EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) requires and in-depth knowledge about a wide range of destructive devices. To an outsider, it might seem a brave but simple thing, disarming devices meant to cause so much destruction. To do so without killing yourself or innocent bystanders, requires a data base of some 10,000 technical orders and manuals. Knowledge from the chemical composition of explosives, to specific functions of fuzes (yes that is spelled correctly), to the latest intelligence on enemy ordnance, creates a knowledge base no single person could possible commit to memory. This problem is were information technology has streamlined the EOD emergency response process, and still promises to make the job more efficient and therefore safer in the future.
Before electronic information technology, T.O.s (technical orders) were stored in …show more content…
Let’s say a construction crew unearthed an old piece of ordnance. Soon EOD would be called out to solve the problem. For safety, everyone within the destructive radius of the ordnance would be evacuated until the device was deemed safe or an RSP (render safe procedure) made it benign. This could be an area with a radius of 2,000 ft. or more depending on the ordnance. The local economic impact would be severe for the length of the evacuation. Before electronic information technology, EOD technicians would have to return to their shop and sift through hundreds, of T.O.s just to identify the correct fuzing in the ordnance then research more to find the RSP. Even worse, if the EOD techs (shorthand for technicians) were too geographically separated from their shop, they would need to exchange the details over the phone with an individual assigned to do the research. With this method, a crucial detail could be missed leading to a misidentification, and thus, an incorrect RSP. It’s easy to understand how a lack of instantaneous information was a limiting factor that increased risk
Before electronic information technology, T.O.s (technical orders) were stored in …show more content…
Let’s say a construction crew unearthed an old piece of ordnance. Soon EOD would be called out to solve the problem. For safety, everyone within the destructive radius of the ordnance would be evacuated until the device was deemed safe or an RSP (render safe procedure) made it benign. This could be an area with a radius of 2,000 ft. or more depending on the ordnance. The local economic impact would be severe for the length of the evacuation. Before electronic information technology, EOD technicians would have to return to their shop and sift through hundreds, of T.O.s just to identify the correct fuzing in the ordnance then research more to find the RSP. Even worse, if the EOD techs (shorthand for technicians) were too geographically separated from their shop, they would need to exchange the details over the phone with an individual assigned to do the research. With this method, a crucial detail could be missed leading to a misidentification, and thus, an incorrect RSP. It’s easy to understand how a lack of instantaneous information was a limiting factor that increased risk