IT for response and recovery.  We have revised our report to reflect more 

accurately the activities performed by EP&R CIO personnel. 

LIMS III:  As the EP&R CIO suggested, we have updated our report to refer 

to the Logistics Information Management System as LIMS III, not LIMS.  

Although we evaluated how effectively LIMS III supports the logistics 

management process, we did not follow up and report on recommendations 

from prior audits regarding logistics data accuracy. 

Prior GAO and OIG Assessments:  We disagree with the EP&R CIO's 

statement that our references to past OIG reports, without referring to the 

current status of these reports, may give an inaccurate and unfair picture of IT 

status.  We referenced prior GAO and OIG assessments only to provide 

background information and a context for conducting our audit.  While the 

scope of our review did not include following up on all findings and 

recommendations from these prior assessments, it should be recognized that 

many of the concerns they raised, such as NEMIS reliability, usability, and 

training, remain issues today. 

ADD Functionality:  We recognize that the Automated Deployment Database 

has a  check in  process and a date/time stamp for when personnel call 

headquarters to advise of their arrivals at disaster sites.  However, as we 

discuss in our report, personnel do not always follow the prescribed check in 

procedures and information on their arrivals may not be entered into ADD to 

measure deployment time.  Inconsistent check in not only affects the accuracy 

of ADD reports, but also may leave response and recovery personnel at risk 

when their whereabouts are unknown.   

LIMS III Tracking:  We recognize, as the EP&R CIO has indicated, that 

LIMS III was not designed to track commodities such as ice and water. We 

are concerned that the lack of a system or a formal requirement to track such 

commodities not only does not meet requirements of the National Incident 

Management System, but also creates problems for response and recovery 

personnel.  As we discuss in our report, property officers must resort to 

spreadsheets, manual processes, or other inconsistent and nonintegrated means 

to track commodities, resulting in wasted time, effort, and resources.  We 

encourage FEMA's ongoing efforts to develop a total asset visibility system to 

track commodities and expect that such a system will provide FEMA with 

improved ability to track and measure distribution of assets across federal, 

state, and local agencies.   

Emergency Preparedness and Response Could Better Integrate Information Technology  

with Incident Response and Recovery 

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