Decision-Making in Emergency Response Organisations: Human Factors Challenges and Implications for Digital Support Systems

Abstract

Emergency response organisations operate under conditions of extreme time pressure, uncertainty, and high stakes, where the quality of operational decisions directly affects the safety of responders and the public. Increasing technological complexity, novel hazard profiles such as alternative energy carriers and lithium-ion battery systems, and dynamic multi-actor environments significantly increase cognitive load and expose limitations of existing procedural and technological support mechanisms.Although digital Decision Support Systems (DSS) and advanced information and communication technologies are widely promoted as tools to improve operational decision-making, their practical adoption and effectiveness at the tactical level remain limited. One important reason for this gap may lie in the insufficient alignment of such systems with the Individual and contextual dynamics of real emergency response operations.This paper examines decision-making challenges in emergency response organisations from a Human Factors perspective and discusses implications for the design of digital decision support systems. The study builds on insights from the EMERDEC project, which investigates how tactical decisions are formed during the early and most critical phases of emergency response.Methodologically, EMERDEC combines participatory approaches, ethnographic field research, and controlled simulation studies in virtual and real-world environments. Advanced wearable sensor technologies and immersive simulations are used to capture psychophysiological indicators of stress, workload, and situational awareness.Based on these empirical insights, the paper identifies key Human Factors challenges for digital decision support and argues for a shift from technology-driven system development toward human-centred DSS design that aligns with the cognitive realities of emergency response operations.

Keywords: Emergency Response, Decision-making, Human Factors, Situational Awareness, Decision Support Systems, Naturalistic Decision Making

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007363