Safety Implications of Human Readiness Level (HRL) in Drone-assisted Emergency Response Operations

Unmanned aviation is a central tool in emergency management and protection of critical infrastructure. Fire and rescue services use drones to inspect structural damage, survey hazardous zones, and coordinate operations across multi organizational environments. While these deployments enhance situational awareness, their safety and effectiveness depend on human readiness and emergency management processes.This paper applies the Human Readiness Level (HRL) framework to drone-assisted emergency response through qualitative document analysis. We reviewed regulations, operational procedures, and incident reports relevant to Norwegian UAS operations, selecting documents according to three HRL phases in our analytical framework. The analysis maps regulatory, procedural, and incident documentation to HRL phases to evaluate and guide improvements in human readiness among drone operators. Findings indicate a progression from formal competence and regulatory compliance (HRL 1–3), through standardized and training-integrated search procedures (HRL 4–6), to operational validation in complex, multi airspace governance, and interorganizational role clarity are decisive (HRL 7–9). We conclude with recommendations to operationalize HRL metrics for interorganizational coordination, cognitive workload, airspace governance, and sustained mission capability.

Keywords: Human Readiness Level (HRL), drone operation, emergency response.