Coordinated Incident Management System

Coordinated Incident Management System

The New Zealand Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) is New Zealand's system for managing the response to an incident involving multiple responding agencies. Its developers based the system on California's Incident Command System (ICS) developed in the 1970s and other countries' adaptions of ICS, such as Australia's Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System (AIIMS).

CIMS is a generic framework that can be adapted for each situation that arises. For example, while there are four management functions, the incident itself determines the size of the incident management team. In an isolated incident, a single officer may perform all of functions and in a very complex incident each function could be subdivided. Instead, CIMS emphasises consistent terminology, a single Incident Control Point and planning tools across all agencies. For example, the term "Assembly Area" means the same thing in every event. Likewise, all trained responders know the roles and responsibilities of the Logistics Manager.

CIMS was initially designed for all levels of emergency management, similar to the UK's Gold Silver Bronze command system, however only the bronze level has become entrenched. At higher levels, New Zealand's arrangements are outlined in the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan (the National Plan). In some senses, the National Plan is similar to the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework.

A distinguishing factor from other English-speaking systems is the use of the term control rather than command, such as the term "Incident Controller" for "Incident Commander". By implication, this was designed to emphasise that the incident management team is primarily a focused on coordinating the response by independent agencies, rather than ordering responders in a militaristic manner. This is complicated to a degree, as the person in charge of the Operations function, usually an Operations Manager, does have the authority to command agencies to act.