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The Exercise Planners Guide - Part 5

This page:

• Debriefing
  • Single Service Debriefing
  • Multi-Agency Debriefing
• Exercise Report
• Exercise Check List
• Annex A - guidelines for those taking part
  • Essential Briefing Points

Debriefing

A review of the responses to an exercise by the emergency services and agencies giving assistance is essential. This provides an opportunity to evaluate efficiency, to learn from experience gained and also offers a source of information to assist in future planning, training and exercising.

This process can be best achieved by a series of debriefings at all levels within all agencies involved and concluding with a multi-agency debrief. Hot de-briefs (those which take place immediately after the event) can be a useful way of capturing instant reaction which may not be revealed by the cold de-brief (that which takes place after an interval). All actions identified by the debrief should be taken forward by a nominated person/agency and given a timescale.

Organisations may wish to consider appointing a neutral debrief co-ordinator. It is important that a non-threatening atmosphere is created so that people are not afraid of being honest about their experiences and problems.

Single Service Debriefing

The methods of debriefing personnel involved in a major incident may vary within each individual service. It will, however, be beneficial to debriefing if consideration is given to the following:

• Debrief as soon after the exercise as is practicable.
• Everyone involved, including personnel remote from the area of operations (e.g. control room staff) should be afforded the opportunity to contribute to debriefing at some stage.
• The need for additional debriefing sessions for personnel involved in specific or specialist operations.

NB: Recordings made at the exercise, particularly video recordings/photographs, along with written reports will assist in debriefings.

Multi-Agency Debriefing

The debriefing process should culminate in a multi-agency forum which includes not only the emergency services but also any other agency which may have assisted in the overall response. It is important that each service is represented by personnel actually involved in operations, as it will be necessary to give first hand accounts of events.

Depending on the scale and nature of the exercise it may be advantageous to hold joint debriefings for specific levels of command, e.g. Incident Control Team (Tactical level) and/or for personnel deployed on tasks requiring multi-agency involvement. Such meetings should, of course, be a pre-cursor to the final multi-agency debriefing and should add to its content.

NB: Facts emerging from the debriefings should be documented and problems identified. Lessons learnt should be shared with all who may be required to respond to major incidents even if they did not participate. Training needs - individual, organisational and multi-agency - should be identified.

The Emergency Planning College is always interested to receive exercise reports, details of experiences and lessons drawn from exercises. These help the College to forward the sharing of lessons and consider relevant issues for further training.

Exercise Report

A major multi-agency exercise can be both costly and time consuming to arrange and undertake. It is particularly useful, therefore, to produce an exercise report after the debrief. This should be well presented and brief so that the busiest manager has no excuse not to read it. The report should cover the aim, objectives, scenario, the planning process and both positive and negative observations from the exercise concluding in recommendations for the future. It is also important that the recommendations are acted upon and a follow up report prepared no later than 6 months after the publication of the Exercise Report noting what action has been taken and what is planned.

Most organisations involved in emergency preparedness will benefit from other people's experiences of exercise

• IF the report is open and honest, and
• the needs of commercial / service sensitivity are genuinely respected.

Exercise Checklist

1. Agree the scenario, extent and aim of the exercise with senior management.
2. Assemble a multi-disciplinary exercise planning team and agree the objectives for each area to be exercised.
3. Sketch out and then develop the main events of the exercise and associated timetables.
4. Determine and confirm the availability of the outside agencies to be involved, such as the media or voluntary agencies.
5. List the facilities required for the exercise and confirm their availability e.g. transport, buildings and equipment
6. Ensure that all communications to be used during the exercise have been tested at some stage prior to the exercise. If a control post or live exercise, test radios, mobile phones etc. in the locations in which they will be used as near to the date of the exercise as possible. Check that cellular phones are registered under ACCOLC.
7. Check that umpires for each stage of the exercise are clearly identified and properly briefed.
8. Ensure that directing staff are clearly identified and properly briefed, and have good independent communications with 'exercise control' throughout the exercise.
9. If the exercise links a number of activities or functions which are dependent on each other, confirm that each has been individually tested beforehand.
10. Ensure that all participants have been briefed.
11. Ensure that all players are aware of the procedures to be followed if a real emergency occurs during the exercise.
12. If spectators are to be invited, including the media, ensure that they are clearly identified and properly marshalled, and arrange for them to be kept informed of the progress of the exercise. Ensure their safety.
13. For the longer exercise, arrange catering and toilet facilities.
14. Ensure that where appropriate outside agencies are indemnified in the event of exercise accident.
15. Warn the local media, emergency services switchboards/controls and any neighbours who might be worried or affected by the exercise. Position "Exercise in Progress" signs if appropriate.
16. Ensure that senior management, directing staff, umpires and key players are aware of the time and location for the 'hot' debrief, and circulate a timetable for a full debrief.
17. Agree and prepare a detailed set of recommendations, each one accompanied by an action addressee and timescale.
18. Prepare a clear and concise summary report of the exercise to distribute to all organisations and groups which took part, together with major recommendations.
19. Discuss with senior management the outcome of the exercise and agree the future exercise programme.
20. Thank all personnel and outside agencies which took part.

Annex A - Guidelines for briefing those taking part in exercise

These Guidelines should form a basis around which a pre-exercise briefing can be developed. Individual agencies should adapt this for their own use including additional points relevant only to their organisation and personnel.

It is essential that all persons who will or could take part in an exercise, are fully briefed. Failure to do so could lead to the possibility of litigation should someone who has taken part in the exercise suffer physical or mental injury, citing poor advanced preparation by the organisers as a contributory factor. The briefing must be reasonably near in time to the exercise (i.e. not more than one month beforehand). The degree to which participants are briefed will vary according to the type of exercise being held and it is unlikely that the same depth of briefing will be required for a table top exercise as for a live exercise.

Essential Briefing Points

A verbal and written list of all participants in the exercise should be presented at the beginning of the briefing. The main briefing will wish to include the following items:

The exercise will take place between the following dates _________________and/or the following times __________/________________ The approximate duration of the exercise is_____________________

The exercise code name is e.g. "Exercise Red Card".The exercise code name should be used as a prefix on all written, radio and telephone messages relating to the exercise.

This is/is not a multi-agency exercise. The other agencies involved are ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

The exercise scenario will/will not involve the following:

1. A ClMAH/contingency plan site
2. - Simulated casualties
3. - Hazardous substances
4. - Simulated hazardous substances
5. - Fire
6. - Simulated fire/ smoke
7. - Smoke
8. - Effects toxic / harmless

A safety officer will be present, identified by _______________________________________

Exercise directors will be present, identified by ______________________

Exercise observers will/will not be present identified by ______________________

Any concerns regarding personal health and safety or the health and safety of others during the exercise should be drawn to the attention of the safety officer or an exercise director immediately. An assessment will be made as to whether the exercise can continue.

If a genuine injury is sustained (as opposed to a simulated injury) use and repeat the code word "_______________________." to attract attention - under no circumstances should these words be used by role playing casualties.

Notification of exercise suspension/abandonment / completion will be given by ______________________
(e.g. code words or audible signals.)

^(*) A health and safety risk assessment has been undertaken and your attention is drawn to the following (if applicable): Protective clothing/equipment required, over and above standard issue Areas of the site which are prohibited Physical hazards on site ________________(sharp points, trip hazards etc.)

All participants in the briefing now have the opportunity to raise questions relevant to health and safety.

Any participants who wish to raise concerns about their personal health and safety or to pose questions relevant to health and safety after this briefing but before the exercise should see ______________________ or their line manager.

Will all participants ensure that they have signed the briefing attendance sheet which will be kept on record.

^(*) A "health and safety risk assessment" of the planned exercise is essential good practice. The method to undertake this should be an early consideration of the Exercise Planning Group. Each participating organisation must assess whether there is a the need for an individual assessment or whether one agency (e.g. the Fire Service along with the site owners) should undertake the risk assessment and share information with other participating agencies.

These guidelines for pre-exercise briefings are based on those produced by the Derbyshire Emergency Planning Liaison Group.