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Theoldcursewas“mayyouliveininterestingtimes”andIguessyoucouldsaythat’swherewearetoday. Thethreatmatrixisconstantlychanging,thepressisgivingawaywaytoomanydetails,letingtheotherside knowwhatworkedforusandwhatdidn’t,itgoesonandon.Addtothisthefactthatfundingfrom grantshas albutdriedup!
Afewyearsago,thebiggovernmentoferedtoprovidetheequipmentifwecoulddocumentourneedfor it.Alweworiedaboutwas"costofacquisition"anddoesitfitwithinourbudgetorcanwegetagrantforit. Maintenanceandcalibrationcostswereoncehandledbystateorfederallevel. Now these"costsof ownership"arebeingforcedonouralreadylimitedbudgetsandoh,yeah,themanufacturersnow want annualsoftwarelicensefeesjusttocontinueoperatingtheequipmentthatwe'vealreadypaidforandeach daybetourliveson.Howdowecontinueprovidingforthesafetyofourcommunitieswhensaddledwithal ofthis?
Wel,firstwehavetoadaptandfigureoutwaystomaintainthelevelofsafetyandsecurityweprovide, whilelivingwithinourbudgets.Howdowestretchwhatwehaveandbecomemoreflexibleandeficient? Weneedtocreatenew responsehierarchiesandCONOPS (ConceptsofOperations)thataddressthe uniquerequirementsofwhereweliveandoperate.Wemustbegintoplaneficientwaysofdeterminingifa threatispresent,whatitconsistsofandwhetherweneedtosummontheHazmatspecialistunitornot.
IwasrecentlyspeakingwiththeheadofanOEM whohadpurchasedchemicalandexplosivestesting equipmentmorethanfiveyearsago.Hewassayingthathewasconcernedbecausethemanufacturer recentlytoldhim thattheywerenolongergoingtosupportthatgearandthathewasgoingtohavetobuy new equipmentatacostofmorethan$8,000.00perunit.HehadfourunitsfieldedtoregionalHazmat Teams. Ishowedhim theMorphixTechnologies’ChameleonTM andTraceXTM systemsIhadwithme showinghim thefunctionalityandhowtheymaintainthesafetyandsecuritywedependon.Ithenshowed him thecostsavings.
The detection systems are not electronic,butrathercolorimetric. They provide information that specific substances are present, but do not quantify the concentrationsoramounts.What thisdoesisalow departmentsto
e the number of higher priced electronic items while givingactionableinformation. It alsoreducesthecostofrolingthe HazmatTeam everytimethereis an unknown, not to mention reducing the stress level for the
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