Best Practices

A good Crisis & Emergency Response Plan describes in general terms: the basis of an Incident Management System; the alignment between incident classification and scalable response; the response organization; triggers for activation of a response; notification and activation of response teams; incident management processes; business continuity; plans linkage and the varying frameworks within which an organization response may have to function.

This plan is used as a basis for advising Contractors, Joint Venture and External Agencies as to the Crisis and Emergency Response Arrangements within an organization. It is also a ready reference for Corporate Communications to explain organization’s methodology and procedures for Incident Management. The plan should be designed for response at all levels. A wide range of response organizations, contractors and resources may be called on to respond to incidents, and their missions and procedures may vary. The coordination of, and collaboration between, these organizations is critical to an effective response operation. These groups and individuals must be able to work together at short notice and may have little or no prior experience of collaborating with each other to manage stressful, dangerous and evolving problems in what may be a hazardous working environment.

Responders need to cultivate a working trust with one another, have clear roles, responsibilities and authorities, and ensure that sufficient on-scene resources are available at all times. Responders face many other potential challenges in responding effectively to major incidents. Factors such as weather, site access, resource constraints, poor coordination, or poor communications can delay response times or hinder the efficiency of the response. Incident Command System (ICS) is an essential tool for overcoming many of these challenges; it provides clarity in command and control, improves resource coordination & communications and facilitates the cooperation & integration of the various parts of the response organisation. ICS is a scalable, systematic method for coordinating and controlling a variety of activities, resources and response organizations from a command center, to ensure that all personnel work to a common system and are familiar with the various roles, responsibilities and processes of the ICS system.

Response Philosophy

Over-Response (Establishment of response organisation)
Assess
Respond
Manage
Adjust (up-scale / down size / substitute expertise)
Stand-down

Response Priorities

People: protect the health and safety of responders (and the public)
Environment: protect and mitigate impacts to the environment
Assets: protect organization assets and public infrastructure from any further impact
Reputation: protect organization reputation/business by ensuring response activities are not detrimental to business continuity and are conducted ethically and transparently

Management principles

Management principles provide the Level 2 IMT (Incident Commander and Command Staff) with guidelines to coordinate the efforts of the organization so that response objectives and priorities can be accomplished through the efficient and effective use of the available resources. Management includes operational planning, staffing, leading, directing and controlling the organization.

Objectives-driven response

An effective and successful response requires clear objectives. These objectives are established at both CMT and IMT Levels (the objectives of CMT and IMT differ, CMT concentrates on Strategic objectives whilst IMT concentrates on Tactical objectives). The objectives drive the development of response strategies which, at IMT level, are implemented through tactical decisions and actions on the ground (work assignments developed against the tactics and assigned to individuals or teams). The objectives, strategies and tactics evolve as the response progresses.

Objectives at all levels of response should be based on the ‘SMART’ principle, they should be:

Specific
Measurable
Action oriented
Realistic
Timely

Incident Action Plans

Incident Action Plans (IAPs) provide for control of response activities for a specified period of time. IAPs ensure that all parts of the response organization work in coordination towards the same goal. Minor, short-duration incidents may be managed with a simplified IAP and the direction given by the IMT Incident Commander. Medium, Major or complex incidents require the use of a comprehensive IAP. An IAP describes the overall objectives and strategies for managing the response as well as response tactics for a set length of time, known as the Operational Period. An IAP includes the identification of operational resources, and provides a documented record of work assignments, priorities, safety and environmental considerations.

Common and consistent terminology

The IMS must employ common terminology used to prevent misunderstandings when responding to an incident. Common terms allow different parts of the response organization to work together effectively, and to communicate clearly with each other on essential issues:

The terminology used for each organizational function is standard.
Major resources (personnel and equipment) are given common names.
Incident facilities are named according to common terminology.
Position titles: all responders within identified ‘Teams’ are referred to by standardized titles, such as Commander, Officer, Chief, Director, Supervisor or Leader

Manageable span of control

Span of control refers to the number of individuals or resources than can be effectively managed by a supervisor during an incident. A recommended span of control should range from three to seven individuals, with five representing the optimal level. There may be exceptions to this range, e.g. in cases of lower-risk assignments, or assignments requiring minimal direct supervision.

Coordination of equipment, personnel resources and communications

Comprehensive and centralized resource coordination helps to maintain an accurate and up-to-date picture of the personnel, teams, equipment, supplies and facilities in use, available or potentially available for assignment. Integrated communications require the use of a common plan to coordinate the communications processes of the responding organizations. This approach strengthens the links between the operational and support personnel and helps to maintain communications, coordination and discipline.

The system to support the Principles, Philosophy and Priorities requires:

Establishment of response facilities e.g. Incident Control Vehicle (on-site Incident Command Post), Manpower and Materials Control Vehicle (MMCV), Command Centre (CC), Crisis Management Centre (CMC)
Training and exercising against CERP and other plans.
Assessment of the Response Organizations Operational Capability.
Continuous improvement through lessons learned internally and from other incidents
Maintenance of response equipment and facilities.

This Incident Command System (ICS) planning process helps establish Management by Objective (MBO) and operational priorities. This process becomes the roadmap for implementation by addressing five critical elements in re-establishing essential business functions within 12 hours of activation.

Achieve a proactive response by providing a decision making process for the Senior Activation Team (SAT) in establishing an Action Plan within the first 4 hours. The Planning “P” illustrates the incident planning process for the initial operational period and/or related continuity phases:

Readiness and Preparedness
Activation and Relocation
Continuity Operations
Reconstitution and Recovery

Planning should emphasize caring for people with disabilities and individuals with access
and functional needs, infants, children and older adults.
Planning should include all stakeholders.
Planning should address equity in all phases of the planning process.
Planning should engage the private sector when plans created at National level.
Planning should include elected and appointed officials throughout the process.
Planning is a fundamental process to manage risk.
Planning should use analytical approaches to address uncertainty.
Planning should consider all hazards and threats.
Time, uncertainty, risk and experience influence planning.
Planning is a key component of the a Preparedness System.
Plans should clearly identify the mission, supporting goals and desired results.
Planning should depict the anticipated environment for action.
Planning should identify tasks, allocate resources to accomplish those tasks and establish accountability.
Effective plans tell those with operational responsibilities what to do and why, and they instruct those outside the jurisdiction how to provide support and what to expect.