National Preparedness System (NPS) component: TractorFax Overview: "Incident Commander's unprecedented difference maker".

1. TractorFax Overview: “Incident Commander’s unprecedented difference maker”
TractorFax is: an all-in-one collaborative inventory and resource management tool - actionable information beginning at the local level and in a continuum to state and regional levels should the need escalate.
TractorFax is a web based system to catalog emergency resources and volunteers, combined with a set of workflows to standardize, manage, and track the collaborative requests and responses of Emergency Support Functions (ESFs), within and across jurisdictional boundaries. In this way, TractorFax can enable the collaboration, management, certifications, affiliation, and allocation of the resources of government and non-government organizations (NGO’s) to the requirements of emergency management priorities.
TractorFax allows governments and NGO’s to prepare for and respond to disasters more effectively by ensuring that ALL required resources are available and ONLY needed resources are requested — thereby minimizing the influx of inappropriate donations, called by emergency managers “second disaster”.
With TractorFax local, regional, and federal government can best identify, inventory, access, track, collaborate, and report on the vast resources given to government by private citizens and businesses, while still ensuring ownership and management of the resources remains with the specific support agency responsible for the resource. And incorporate “best practices” based on “Lessons Learned”: turning data into information and making information actionable.
Another key point to be made about our first of its kind technology is that during Research & Development (R&D), our team worked closely with “ground zero” Incident Commanders, local officials, and first responders. And then again with Incident Command’s appointed core team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) during the actual NIMS12-step Test & Evaluation (T&E) process.

2. Every expert involved with both R&D and T&E processes agreed today’s real world of advanced technologies seriously challenges, and out dates, the current practices and limitations of FEMA’s 120 resource typing definitions requirements.
Thus, TractorFax is software coded to accommodate not only the FEMA 120 Resource Typing Definitions, but over and above; TractorFax’s built-in resource dictionary accommodates infinite (unlimited) resource typing definitions; a hierarchy system, fully searchable by resource ownership description, key words, all segmented by jurisdictional zip code….Virtual preplanned resource ownership, down to the zip code….public or private, no matter; a resource, is a resource, is a resource.
Hence, Incident Commander’s “Rosetta Stone” day-to-day Incident Management System” beginning at the local level. Despite the best and noble efforts being expanded.
Compliances, aka “Green-Lights”:
1). DHS/FEMA NIMS Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) FINAL pilot evaluation (see above). The purpose of NIMS Support Center is to evaluate products against stringent goals and objectives on behalf of local and state officials, thus aiding local and state level purchasing decision making.
2). Authorized Equipment Lists – 3 InterAgency Board (IAB) approvals for local, state, and regional Grant request.
 [04AP-01-CADS] System, Dispatch, Computer Aided/ Description: Computer software system(s) used to track and manage public safety incidents and resources.
 [04AP-05-CDSS] Systems and Tools, ICS/ Description: Incident Command System (ICS) software including command/plans and decision-support tools. Also includes NIMS-compliant field incident management materials such as T-Cards and holders, specialized forms, etc.
 [04AP-07-INVN] Software, Equipment Tracking and Inventory/ Description: Application software for tracking of tangible equipment, including location and person(s) /organization(s) responsible.
3). FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations): The purpose of the FAR is to provide "uniform policies and procedures for acquisition." Among its guiding principles is to have an acquisition system that satisfies customer's needs in terms of cost, quality, and timeliness; minimize administrative operating costs; conduct business with integrity, fairness, and openness; and fulfill other public policy objectives. Government personnel may not deviate from the law without proper authorization. The FAR was issued pursuant to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act of 1974. Statutory authority to issue and maintain the FAR resides with the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, subject to the approval of the Administrator of Federal Procurement Policy.
4). COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Software) and services. COTS purchases are alternatives to custom developments or one-off government-funded developments. COTS typically requires configuration that is tailored for specific uses and the key characteristic that differentiates COTS from Custom software is that the user configurations are within the defined parameters of the commercial item and not the result of customizations to the commercial item itself. The use of COTS has been mandated across many government and business programs, as such products may offer significant savings in

3. procurement, development, and maintenance. Motivations for using COTS components include hopes for reduction of overall system-development and costs (as components can be bought or licensed instead of being developed from scratch) and reduced long-term maintenance costs.
5). Government off-the-shelf (GOTS) is a term for software Government products that are ready to use. They were created and are owned by the government. Typically GOTS are developed by the technical staff of the government agency for which it is created (i.e. DHS/FEMA work on behalf of local and state agencies’ end users). It is sometimes developed by an external entity (i.e. TractorFax (TFT)), but with funding and specification from the agency (i.e. DHS/FEMA). Because agencies can directly control all aspects of GOTS products, these are generally preferred for government purposes.
GOTS software solutions can normally be shared among federal agencies without additional cost.
List of GOTS Software:
 TractorFax (TFT)
 Interactive Scenario Builder
 SIMDIS
 Naval Simulation System (NSS)
To clarify, TractorFax IS NOT another, of many, “ONE OFF” Government-funded developments.
Uniquely TractorFax IS a FULLY DEVELPED (FULL-GROWN), comprehensive, all-in-one Incident Management Systems Tool. In fact, a first of its kind Government-funded development, all- encompassing Incident Command software product, deployment ready!
Allowing Incident Command personnel & authorized end users to seamlessly improve pre-planning’s preparedness initiatives, improving response & recovery times, and simultaneously, in a more confidential manner, addresses the real world’s ever present threat of Agro-terrorism acts head on….
TractorFax supports Unified Command’s transparent core-mission: “For the betterment of the Homeland”!
TractorFax Team,
SHARING RESOURCES SECURELY * NIMS Compliant Technology - ITIQ *
400 Northport Drive, #701
Cabot, AR 72023
Tele: 501-259-5007
Email: tractorfax@ymail.com