Case Study Housing Inspections Services Program I Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Challenge
Vanguard responded to multiple declared disasters, including Hurricane Harvey – Texas (DR-4332), Hurricane Irma – Florida (DR-4337), and Hurricanes Irma and María – Puerto Rico (DR-4339). Challenges varied based on the complexity of each disaster, but included the following: • Register 200,000 in the inspection queue
• Process large numbers of inspectors • Provide logistics support to three concurrent field offices, including tech support for tablets • Accurately assess, document, and disseminate Situation Reports or daily decision-making on mission planning and task order response • Provide highly qualified, bilingual managers for the adjudication center • Develop and staff a field-based process to receive and adjudicate (badge) and train incoming, newly recruited inspectors • Find lodging for inspectors in an area of operations that sustained major damage, with shortfalls in available lodging to develop an expedited badging process in the adjudication centers. We recruited, trained, and badged nearly 6,000 local inspectors using bilingual training and management. Fully executing sweep inspections for Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, we employed an accelerated, simplified approach, resulting in higher numbers of completed inspections and cost savings. Vanguard achieved a major contract milestone by performing 20,000 inspections in a single day on three separate occasions.
• Develop and staff an adjudication and training center within 10 days of receiving a task order • Accurately forecast, quantify, and map rainfall and massive flooding across Texas, including scope of damages, loss of functionality of essential facilities, population impacts, field office requirements, and key actions to take within 24 hours for operational planning and TOPR preparation • Health and safety issues that immediately surfaced across Texas as a result of extensive flooding • Provide surge staff support for operations and field staff • Provide field training and orientation to 450 new inspectors
Badged over 9,000 inspectors in 90 days. Averaged 404 per task order.
Solution
Vanguard developed customized applications to support program management and data transfer from the field, seamlessly connecting to FEMA systems. All processes are tested and support just-in-time (JIT) delivery. The team completed the first HIS contract term and in October 2019, was awarded a five-year, $943 million recompete contract. During a 60-day period, we badged more than 9,000 inspectors for Hurricanes Irma, Harvey, and María in Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Vanguard staff took the lead, closely coordinating with FEMA Security,
Throughout the 2017-2018 hurricane seasons, Vanguard responded to eight disasters, trained and deployed roughly 10,000 inspectors, and completed over 1.4 million housing inspections in a six-month period.
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