**Abstract**

Comprehensive disaster response processes need to be managed and progress communicated to avoid ineffective management such as duplication with stakeholders, amendments as a result of leaders' incomplete instructions, and waiting without instruction from the EOC (Emergency Operation Center). As there is existing research on standardization and systematization of disaster response processes, a pure paperbased SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) is challenging to use in actual and practical situations concerning the standard workflow based on the SOP. For effective disaster management, this study developed a Business Operation Support System (BOSS). The BOSS characteristics have the standard workflow chart based on the related documents and experiences, such as the SOP, concerning manuals/documents, past experiences, and knowledge. The overview, checkpoints, necessary documents, related information systems linked to the disaster management plan, and document formats are defined in every workflow. Even for the young or non-experienced individuals, the BOSS can support the responders through the processes for necessary actions during disasters. This research aims to compare the effect of responses to the 2019 massive rain disaster in Kawasaki city, with or without the BOSS. First,a comprehensive workflow focusing on shelter management under the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) workshop with Kawasaki city staff and community people in the BOSS was created. Second, experiments (with or without the BOSS) were carried out to analyze the differences and the BOSS effect. "With the BOSS" means that the responders can follow the workflow in the BOSS for shelter management. "Without the BOSS" means that the conventional paperbased manuals are used for the operations. Two types of manuals in Kawasaki city were used; one guides the expected shelter management points, and the other contains the explanation about COVID-19. Members of both teams comprise one leader and two staff. As a result of the experiments, the big difference between the two teams is the leader's behavior. Because the BOSS team leader instructed the different staff works following the BOSS workflow, the BOSS team responded to more kinds of works compared to the manual team. The role of all members of the BOSS team was evident. On the other hand, the manual team responded to one work by all members, including the leader, without the leader's instruction. Due to no instruction from the leader, a period of waiting was observed in the next work manual. This research obtained that the leader's instructions' effect caused the effective responses by quantitative analysis of the demonstrative experiment. For future research, the leader's behavior and decisionmaking should be analyzed for BOSS's effective operation and team-building.

**Keywords:** BOSS, process management, disaster management, disaster response, COVID-19

massive change in the living environment due to the way of life in evacuation centers [6], food shortages, and unsanitary environments increase the risk of infectious diseases [5]. Also, an unspecified number of people live together in evacuation centers, but the area per person is small, and the rate of infections spread is high in dense evacuation centers [7]. Medical workers get tired during disasters, and they may be affected, and insufficient medical resources provision compared with typi-

*Disaster Management Process Approach: Case Study by BOSS for Disaster Response under…*

There were many acute respiratory symptoms and acute gastrointestinal symptoms in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake disaster [8]. During the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake disaster, infectious gastroenteritis due to Norovirus was prevalent [9]. After natural disasters, although not limited to Japan, the outbreak of infectious diseases such as aspiration pneumonia, skin, and wound infections occurred during the 2004 tsunami disaster in Indonesia [10], and the hurricane Katrina in 2005. At

Local governments often create manuals as a prevention measure. Since many disaster response works are performed in parallel and complicated activities, omissions occur in manuals [12]. Due to detailed descriptions [13], many studies have been conducted to clarify effective manual creation methods. Also, [14, 15] clarified the effects of the new system replacing manuals in the form of empirical experiments. From the operational perspective, according to [16, 17], the actual disaster

However, although all of these analyzes actual disaster response, the effects of

Therefore, in this study, using an evacuation shelter case as an example, shelter operation using the BOSS under COVID-19 was conducted to quantitatively clarify the effect of the BOSS by comparing the evacuation shelter operation manual (with

The disaster response process management system BOSS was developed to sup-

cal phases contributes to the spread of infection [6].

**2.2 Research on disaster response work**

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94954*

response work is quantitatively analyzed.

or without the BOSS).

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that time, Norovirus infection spread in evacuation centers [11].

documents such as manuals created in advance are not mentioned.

**3. Disaster response workflow model under COVID-19**

**3.1 Overview of disaster response process management system BOSS**

port a disaster response process. The BOSS has a database of disaster response procedures not only during disasters but also the preparedness. It visualizes the whole image of disaster response workflow by processing knowledge related to all disaster countermeasures. By constructing a checklist of workflow, the responders can realize a comprehensive disaster response processes. Besides, although there are various disaster prevention plans in local governments, by associating the workflow with the disaster prevention plan, the relevant part of the regional disaster prevention plan can be linked and the contents of the plan can be quickly grasped. Every work has a working detail sheet that describes the implementation method (who, when, what, how), and the contents can be easily understood. Also, since it is possible to share the work details sheet by associating manuals, guidelines, past issues, and lessons, etc. which are distributed to each work, it is easy to take over the

points for responses even if the person in charge of disaster prevention was changed. Since in the disaster mode of the BOSS, it is possible to mutually understand all operations' progress at the disaster response headquarters and on-site. By making the disaster response work into a flowchart style, the point of decision-
