SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF OIL SPILL RESPONSE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since the late 1960'S, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), as well as many other agencies, academia, and industry, has spent millions of dollars on research and development (R&D) related to oil and hazardous material spill response. R&D projects were chosen by using a combination of methods: some started from regulations; some started from specific issues identified by the field or USCG program managers; and some were the result of workshops that brainstormed a list of prioritized projects. These methods were successful when multiple significant, manageable problems were identifiable, after the Exxon Valdez spill for example. With the changes initiated by the post-Exxon Valdez R&D effort in place, the response community has been more proficient, especially in responding to small oil spills. However, oil spill recovery rates are still low except under ideal conditions and it has been argued that, in the end, the results of a major spill have not significantly changed. A system might be defined as a group of processes or elements that function together towards some end result. Most systems don't function optimally due to gaps in capability. Not all gaps are equal in terms of impact on system performance. Systems analysis is a process of looking at a system holistically in an effort to identify the best opportunities, or leverage points, to improve overall system function. The USCG R&D Center and SAIC undertook a systems analysis of spill response in an effort to identify those leverage points that could significantly change the outcome of a large spill. Besides defining the response system, key elements of the analysis included system definition, expert evaluation of the system to identify capability gaps (potential leverage points), and system modeling to evaluate the impact of gap closure. This paper will lay out the process, the results of the expert evaluation, and what we learned from the system model.