Caravan Park Emergency Plan App: VicSES
The Client
Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) is a volunteer-based organisation, providing emergency assistance to minimise the impact of emergencies and strengthen the community’s capacity to plan, respond and recover, when emergencies occur.
The tool sits inside the VICSES site, but it is a separate project and a different kind of thing: not pages to read, but a small application with its own accounts, its own multi-step form and its own output.
Problem Statement:
In the caravan park industry of Victoria, a pressing challenge emerged around the development of comprehensive Emergency Management Plans (EMPs). Caravan park owners encountered difficulties in creating standardized EMPs, leading to inconsistencies in risk identification, treatment strategies, and overall emergency preparedness. The lack of a streamlined solution hampered the industry's ability to ensure the safety and well-being of park residents and visitors during critical situations.
Solution:
To address this significant industry-wide challenge, the introduction of the Online Planning Tool Web app emerged as a robust solution. This innovative tool developed by PretaGov after a discovery phase, provides a user-friendly template and guidance manual, offering suggestions, examples, and fact sheets to assist caravan park owners in developing EMPs. The web app includes features such as user registration, a multipage resumable form with image upload capabilities, and step-by-step guidance on risk identification and expansion of the plan.
Furthermore, the tool empowers administrators to continuously improve the template, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness over time. The option for PDF download of completed forms and online preview facilitates seamless integration into park management practices.
Major Outcome:
The implementation of the Online Planning Tool Web app resulted in a standardized approach to emergency management planning across Victoria's caravan parks. Caravan park operators, equipped with this efficient tool, could now identify major risks, conduct risk assessments, and implement treatments to minimize potential impacts consistently. The outcome was not only a tangible improvement in emergency preparedness but also an elevation of overall safety standards within the caravan park industry. The web app became a cornerstone for promoting a safer and more resilient environment for both park residents and visitors during unforeseen circumstances.
What this involved
A small application inside the main site rather than a set of pages — its own accounts, its own workflow, its own output
A multi-page form owners can leave and resume, with image upload, because an emergency plan is not filled in at one sitting
Guided step by step through risk identification and treatment, with examples and fact sheets, so plans come out consistent across an industry that was producing them ad hoc
Completed plans download as a PDF the park keeps and can act on
Administrators improve the template itself over time, so guidance can be updated without redeveloping the tool