Emergency Preparedness and Response

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In all cases where there is potential serious harm to people at work and affected by work, emergency preparedness by way of proper planning and testing will reduce the consequences of on-site emergencies and help to mitigate the effects.

Who should register for the course?

The course is designed to equip people with the knowledge, skills and awareness necessary for their role in an emergency to ensure participants are fully prepared and able to handle the situation without panicking.

Course Contents

Integral to the course is the practicing and testing of all the elements of emergency preparedness and response.

Exercises

An exercise is a simulation of an emergency situation.

Exercises have 3 main purposes:

  • to validate plans (validation)
  • to develop staff competencies and give them practice in carrying out their roles in the plans (training)
  • to test well-established procedures (testing)

Course participants in exercises should have an awareness of their roles and be reasonably comfortable with them, before they are subject to the stresses of an exercise.  Typically, employees who are under-prepared would blame the emergency plan, when they should view their lack of preparation and training. An important aim of an exercise is to make people feel more comfortable in their roles and to build morale.

Types of exercises

There are 2 main types of exercise:

  • discussion-based
  • Table top exercises

Discussion-based exercises

Participants are ‘talk-through’ of how to finalise the plan.

Table top exercises

These are based on simulation.  A realistic scenario and a time line, which may be real time or may speed time up will be created for the exercise.

The exercises are run in a series of linked rooms with walkie talkies, phone lines and “actors” which simulate the divisions between responders who need to communicate and be co-ordinated. The participants are expected to know the plan and they are invited to test how the plan works as the scenario unfolds.

Course Duration and Certification

This is a two-day training. Upon successful completion of course, delegates will be issued an IHSEC certificate.

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