How can you determine the appropriate level of detail for an emergency plan?

One of the first things to consider is whether you are writing a deliberate (i.e., pre-incident) or incident action (i.e., post-incident) plan. From there, you can decide whether your plan should be strategic, operational, or tactical - it helps to think of strategic planning as answering the WHO and the WHAT, operational planning as describing the HOW, and tactical planning as describing the WHEN and WHERE. Incident action plans (IAPs) are always operational and/or tactical in nature; deliberate plans can be strategic, operational, or tactical. Further direction is often available from the agency administrator or individual requesting the plan, and it may help steer you to the type of plan needed to accomplish the task at hand.

It is important to know the level of “buy in” and capabilities of your support agencies and first responders. If you are a large, urban area your support and response agencies may be very active and have their own plans that can be married to your plans. However, a lot of times rural areas are made up of volunteer elements with limited staffing and/or capabilities. In these instances it may be necessary to hire a third party contractor to come in and assist you in doing the research and writing a more detailed plan. Regardless of the method, both ways are not worth a lot if you do not practice and update your plan regularly.

An emergency plan requires balancing comprehensiveness with practicality. Consider the nature of the emergency, the target audience, resources, purpose, and regular review. 1. Assess the Emergency: Consider the complexity and potential severity of the emergency. A minor power outage requires less detail than a major natural disaster. 2. Know Your Audience: Technical details may suit trained responders, while simpler language is better for the general public. 3. Match Resources and Capabilities: Focus on essential actions if resources are limited. 4. Align with Plan's Purpose: Concise instructions suffice for initial response, while recovery plans require more in-depth details. 5. Regular Review and Updates.

First ask yourself , “why am I writing this plan?” Then ask yourself “who is the audience of this document?” The answer to these 2 questions will help guide you on the length, format, scope, and level of detail required for the plan. An enterprise-wide emergency pan will be different from a plan for one specific corporate building, just as one example.

Start with an outline and then quickly run a tabletop exercise with all the relevant stakeholders. This will help define many of the details such as roles and responsibilities as well as some of the the critical procedures. Good thread.

Our efforts are always collectively designed to Deter, Detect, Delay and Respond. Always, the 3 major questions that must be asked and answered are: What can go wrong? What is the likelihood that it will go wrong? and What are the consequences if things do go wrong? It is always essential to have a "go plan" ... or a "go bag" ... that is "at the ready" when you need it most. Risk can only be mitigated - in can't be eliminated. I've always found it to be important to have in place "reciprocity agreements" with nearby companies to where they come to your facility in the event of an emergency, and you go to theirs in your time of need. It goes back to the concept of, "in order to have a friend ... you first must BE a friend". Plan ahead

From conception to completion, and at each stage of any review, an Emergency Plan benefits from a pragmatic assessment of 4 C’s: Consequence Capability Complexity Competence

we need to consider the nature of the facility or organization. Highly complex or critical facilities, such as hospitals or nuclear power plants, may require more detailed plans.

I think it is important to start by identifying the risks and hazards specific to your particular region. It is important to understand which emergencies could affect your organization or workers. It will also be useful to review historical data on emergencies, climatic conditions and geographical location. Assess the likelihood and impact of different emergency scenarios for the company. Next, depending on the most likely emergencies, a Response Plan will need to be developed for the specific type of threat.

Likelihood + Probability = Risk Utilizing a “Risk Matrix” will allow you to complete a “Risk Assessment” to determine your “Risk Probability Number” and give you or your employer a holistic view of workplace risks that could pose a threat/danger to the Health & Safety of those that are engaging with said “Risk Factors or Scenarios”. By applying a “Risk Matrix” to your day to day activities within your emergency management plan, you will be engaged and informed within all levels of operation and awareness of low, medium and/or high levels of “Risk”.

This goes to the old saying of "You should never trade business cards in the EOC". If you are a crisis or emergency manager, by conducting proactive outreach to stakeholders who you know you might need to call to the table one day, will make the world a difference. It makes communicating easier, promotes buy in, and helps create a streamlines response during the heat of an incident.

When detailing roles and responsibilities in your emergency plan, it's essential to ensure tasks are within the capabilities of those assigned and don't strain the same resources. It's like ensuring two chefs in a kitchen aren't both relying on the same pot at the same time. Occasionally, multiple entities might claim the same resource, creating a potential overlap. By clearly defining roles, you ensure resources aren't double-booked and tasks are manageable. It's about being practical and ensuring smooth coordination among all stakeholders. Avoiding overlap helps prevent confusion and ensures everyone knows their unique role in the operation.

Roles must be clearly defined. It if have no idea what is expected of you --- how can you be expected to achieve those role responsibilities? Clear oral effective communication is the key in every relationship, whether it be in the workplace, at home or at play. Set up your chain of command and adhere to it without deviating. The must be organization. We always train in order to mitigate the impact of an active shooter to evacuate, hide, fight. If you tell someone to run ... they may not know where to run and this still may expose them to danger, but if you tell someone to evacuate you are giving them clear, detailed instructions that will aid them in running away and living to play another day. Be safe, not sorry!

Based on the identified risks, a strategy and response plans should be developed for each of the identified threats. Once the risks and threats have been assessed, begin to identify response capabilities. Include security, evacuation, communications, medical care, and other measures. For example, if there is a high threat of a devastating earthquake, your regional offices will likely need staff to restore operations.

Es ist wichtig, dass hier entsprechend Zyklen der übung, auch unangekündigte Proben, eingebaut werden. Verantwortlichkeiten die nur auf dem Papier existieren sind keine echte. Verantwortlichkeiten. Der Informationsgrad und damit der Umfang des Dokuments k?nnen durch verinnerlichen ebenfalls gut reduziert werden. Dies f?rdert zudem die Akzeptanz und vermeidet ebenfalls Doppelarbeit. Die Rollen müssen dabei mehrfach genannt werden und klare Anforderungen an Urlaubs - oder Krankheitsvertretung beinhaltet. Je nach Ausma? der Gef?hrdung muss eine Tafel,oder ?hnliches, arbeitst?glich die Rollenbesetzung aufzeigen und für jeden ersichtlich darstellen.

One thing I’ve found helpful is to use a Visio diagram to show the flow of information and actions and how they dictate the behavior of responders. To get caught in the minutiae of detail is a mistake, such detail should be incorporated into SOPs at the department level, and in appendices. This is generally the biggest mistake planners make. Remember that it’s not the plan but rather the planning that’s most important.

In unserer Organisation ist die Notfallplanung vielschichtig gestaltet. Notfalleinsatzpl?ne verknüpfen optisch und logisch die Wiederanlaufpl?ne für priorisierte Gesch?ftsprozesse. Diese Notfalleinsatzpl?ne werden Szenario basiert in Runbooks verknüpft. Dies erlaubt eine strukturierte übersicht in Stresssituationen. Handlungsanweisungen werden daraus als Standard Operating Procedures abgeleitet und grafisch pr?sentiert.

1 - we need to Identify the needs and expectations of all stakeholders, including employees, contractors, visitors, and the community. 2 - Tailor the plan's detail to meet these needs. Then we need to evaluate the expected response time to emergencies. Short response times may necessitate more detailed, rapid-response plans. 3 - We need to address any known vulnerabilities or weaknesses in our organization or facility. These areas may require more detailed planning and mitigation strategies.

You have to "build muscles that you hope you never have to use". I've always said, "a 3-ring binder that sits on the shelf, gathering dust is useless". You have to train, train, train and then train some more. Building mental and physical muscle memory is essential to responding promptly in an emergency. It is essential that you train the way you are going to fight. If you don't protect yourself and work to enhance your survivability rate --- then who in fact do you expect to do this for you? All good Generals must first sit down and count up the cost of going into battle. If you are never battle tested --- you can't be expected to respond proactively on the day in which you are commanded and obligated to do so. Win the day! Train!

Mike Tyson once said "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face". Never has that quote been more accurate than in the field of crisis management. When looking at stress testing and exercising consider removing components of the plan at random during the testing process. This will enable you to see if you have a real robust crisis management strategy or a house of cards that could collapse at any moment if a key element is removed. For example If you run your IT infrastructure from two datacentres for resilience what happens if both are knocked out simultaneously. When your stress testing change the exercises each time. Dig deeper into how many key components could ruin your return to BAU if removed.

Kurze, knappe Anweisung, klare Drills und regelm??ige Wiederholungen sind Basis jedes Leistungssports und jeder milit?rischen Einheit. Auch bei Notfallpl?nen braucht es klare, knappe, leicht zu verinnerlichende Anweisungen, regelm??ige kurze Trainings und das Bewusstsein, warum etwas getan werden muss. Notfallpl?ne geh?ren in die K?pfe der Mitarbeitenden, nicht allein in die Ablage, auf das Laufwerk oder ins das Gesch?ftsstellenhandbuch.

1 - we need to determine the composition and expertise of the crisis management team. A more experienced team may require a higher level of detail. 2- Regularly test and conduct drills based on the plan's level of detail. Adjust the plan as necessary based on the outcomes of these exercises. 3 - Educate all stakeholders about the emergency plan and its level of detail to ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.

Electronic platforms that are mobile and search friendly can make an unwieldy mammoth EOP useful. Rather than have a single document, cover to cover, University of Rochester Medicine used a system called PolicyStat to manage hundreds of individual policies, plans, and procedures. Instead of lugging a 6 inch binder off the shelf, you just used the Table of Contents or searched for a keyword to get to the specific document you needed. Collectively, these ### little documents, were considered the "EOP".

In a high-stress environment it can be difficult to think clearly. I like to fall back on the much-used acronym "KISS" which isn't always the politest thing to express, but it works every time. Keep It Simple Sir (normally referred to as Keep It Simple Stupid). Clear charts, graphs, maps, diagrams or icons are essential. This isn't a time to "reinvent the wheel". It is a time to push out mission critical information that can help to save lives. Your communications must be clear/concise. We encourage the use of simple sentences, similar to the children's books we used to read as kids. "See Spot Run". It's difficult for people who have suffered tremendous trauma to comprehend much beyond how they are going to live in the moment.

While I think there is value in playbooks, I think this page's premise is off-base. Plans in and of themselves do not provide much value. The value is in the robustness of the planning process. Here's where I think Steve's contribution comes in: an effective planning process will look at how best to meet the needs of those that will be enacting the plan. Knowing if the plan is adequate requires a deep understanding of the organization and HOW they planned, not what they produced. Looking at the end result diminishes the journey, which is where the true value is to be had. "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything." -Eisenhower "The best generals are those who arrive at the results of planning without being tied to plans." -Churchill

I concur with Steven Kuhr's suggestion of transitioning the EOP to a "playbook" format. In fact, I created and copyrighted the Directed Response Planning Method, and its use led a prominent museum in Massachusetts to achieve national accreditation. This museum failed its first attempt due to its original EOP being insufficient. DRPM is a structured response process that utilizes ICS as a basis for incident management. It is comprised of five sections: (1) Command Structure, (2) Incident Action Plan, (3) Incident Response, (4) Incident Closure, and (5) Incident Debrief. Each section includes a concise bulleted list of who is needed for a response and what tasks are required to facilitate an effective response. Concise and to the point.

@Steve Kuhr ... or are playbooks more like supplemental "job aids" that are used in addition to the EOP? In many contexts, the EOP is considered a formal, almost "legal" document (i.e., for Joint Commission accreditation). In the vein of the 3 P's: Policies, Plans, Procedures, I would see a playbook being most valuable at the procedural level, especially when you need something quick and at your fingertips.

Balancing the appropriate level of detail in an emergency plan is essential to ensure that it is effective, practical, and tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of your organization or facility.