactical “picture”. And though the tables of data and stacks of messages we collected and evaluated were important, nothing gave us the “picture” faster than a geographical display of What, Who and Where. Good SA was, and is essential to making quality and timely decisions. And if your operation or exercise involves multiple units, then having a common “picture” contributes immensely to better coordination and more efficient and effective use of resources.

So how much is good Situational Awareness worth? Well, like the Mastercard commercial, the answer is “Priceless.” The really good news is that you don’t have to have deep pockets to achieve good Situational Awareness and a Common Operating Picture. Depiction’s Live Reports and Email multi-player communications features make it easy to achieve these objectives and at a price that anyone can afford.

Click here to read a detailed explanation of how Depiction “what-if” mapping software can be used to achieve a Common Operating Picture.