Organizing Information System
Once
you have obtained information and an appropriate method of storage, it is
necessary to figure out how you can retrieve the information and format it in a
suitable way so that it can be dispersed to the right clients (internal and
external). The methods for sending information are very similar to collection.
The key difference is that collection needs to be flexible for any type, while
dispensing usually has to be appropriate to the person to whom it is going. It
is usually better to set information into typical formats for ease of
retrieval. This also depends upon your existing information storage systems.
Retrieval
needs to be easy, quick and possibly summarised. Usually, information is best
retrieved in a particular format but could be retrieved from multiple formats.
As an example, contact lists of names, details, organisation, position,
display, theme, etc could be stored within a database or on a spreadsheet.
These could be generated especially for an event or as part of a wider
community resource tool, such as a community directory.
Timeframes
for planning are of major importance: who needs what and when? Does the
information need to be 100% firm and correct or can you provide data
progressively? For example, usually contact lists are issued early in a project
containing only basic information and may not have detailed information
allocated until nearer the time of the event. This list would then be
considered a live document, ie updated and reissued as required, with
information like names, display location, power requirements, etc added over
time.
Overview of managing information
Managing
information is about handling all types of information - from receiving and
storing to distributing and filing it after use. This is to support your own
and others’ aims in the organisation, whether for a single or multiple tasks.
In some organisations this can be the crux of all activities.
Managing
information involves the ability to wade through vast quantities of information,
analyse its validity and / or relevance for the task, collate the information
and put it into a format for distribution. You need to have a suitable storage
system to file this information as it is received, to store it when it is no
longer in use and to easily retrieve any information at a later date should
this be necessary.
Information
collected could be in a variety of formats, for example: Electronic, Rough
hand-written notes on paper, Formal reports, Internet and / or links to websites,
Faxed information, Drawings or sketches, Photographs, including satellite,
stills, digital, video, etc, Books, Legal documents, plans that already exist
under another department or event.
Information needed in traffic management
planning
The
sort of information that could be utilised for specialists to have sufficient
information includes the following:
· Map of the area showing streets
· Time schedule for the possible
interruption
· Special requirements for vehicles that
need to move through the area
· Number of vehicles involved at any one
time
· Proposed streets to be used and their
construction type
· Any infrastructure features that may be
influential, e.g., bridges, railway crossings, etc
· If closures are needed, their program and
duration
· Access needed for emergency services both
within the festival and through the area
· Access for general maintenance and
rubbish removal and proposed time frame
· Major parking areas
· Consideration for special requirements of
any industry / commercial area close to the event, e.g., delivery / pickup,
waste removal (again approximate timetable)
· Existing prevention plans or strategies
for emergency situations, e.g., creek flooding, major traffic incident
· Prevention plans or strategies available
from areas such as the works depot within the council, e.g., for dirt roads
creating too much dust or too much mud
· Where events involve separated areas, how
pedestrians will move across roadways between the areas
· List of resources to cater for certain
situations, e.g., water trucks to dampen dirt roads to minimise dust
· Pedestrian traffic management, how and
who. Could be portable traffic lights, crossing supervisor
· Risk assessments completed that could
impact
· Prevention strategies that could impact
· Displays that could impact
· Items such as parades, concerts,
fireworks, etc that could impact traffic flow
· Minutes of meetings for organising,
brainstorming, wrap up, etc
· Any form of report or their outcomes,
subject to confidentiality.
Analyzing information
Many
people have vast amounts of experience in collating, analysing and recording
information. It is always worth reflecting on what you already know, as well as
remembering to think laterally when working with documents or other forms of
information.
· Hand sketches are often a source of good
information, especially for local names not on official documents or where
names have changed.
· Photos can provide actual proof of a
situation when the paper work cannot, or when it is very hard to locate the
exact information, you seek. For example, official documents may state that a
bridge never floods but a photo, while confirming this, may show the road on
either side of the bridge totally under water and hence the bridge may still
not be usable when there has been heavy rain.
· Maps may have to be scrutinized carefully
due to scales and changes in information. What was correct when a map was
actually produced may have changed since that time. For example, the name of a
reserve may have been changed and hence the majority of official documents
produced until the last five years would not contain the current name.
· You should always consider what
information could be utilized outside the current event you are working on.
This means you should have a good knowledge of your organization's broader
services and goals. For example, if you find a good cheap supplier of first-aid
supplies, as a local council it would be in your interest to pass / store the
knowledge for local non-profit community groups.
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