Testing the Plan

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Testing the Plan

• E. Floyd Phelps, CPP

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Overview

• We will not discuss writing an Emergency Plan
• Testing methods available
• Resources available
• Dos and Donts

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Is your Emergency Plan the best kept secret in
the company?
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Why Exercise

• Build a team spirit
• Training
• Elevate importance
• Exercise the system
• Incorporate new employees/replacements
• Promote the program
• Reassure employees/administration

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Types of Exercises

• Briefing
• Training
• Table Top
• Tactical
• Full Scale
• Emergency Review

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Briefing

• Executive briefing
• Periodic key player review
• Updates or changes
• New Employee briefing (orientation)

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Training

• Testing notification procedures
• CPR Training
• Monthly newsletter to key personnel
• Emergency Evacuation Exercises
• National Incident Management System (NIMS)
  training

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Table Top

• Smaller scale
• Fewer actions required
• A guided exercise
• Channeled responses

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Tactical

• Physically test several systems
• Call list
• Emergency response
• Communication
• Set up Operations Center
• Public Relations
• Emergency situations introduced
• Work as a team
• Action by participants required

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Full Scale

• Requires resources
• Participants are required to take action
• Plan for realism
• Hands-on exercise
• Put up barriers
• Interact with agencies
• Mock injuries and treatment

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Emergency Review

• Debriefing major events
• Power outages
• Fires
• Floods
• Foreign incidents
• Campus deaths
• Public relations incidents
• Special event problems

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Flying by the seat of the pants!
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TIP Within 30 days of an exercise, call all
participants together to review the emergency
management process.
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Four Aspects of an Exercise

• Planning
• Development
• Conducting
• Evaluation

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Planning

• Establish a team
• Decide on systems to be tested
• Determine the budget
• Ascertain the target audience
• Use of external resources
• Use of internal resources
• Timeline for planning

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TIP If you are working with a government agency,
a key part of the exercise should involve a
radiological, chemical, or biological
threat/incident.
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Development

• Objective
• Scenario
• Exercise timeline
• Range of the exercise
• Injections
• Critical tasks

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Development (Cont.)

• Participants
• Evaluation criteria
• Handbook development

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Conducting

• Handbooks distributed in advance
• Summoning participants
• The set
• Use of drivers (injections)
• Be flexible
• Documentation
• Safety

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TIP The object of an exercise is to allow
participants to know and feel comfortable with
their emergency management responsibilities.
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Evaluation

• Debrief
• Critique
• After action report

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Model for a Tactical Exercise

• Emergency situation
• Tornado, hurricane, explosion, etc.
• Injuries
• Communication problems
• Power outage
• Flooding
• Public relations
• Operations Center

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Model (Cont.)

• Establish communications
• Restore business operations
• Side items
• Establish security
• Campus
• Operations center
• Insure safety
• Evaluate facilities/equipment

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Test Public Relations

• Establish link with media
• Establish a telephone bank
• Who are the victims?
• Where are the victims?
• Not everyone speaks English
• Overwhelm the system
• How do they know whats going on?

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Types of Participants

• Facilitators
• Controllers
• Players/responders
• Actors/Simulators
• Outside agencies
• Evaluators

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Planning Essentials

• Objective
• Timeline
• Expectations
• Outline parameters of exercise
• Establish safety guidelines
• Determine who terminates exercise

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Types of Handbooks

• Players Handbook
• Controllers Handbook
• Evaluators Handbook

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Instructions

• Scripts (as necessary)
• Evaluation forms
• Injections with times
• Timeline

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The Testing Process

• Alert
• Reporting process
• Escalation process
• Documentation process
• Team communication process
• Unforeseen challenges
• Force interaction

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Where do you get the evaluators?
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Assign Evaluators to a specific task or area.
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TIP External evaluators are not bound by
company politics or preconceived company
operational concepts.They are a fresh pair of
eyes.
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Control Factors (Rules)

• Use of NIMS (National Incident Management System)
• Incident Command System
• United Command System
• Mutual Aid Agreements
• Response situations
• Cost documentation
• Safety

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Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-5)

• Management of Domestic Incidents requires all
  Federal departments and agencies to adopt the
  National Incident Management System (NIMS) and
  use it in domestic incident management.

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Examples of Resources

• Local ASIS Chapter
• ASIS Headquarters
• Your Insurance Carrier
• Your Training Department
• Homeland Security (City, County State)
• Local Fire Department
• Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

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National Volunteer Organizations Active in
Disaster

• http//www.nvoad.org/membersdb.php?membersState

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Dallas County Inoculation Site
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Partners

• Dallas County Health Human Services
• Dallas Chapter The American Red Cross
• University Park Fire Department
• SMU Police Department
• SMU Office of Risk Management

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Tactical Exercise

• October 22, 2004

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Partners

• Governors Office State of Texas
• Training Expert Governors Office
• Regional Liaison Officer Governors Office
• Fire Chief City of University Park
• Fire Marshal City of Dallas
• Dallas County Emergency Management

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Key Factors

• Script
• Interface with City of University Park
• Areas selected to test
• Evaluators
• Participants Manual
• Set up
• Coffee donuts

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Areas Tested

• EOC Security
• Public Relations
• Communication
• Documentation of Events Actions
• City of University Park Interface
• Emergency Power
• Key Players

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(No Transcript)
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Injections

• Police Dispatcher
• Fax
• Telephone
• Courier
• Exercise Administrators

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Take Away

• Emergency Exercises are critical.
• Consider producing some or all of your exercises.
• Remember it is a time consuming and demanding
  process.
• Remember to promote your successes.

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Questions