The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) staff members have completed their final phase of warehouse management training funded by the US Department of Defense. The training began on Monday, July 12, 2010, and was conducted by the Management Technical Services (Man Tech), a group of Management Technical International Corporation; and Sub-Contractors – Business Contingency Group from the United States.

The warehouse management “Train the Trainer Certification Course” included how to use computer software and operate the machinery of new warehouse equipment and how to properly manage the warehouse. In addition, the ODPEM’s warehouse operators received hands-on training in all areas of stocking, ordering for re-stocking a warehouse, moving items in, out and around facility, and maintenance of the facility.   

The training is one aspect of the Warehouse Management Operations Project which is driven by the US SOUTHERN COMMAND Humanitarian Affairs Division and is expected to: 

1) Enhance the capabilities of Jamaica disaster management-related systems, specifically material storage, distribution, transportation, command, control, and communications 
2) Increase the availability of critical disaster relief items and ensure their serviceability to mitigate disaster situations 
3) Increase the ability to get the relief items to the right place at the right time, with the right mix of relief items 
4) Increase ODPEM’s Emergency Operations Center’s visibility of the readiness, status, and condition of disaster relief items essential to the effective coordination process of the first-response capability 
5) Increase the capability of ODPEM’s warehouse operators in all areas of stocking, ordering for re-stocking, moving items in, out and inside the facility 
6) Improve the maintenance of warehouse facility and the use of established inventory management procedures using the available E-Team-Incident Command System (ICS) or available database software 
7) Promote the coordination and the connection among different national, regional and international NGOs that are involved in activities of humanitarian assistance as well as the interaction with other organizations and sectors that provide humanitarian relief during disasters.   

In the last two years, Jamaica has received a series of warehouse construction support from the US Department of Defense totaling over one hundred and sixty-five million Jamaican dollars.   

These projects should help to foster the development of regional cooperation and improving the capacity of Jamaica and the region to respond to humanitarian emergencies.