What do you do if your emergency response plans need a fresh perspective?

It involves several steps, major of them are illustrated below; 1. Review Current Plan: must review the existing emergency response plan to identify any weaknesses, outdated information, or areas for improvement. 2. Conduct Risk Assessment: Conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify new potential hazards or risks that may have emerged since the last plan update. 3. Scenario Planning: Conduct scenario-based exercises or simulations to test the effectiveness of the current plan and explore alternative response strategies. 4. Training and Awareness: ensure that all employees are familiar with the updated emergency response plan and know their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency.

Emergency response plans must be developed intelligently to allow for adaptability in all circumstances. This is why it is important not to neglect the periodic analysis and evaluation that is carried out and which allows us to change or readjust our strategy. We will need to do simulation exercises each time to avoid surprises. It will also be necessary to convene meetings and collect ideas from all staff, even if it means setting up a crisis unit which will meet whenever necessary.

To bring a fresh perspective to emergency response plans: 1. Assess current plans to identify weaknesses. 2. Form a diverse team including experts and community members. 3. Brainstorm innovative ideas and solutions. 4. Utilize technology for improved communication and resource management. 5. Engage with stakeholders for feedback and collaboration. 6. Test prototypes in simulated scenarios. 7. Iterate based on feedback and evolving needs. 8. Develop educational materials for training. 9. Prioritize creativity, adaptability, and community involvement to enhance preparedness. 10. Collaborate with neighboring jurisdictions to jointly update plans and ensure they compliment each other to overcome weaknesses.

Nothing is permanent, and situations are always dynamic. What was considered threat, becomes opportunity…..A leader must always conduct OODA loop….. Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. This will improve the situational awareness. The perception of emergency will change and so will the plan. Contingency planning or emergency response is continuously evolving. If one has situational awareness, nothing surprises you!

The first thing to understand when reviewing your emergency response plan is the current credible threat. First understand the threat then compare that with your current plan. This assessment will drive the rest of your planning. This is the continuation of the continuous cycle.

Collaboration is the key. In a geographically diverse environment, we often lack the in-depth knowledge that comes from being onsite day-to-day. Listening to the concerns and fears of those who have that daily experience can provide some ideas to revise, clarify, and update emergency plans. I am a fan of the mind-mapping concept and having conversations across all levels and areas of the organization will provide several development points for the map. These conversations also help to surface assumptions. What we may be thinking will take place based on our experience and planning may not be what the stakeholders are doing or expecting.

It is natural for many organizations to get tunnel vision or fail to develop solutions simply because they are concerned with daily challenges. If your plans need a refresh I would first start with connecting with local managers of the indidual departments but this is unlikely to reveal new ideas. I would than go to surrounding jurisdictions as they face different challenges. Finally, hiring a consultant is never a bad thing as they can provide not only provide a fresh perspective but also provide a second opinion. When finished compare and contrast the differences and determine what your requirements are and what plans look like form those outlying jurisdictions as plans for one emergency can be applicable to other.

All stakeholders need to be identified from Department doing the work, to those funding its use, and those in private industry of the community affected by the Emergency Action Plan

Absolutely get outside help if something is not right. No one person or group has all the answers. If something new comes up in an event, contact whoever you have to and make it right. This lends credibility to your agency.

I find it is always helpful to role play the scenario from different stakeholders' perspectives and to adjust the physical nature of the consequences/impacts.

There are two types of reviews that may prove helpful. The first is to engage other emergency managers that have no stake in the plan. Is it clear to them? Complete? Have you missed something that they deem critical? Then run it by your most junior employees. Does it make sense? Are they aware of their part in the overall scheme? Identifying gaps at both the high and low level can vastly improve your plan.

EMs often focus on refining response plans based on local experiences and best practices. However, an approach to gain new perspective is to expand beyond the usual procedural norms and look to the global community. An approach to do this is to organize a knowledge sharing exchange. By engaging with international counterparts, we can learn about new practices, tools, and strategies that have proven effective in different contexts. This can take place as virtual conferences, study tours, or peer-to-peer mentoring programs.

Every 6 months the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) manager needs to conduct both of the following: 1. Certification that all of the resources needed to enact the EAP are present, in good working order and thus capable of meeting the needs states as a requirement in the EAP. 2. or a private-government partnership is secured, with identified Emergency Funding, if its ever to be needed in an emergency.

e. The biggest issue I have seen is that not enough teams travel to different places to train. Go to places like TEEXs, or that academy that is in the other end of your state. Tell the staff this is what we would like to do and have them "mess up your day". But the training has to fit your mission. I'm in NJ on the coast, and it would fit our team mission to go to FL and learn about hurricane response. If the team does the same training every year its not helping. How many times have fire departments gone to the local academy and burned, everyone knows the fire is going to be in one of three places. Bu that new place they can get you to think.

What we always do , organize tabletop exercises or simulations to test your plans and identify potential gaps or issues. Encourage participants to think creatively and suggest improvements. However most of the "old timer" would share their 80's experience and totally squash others to think outside the box and stick with the old way. Well dinosaurs went extinct due to unable to adapt.

In my experience, the best way to get a fresh perspective is to do scaled drills of whatever emergency plan you want to refresh. Written plans are great and look amazing on paper, but until you actually execute the plan, you will not know what shortfalls you may have.

Training and exercising not only describes what you can do, but it also describes what your shortfalls are, so don't be afraid to think you can improve. Training and exercising leads to identifying what your capibilities are and what you need to improve upon. Use this information to determine your goals while determining what your needs are to achieve those goals. You can then acquire those new things...be it develop new plans, hire, train, or equip to improve and develop new capibilities. After you do this exercise again to see where you improved...it's a cycle.

Regularly review and update your emergency response plans to ensure they remain relevant and effective. Stay informed about emerging threats and best practices in the field.

Continuous review of your emergency response plans is a must for maintaining their relevance and effectiveness. Set up a regular schedule to re-evaluate your plans, taking into account any new threats, changes in resources, or lessons learned from recent emergencies. This ongoing process allows you to make incremental improvements, ensuring that your plans evolve alongside the changing landscape of emergency management.

All Emergency Plans need to be updated given the following, what I call, requirements. They are: 1. Once it is Exercised and an After-Action Report is developed, Or. 2. It's been more than 24 months since it has been Exercised. These are the only ways an Emergency Action Plan can be assured it can be helpful when needed.

It can be hard to know how to innovate. A few people may come to innovation naturally, but most of us need help. One way to innovate is through a structured workshop where a master facilitator walks you and your team through short activities to efficiently get new ideas. Search for someone with a “Workshopper Master”certificate to get started.

The only thing that is constant is change. Innovation calls for change in the existing emergency protocols. This may take the form of reconsidering the existing risk assessment done. Considering the former, current and future threats. In addition. Further, it may require inviting external auditors to come and evaluate the emergency response plan in place. Then results implemented.This forms part of innovation.

I believe, a practice for this exercise, (desktop etc.) would go a long way in the proper & timely execution. Also as a perspective to make such plans or the main point of contact as popularly accessible as possible also help.

Bring in experts who advise others to add perspective and make sure you operate in your own eco chamber. Outside experts have the vantage point of seeing what others do and that may help your plan.

Go back to your communities! Engage them about any changes to date and make the necessary changes to the community response plans. Those changes from community should warrant a fresh outlook that's needed in your national response plan.