Descriptive Design Structure Matrices for Modelling Infrastructure Interdependencies in Community Recovery
Year: 2020
Editor: Harold (Mike) Stowe; Tyson R. Browning; Steven D. Eppinger; Jakob Trauer
Author: Qureshi, Rameez; Ford, David N.; Wolf, Charles M.
Series: DSM
Institution: Texas A&M University, United States of America
Section: Organizational Architectures
Page(s): 10
DOI number: 10.35199/dsm2020.18
ISBN: 978-1-912254-12-5
Abstract
Interdependencies between infrastructure sectors impact the recovery of communities in the post-disaster period. These interdependencies give rise to multiple feedback loops that drive and constrain the recovery of a community. Community leaders tasked with developing a recovery plan must allocate limited resources over time among multiple interacting sectors that need assistance. The interactions make it difficult to size and sequence assistance in the post-disaster period. A Descriptive Design Structure Matrix (DDSM) was developed to aid community leaders in understanding the impacts of resource allocation policies and assess policy effectiveness and efficiency. The DDSM provides simple, logical descriptions of community infrastructure interactions that can create recovery bottlenecks. Community interactions in recovery were analyzed using Cambridge Advanced Modeler. The DDSM model can complement existing methodologies to aid community leaders by providing a systematic and structured approach to sequencing resources for a quick recovery from disasters.
Keywords: Infrastructure Interdependencies, Community Recovery, Resilience, DSM, Disaster Management